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JUAN MANUEL “Juanma” LOPEZ
Age: 22 (6-30-83)
Residence: Caguas , Puerto Rico
Birthplace: Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico
Record: 8-0, 8 KOs
Height: 5'7”
Manager: Antonio Pinero
Trainer: Alex Caraballo
JUAN MANUEL “Juanma” LOPEZ (8-0, 8 KOs )…
2004 Olympic representative for Puerto Rico , 119 pounds…
Just 22 years old, Juan is a one-year pro. A sensational lefthanded prospect at 126 pounds, he was an amateur star in Puerto Rico - a five national champion and 2004 Olympian - and many locals consider him to be their best prospect to come out of the 2004 Olympics.
Top Rank matchmaker Bruce Trampler said, “Juan is a rugged, physical guy, a tremendous talent. He combines the best attributes of Felix Trinidad , Wilfredo Gomez , and Miguel Cotto . That covers all the bases.”
Juan said through an interpreter, “I train at Jose “Cheo Aponte” Torres Gym in Caguas . Henry Bruseles trains here, and Alex “Nene” Sanchez used to train here. I know Miguel Cotto , but we train at different gyms in Caguas .
“I'm naturally lefthanded. I'm an aggressive fighter, I go forward. I think I have a good defense and other skills, but all of my fights have been so short that all anybody sees is my power. I couldn't really tell you where the power comes from. My mom and dad are big people, they always looked very strong to me. Maybe it's just something I have inside of me.
“People talk about me as being the next great boxer from Puerto Rico . A lot of people compare my style to Wilfredo Gomez , and they say my power is something that they rarely see at this weight. I just think it's because I'm so disciplined.
“I think I have some similarities with Gomez, but I have other things, too. I think my style is not like any other boxer's. My favorite fighters are Felix Trinidad and Roy Jones . I always liked Oscar De La Hoya , too.”
Regarding his nickname, he said, “Everybody just calls me ‘Juanma.' It's short for Juan Manuel.”
Fight by Fight - 2005 - in his last fight on 12-10-05 in San Juan , PR, he TKO'd Manuel Sarabia (15-16-6): the fight was on the undercard of the Ivan Calderon-Daniel Reyes main event at Coliseo Roberto Clemente; Juan rocked Sarabia with a series of punches in the 1 st round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:50…
On 11-18-05 in Hato Rey, PR, he TKO'd former Colombian jr. bantamweight champion and fellow-southpaw Luis Bolano (41-4): it was a step up in class of opposition for Juan, and an exciting fight while it lasted; both exchanged hard punches for two rounds, but Bolano did not continue after the 2 nd round claiming an injury to his left hand…
On 9-30-05 in San Juan he knocked out Roberto Chacon (11-5-1): Juan scored two knockdowns in the 1 st round, and Chacon was counted out at 2:10…
On 8-20-05 in Ponce, PR, he knocked out Charles Jones (2-2): Juan was knocked down, but came back to score three knockdowns, all in the 1 st round, and the referee stopped the fight at 3:00; after the fight, Juan said, “It was weird to find myself on the floor. It was mostly because I was off-balance but that's the first time I ever went down in my life. I always heard from my trainers that I should take my time getting up but I was fine and I knew he couldn't take my punches, so I decided to shut him out.”…
On 6-11-05 in New York , NY , he TKO'd Eric Nemo (5-0-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto-Muhammad Abdulaev main event at Madison Square Garden ; Juan dominated the fight anad scored a knockdown in the 3 rd round; Nemo got up, but Juan rocked him with series of punches and the referee stopped the fight at 2:17…
On 4-30-05 in San Juan he knocked out Efrain Perez (1-0) in the 1 st round…
On 2-26-05 in Bayamon , PR, he TKO'd Ivan Cordero (0-2): the fight was on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto-DeMarcus Corley main event that drew 12,000 fans; Juan stopped Cordero in the 1 st round…
He debuted at the age of 21 on 1-29-05 in Bayamon and knocked out Luis Colon (debut) at 1:06 of the 1 st round…
AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: 2004 Olympic representative for Puerto Rico, 119 pounds: in his first fight in Athens , Greece , on 8-17-04 he lost a 27-19 decision against Khavazhi Khatsigov of Bulgaria …
2004 Americas Olympic Qualifier, 119 pounds: in his first fight in Tijuana, Mex., on 3-14-04 he won a 32-22 decision against Roberto Benitez of New York, N.Y.; in his second fight on 3-17-04 he won a 21-15-decision against Algenis Mendez of Dominican Republic; in the championship round on 3-20-04 he lost a 29-18 decision against Andrew Kooner of Canada…
Juan said, “I was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico . I have two brothers, I'm in the middle. My father manages a restaurant called El Caldero. My older brother used to box as an amateur, but he never turned pro. My father used to go to the gym, but he never really boxed.
“I used to fight a lot in school and they told me, ‘You know, you shouldn't be doing that in the streets. You should go to a gym.' So that's what I did.
“I started boxing when I was about 10 years old. I had 150 amateur fights, with 126 wins and 24 losses. I was National champion of Puerto Rico for five straight years, from 2000 to 2004. The first year, I won at 112 pounds. The next four years were at 119 pounds.
“I won the bronze at the Central American Games in El Salvador in 2002. I fought for the bronze medal at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo in 2003, but I didn't win it.
“I've been living in Caguas for five years, but I've actually been training here for 10 years.
“I've been married for five years. My wife had three children when we were married. We have one child together, and another is on the way.”…
It seems he lets out steam not only with his fists
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