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By Jake Donovan - His promoter pleaded a plausible case for why the only featherweight fight for which fans clamor have not yet happened, one which left little room to counter.
But it doesn’t mean that Juan Manuel “JuanMa” Lopez’ performances won’t be compared to that of divisional rival Yuriorkis Gamboa every time they step in the ring these days.
Not helping the cause any is that Lopez (30-0, 27KO) squares off this weekend against Orlando Salido, who was last seen in the ring against – you guessed it – Gamboa, last September.
This weekend’s bout, which takes place at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez in Bayamon, Puerto Rico (Saturday, SHOWTIME 10:30PM ET/PT), is the type of fights that networks like to showcase when the primary objective is to steer two fighters towards one another.
Lopez is well aware of this, and has even publicly expressed interest in facing Gamboa anywhere, any place and any time.
Still, he insists that it is business as usual when he performs in his native island this weekend.
“I don’t think about it that way,” Lopez claims when asked if there is any additional pressure to outdo Gamboa, who turned in a lethargic performance against Salido in their alphabet unification bout last year. “Every opponent is tough, every opponent is different. We’re all different fighters.
“To me, it’s just what I can do. I certainly want to look good and I want to do as well as I can, but I don’t want to compare myself to what he did and what I’m going to do.”
That said, Lopez couldn’t ask for a better fight on which to improve from his rival’s performance. Gamboa looked smoking hot when he knocked out Jorge Solis last month on HBO, but was overdue for such a performance after climbing off the canvas and struggling with Salido in what resulted in a showcase opportunity gone awry.
If the fan viewpoint for this weekend is merely ‘Can you top this?’, then the bar isn’t set very high at all for Lopez. [Click Here To Read More]
But it doesn’t mean that Juan Manuel “JuanMa” Lopez’ performances won’t be compared to that of divisional rival Yuriorkis Gamboa every time they step in the ring these days.
Not helping the cause any is that Lopez (30-0, 27KO) squares off this weekend against Orlando Salido, who was last seen in the ring against – you guessed it – Gamboa, last September.
This weekend’s bout, which takes place at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez in Bayamon, Puerto Rico (Saturday, SHOWTIME 10:30PM ET/PT), is the type of fights that networks like to showcase when the primary objective is to steer two fighters towards one another.
Lopez is well aware of this, and has even publicly expressed interest in facing Gamboa anywhere, any place and any time.
Still, he insists that it is business as usual when he performs in his native island this weekend.
“I don’t think about it that way,” Lopez claims when asked if there is any additional pressure to outdo Gamboa, who turned in a lethargic performance against Salido in their alphabet unification bout last year. “Every opponent is tough, every opponent is different. We’re all different fighters.
“To me, it’s just what I can do. I certainly want to look good and I want to do as well as I can, but I don’t want to compare myself to what he did and what I’m going to do.”
That said, Lopez couldn’t ask for a better fight on which to improve from his rival’s performance. Gamboa looked smoking hot when he knocked out Jorge Solis last month on HBO, but was overdue for such a performance after climbing off the canvas and struggling with Salido in what resulted in a showcase opportunity gone awry.
If the fan viewpoint for this weekend is merely ‘Can you top this?’, then the bar isn’t set very high at all for Lopez. [Click Here To Read More]
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