By Giancarlo Oquendo

The current WBO junior lightweight champion, Roman "Rocky" Martinez (26-1, 16KOs) denied rumors indicating that he spoke with his promoters to notify them that he wants to replace Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. against Juan Manuel "Juanma" Lopez (31-2, 28KOs). Puerto Rico Best Boxing is having trouble finalizing a fight between Juanma and Vazquez for January 19th at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Erickson Lubin Have Respect But Expect War on Fight Night

Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Erickson Lubin kept it classy at their press conference, showing mutual respect ahead of their upcoming showdown. In today’s episode of BoxingScene Today, we break down what both fighters had to say, why there’s no bad blood, and how this respectful buildup could still lead to a brutal fight in the ring.

Wednesday | Sep 24, 2025

Juanma is planning to move up in weight to 130-pounds and refuses to fight Vazquez below 128. Vazquez, who competes at 122, refuses to fight above the featherweight limit of 126. While Martinez denies the circulating rumors, he's open to fighting Juanma if the money is right.

"That's not true I have not said anything about [replacing Vazuqez]. The only thing my promoter [PR Best Boxing] told me about is a fight on January 19 or February 2, but I can say that if Juanma does move up to 130 and they offered me a good deal - I would accept the fight with Juanma," said Martinez to mrboxingtab.com/BoxingScene.com