Photo: Juan Manuel Lopez, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. - Face To Face

By Miguel Rivera

The kickoff press conference took place to officially announce the grudge match between former world champions Juan Manuel Lopez (34-5, 31 KO's) and Wilfredo 'Papito' Vázquez (24-6-1 and 19 KO's).

Previously it was reported that both boxers agree to face each other on October 1 at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente. The new date has been officially set down for October 8, at the same venue, according to promoter. The bout will reportedly take place at 129 pounds.

The fight is a true grudge match after several years of public verbal battles on the social networks where both fighters took vicious swipes at each other and things got personal on more than one occasion.

Carlos Maldonado, president of Black Tiger Promotions, has stated that Lopez vs. Vazquez Jr. is conditioned upon the requirement that both pass a series of medical tests.

"The commission will tell us what tests are required," Maldonado said.

Lopez, a former super bantamweight king and WBO featherweight world champion, has not fought since September 2014 when he lost by knockout against Argentina's Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar in a battle for the interim WBA featherweight title.

Two months earlier he had lost again, also by knockout, this time to current WBC super featherweight champion Francisco Vargas. Juanma is has a 4-5 balance in his last nine fights.

Vazquez, meanwhile, former WBA world champion at 122-pounds, made his last fight in December 2015 and lost a split decision to Rafael Rivera, his second loss in a row. Like Lopez, he's 4-5 in his last nine fights.