By Miguel Rivera, photo by Andre Kang
Former two division world champion Juan Manuel 'Juanma' Lopez is not ready to hang up his gloves.
This past Saturday night, Lopez was knocked out in the twelfth round of his super featherweight bout with Jayson "La Maravilla" Velez. With the victory, Velez picked up the WBC International and the WBC's Fecarbox title.
The contest headlined the 'Night of Champions DIRECTV: Live or Die' card that was broadcast via pay-per-view in Puerto Rico.
Lopez was never really in the fight, and by the end of the contest he was bloody and battered.
Lopez has been knocked out in four of his last six fights. He actually retired back in September of 2014 after getting knocked out by Jesus Cuellar, but then decided to come back in October of 2016 to stop country rival Wilfredo Vazquez Jr.
Everyone had expected him to retire, but he plans to fight on.
"Since I was nine years old, I learned that to achieve what you want, you have to have discipline, commitment and the desire to do so. From a very young age I wanted to become a professional boxer for many reasons; from wanting to represent my family, my people and my country of Puerto Rico. For my skills,me team... God put me on the path and the opportunities came and we were climbing, I represented my country in the Olympic games in Athens Greece, in 2008 I managed to become the world champion at 122 lbs and in 2010 I did it again at 126 lbs," Juanma stated.
"I thank God for all these opportunities and also for the people who have always been close to me to support me and have driven me to achieve priceless victories that I never thought possible. Today, I'm still standing by and proving that life has its high and low and that everything has a purpose. I'll keep fighting tirelessly to do what I'm passionate about. Sport is one of the best tools for a society to channel mental health and achieve the union of a people, and it remains the livelihood of my home.
"This is why I will continue to get up every day with the same motivation that characterizes me since I was nine years old, because my priority is to support my family, be a better father, partner, son and friend for those around me, too. I will continue to contribute to the growth of my island that so much needs it."
