Comments Thread For: Men For All Seasons: Lopez, Johnson Shine in Las Vegas

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

In the biggest victory of his career to date, 27-year old Juan Manuel Lopez (30-0, 27 KO) of Caguas, Puerto Rico, made his second defense of the WBO Featherweight belt, forcing a corner surrender before the ninth round from 35-year old former IBF Bantamweight and lineal Jr. Featherweight king Rafael Marquez (39-6, 35 KO) of Mexico City, Mexico, on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. No knockdowns were suffered by either man in a violent, back and forth affair.

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[swizz]

showtime kicked hbo ass last night

[budhram]

I subscribed to Showtime yesterday for boxing, and man what a great show. I then tuned in to HBO's, and at best, I'd say was mediocre.

[Cotto 54/10]

Marquez-Lopez fight is amazing.

[aescobedo]

Al rato se le ve llegar al changito.

[aescobedo]

showtime kicked hbo ass last night

Mira chango, Juanmircon won one, pero Caballero se lo va chingar.

[Machingo69]

Am sorry but Marquez clearly quit. During the whole fight, I never heard Marquez complain about the shoulder to his corner till the 9th round. They asked Juanma if he thought Marquez had an injured shoulder during the fight and Juanma thought he was fine. If the fight would of continued, there was no doubt Juanma would of eventually knocked him out.

Marquez was opening up, getting slow and tired while Juanma seemed to be getting stronger and more confident. My props to Marquez. That moda****ka can take a punch, any other opponent would of been knocked out cold with those power shots. Now people need to give Juanma his props. He fought well and also proved that he can take a punch and recover well. The kid is a warrior and has the heart of a champion.

[wkings]

Showtime gets an A

If you are a boxing fan, I would advise you to always watch any showtime card over HBO's. Last nights fights were excellent, and Sho always has a way of making more competitive fights, with 25% of the budget HBO has. These two fights were ten times better than HBO's card, and I promise the Lopez/Marquez fight will be better than Pac/Margo. HBO has the budget but refuses to put best vs.best. They want to milk it too long leading up to a good fight. Johnson's input into the super 6 has given it a good punch, and makes it authentic. Whoever he fights, it will be fun to watch. Kudos to Showtime.

[prsi]

I posted this on another thread and I beleive it applies to this thread also:

As I predicted this fight was a war while it last (Link of my analysis pre fight below).
Marquez proved to be a great warrior as he got bombed and kept coming forward until the 9th round when he did not continue.
Contrary to what other say, and as i predicted Marguez still has fight in him, what people do not realize is that Juanma is one of the most powerful (probably not the most skilled) of these divisions. Against any other of the boxers that are not as strong, he could had probably last longer and even have a better chance to win and get his 3 title in different weight class.
That he is past his prime? Of course, but still a dangerous fighter.
I had respect for him before the fight and more even after the fight although I do have doubts about the shoulder injury which he said had for a while already and here are my reasons why.
1) During trainging Camp in this era where everything is documented thru the press and there is no secret, there was not even once anything mentioned about any injury to his shoulder all we heard was their camp saying the they are 100 % ready for the fight and not even the injury to his thumb will be a factor.
2) When mentioned to his corner that his shoulder was hurting they seem to know nothing about what he was talking about.
3) In the last 2 rounds of the fight he threw 32 and 28 right hands landing to powerful ones in the last round that caught Junama's attention. (I have the fight in my DVR and went back to those rounds and counted them) and this was basically the avg. thru out the whole fight. During the whole fight he was pretty busy with his right hand although he did use his lefthand more in a an estimate of 3-2 ratio for obviuos reason. His jab and the success that he was having landing those left hooks.

I just beleive that he knew that he was being dominated as these last 2 rounds were cruel for both fighters and he just avoided further punishment but once again that's just my way of seeing it and i can be wrong as he is a great warrior, as lots of the great Mexican fighters.

About Juanma, he once again was tested, this time by a very good and experienced fighter and his heart and conditioning caried him thru this war. I give him lots if credit for this victory because he went thru hell especially in the 4th and did not let this experienced, future HOF finish him while exchanging heavy blows, even while hurt.
I still see some flaws in Juanma as he becomes reckless and vulnerable during his matches and if he faces a guy like Gamboa, and if Gamboa can take Juanma's punch, it could be a long night for Juanma although as Puerto Rican i will be rooting for my boy. I wish they work on his defense more as this will help him in the fights to come.
As I say this about Juanma I also realize that this is the type of fighter that we the boxing fans love to see. the type of fighter that you know will bring a brawl and will either KO or get KO. This type of fighter can grow a fanbase not only from his country but from the hard core boxing fans all over the world. I sense that some fans probably do not like him and call him a big hyped up fighter, but soo far it has been worth seeing Juanma's fight as they been action packed from round 1. Others say he will not last long and is not a true Champion but so far his level of competition has increase and he has come out victorious. Some say that he will not be able to beat Gamboa or Caballero. For that we will have to wait until June when he face Gamboa, but some also said that Marquez would beat him last night.

What can't be denied, whether he has all the skills or not is that

Juanma has the heart of a champion

http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9521297#post9521297

[youngswish23]

Juamma got a big win. He was hurt early but he shook it off. Marquez a great fighter but Lopez was too much. That was a impressive win. I cant wait for Juamma vs Gamboa.