Maurice Hooker-Juan Pablo Lopez Added to Cotto-Kirkland

By Keith Idec

Maurice Hooker will get an opportunity to start redeeming himself against Juan Pablo Lopez.

Sources have confirmed to BoxingScene.com that a 10-round junior welterweight bout between Dallas’ Hooker (21-0-3, 16 KOs) and Mexico’s Lopez (29-3, 24 KOs) has been added to the Miguel Cotto-James Kirkland undercard February 25 in Frisco, Texas. The Hooker-Lopez bout will not be part of the four-fight HBO Pay-Per-View telecast, but cable and satellite systems will air it during a “freeview” that’ll last for an hour before the pay-per-view portion of the event begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Hooker fought to a dubious draw with Darleys Perez on the Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev undercard November 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Colombia’s Perez (33-3-2, 21 KOs), a former WBA world lightweight champion, appeared to out-box Hooker during that 10-round bout, but the three judges couldn’t come to an agreement.

Adalaide Byrd scored the fight for Perez (97-93). Robert Hoyle had it the exact opposite of the way Byrd scored it, 97-93 for Hooker. The third judge, Glenn Feldman, scored it even (95-95).

The 27-year-old Hooker, who’s promoted by Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports (also Cotto’s promoter), fought through an ear infection against Perez. He has since had surgery to repair his left eardrum, but has been cleared to fight February 25.

Another 10-round bout, which will pit hard-hitting Puerto Rican prospect Alberto Machado (16-0, 14 KOs) against Mexico’s Jairo Lopez (21-6, 14 KOs), has been added to the four-fight Cotto-Kirkland pay-per-view broadcast. The 26-year-old Machado, a junior lightweight who is promoted by Cotto, has won 11 straight fights by knockout.

The pay-per-view co-feature will be Guillermo Rigondeaux’s WBA super bantamweight championship defense against Moises Flores (25-0, 17 KOs, 1 NC). Mexico’s Flores is the WBA’s mandatory challenger for the Cuban-born Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs).

The fourth fight that’ll be part of the Cotto-Kirkland telecast hasn’t been finalized.

Puerto Rico’s Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs) and Kirkland (32-2, 28 KOs), of Austin, Texas, will meet in the 12-round junior middleweight main event at The Ford Center at The Star, the Dallas Cowboys’ training facility.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.