By Luis Sandoval
Josesito Lopez is making his return to the ring June 8th against hard hitting Marcos Maidana in a fight that many expect will be a war from beginning to end. Lopez is also making a return to a weight class that is better suited for him at Welterweight where he feels he’s now more acclimated to the weight.
Lopez was dubbed the “Riverside Rocky” for his now classic win over heavy favorite Victor Ortiz last June as he pulled off arguably the upset of the year and broke Ortiz’s jaw in the process. Lopez was immediately catapulted to a new level and so was his popularity. Even with the loss to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez last year when he tried his luck at 154 pounds, his stock didn’t drop as it was understood he took a chance and was simply too small for the Junior Middleweight division.
While the Ortiz and Alvarez fights were important to Lopez, he feels the Maidana bout is the most important fight of his career as he needs to keep his momentum going and not have it stall out.
“This is by far the most important fight of my life. The Ortiz fight was an opportunity to knock on the door. Now I'm in the door. Now I need to stay inside. So this is going to be not only the most important fight but I think the toughest fight of my career. We're preparing for that and we're expecting a war come June 8th” Lopez would tell BoxingScene.
A win over Maidana would be huge for Lopez and he plans to be victorious once again. The fight is enticing and expected by many to deliver great action. While there are high expectations for this bout, Lopez doesn’t feel any pressure to make sure the fight lives up to the hype as he feels he and Maidana’s style will produce a great fight no matter what.
“[There’s] no pressure at all because with the type of fighters like me and Maidana, we fight how we fight. It's not like we try to give a show, this is the way we fight. Luckily it’s a show for every one so no worries, I'm just going to fight my fight and I know no matter what the fans will love it” said the Riverside native.
The fight will be taking place at arguably the best venue in Southern California to watch a fight: the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. Both fighters are expecting to put on a great fight as fans will be the true winners that night.
You can follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter @Truewest007. You can also tune in to BoxingScene Radio, Boxingscene’s official audio show every Tuesday from 6-8PM PST with hosts Ernest Gabion, Luis Sandoval, and Ryan Burton.