The Blueprint: 8.30.09: JUANoMAs

Posted by Patrick Mullin on 08.30.2009

Is he for real? Or is he hype? Check inside to see what we can do about beating Juan Manuel Lopez

The Blueprint: JUANnoMAs

Wanna find out how to derail a complete hype train? Then read on.

Welcome back loyal readers. This is…THE BLUEPRINT! Someone you think is unbeatable? Hell no! We're here to prove nobody is unbeatable. We look at everyone from the top of the pound for pound list to the hottest rising stars in the sport. We're going in the latter direction today, but first lets take a look at some comments from last week.

From 411Mania's own FJ Parlan: "Hey, Patrick! =) We all know who can beat Dr. Steelhammer. But it's almost never gonna happen that you didn't even consider it in your article. But we all know Dr. Iron Fist can get the job done better than any of those three you posted or anybody else in the HW division for that matter. =)"

Well FJ I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one. I believe would they ever fight Wladimir would beat Vitali. I feel while Vitali has the better chin, his style is still very traditionally European while Wladimir is the superior in-ring tactician. I also believe he's a better body puncher, a better combination puncher, and has a superior and more versatile skill set. Of course even though Vitali would have a better chance than most in the division, I didn't list him because we won't ever see it.

From Denno(Guest): "I've never been that impressed with Johnson. Sure, he has a nice jab, but that's about all he does. He's the new Larry Donald, and if he's the guy who has the best chance to beat Wlad (though there's no mention of Povetkin, Boystov, Haye and other Euro fighters), then the division is in deep, deep trouble."

You think that little of Kevin Johnson? He doesn't have the prettiest KO/Win ratio, but that's largely due to facing an onslaught in his early career days. Now he's punching with power and confidence and has quickly begun to remind me more of a focused Pinklon Thomas than Larry Donald. Johnson has a big upside, I'm hoping we get to see all of his future fights on TV.

As far as the European lot of heavyweights go, the Povetkins, Boystovs, Hayes, and even Dimitrenkos, I don't think any of them have a realistic chance so I didn't list them. Wlad mastered the European style and knows it inside and out. He also has the tricks of the trade that Europeans seemingly never seem to pick up unless working with a non-European trainer. Haye meanwhile is running scared and doesn't have a chance against him anyway. He's too afraid of either Klitschko to ever beat them.

From shade de los angeles (guest): "Hey patrick you know who is retarded? You are.to say that people who believe marquez didn't win both fights should not be boxing fans, what kind of retard are you? Me personally I believe their first fight was a draw and beleive marquez won the second fight and that's just how I scored it, its what I saw, or what you mean to tell me only real boxing fans are capable of judging a fight right, then you tell me why one judge had 118 to 110 on the diaz malignaggi fight this weekend, stop being retarded and let people voice their thoughts. Other than that keep doing a good job."

First, let me just say that due to your superb grammar the Los Angeles school system clearly cannot be as bad as Stand and Deliver made me believe it was. Firstly I'm not sure if you can't spell or are just stupid so I'll go with what I interpret your ramblings to mean. I never said people are retarded if they believed Marquez didn't win both fights. I said they were retarded if they believed he did win both fights, because they are. All the cries of robbery are shameful to people who want to believe they're boxing fans. Pacquiao won their rematch regardless of how you scored it, their first fight was a draw again regardless of how you scored it. Stop being a fool.

So you want to factor in the Diaz-Malignaggi bout here? Ok, the 118-110 scorecard in favor of Diaz was turned in by Texas official Gale Van Hoy, whom Malignaggi had singled out prior to the fight as a biased party based on his mishandling of the John-Juarez fight. The scorecard was indicative that the fight was indeed a fix, and the parties responsible were the promoters of Juan Diaz. Wait a second! Who promotes Juan Diaz? That's right! Golden Boy Promotions! Wait a second! Don't they also promote Juan Manuel Marquez? They do!

Seriously just don't ever lob a fastball over the plate like that ever again, cause I'll knock it right over the centerfield wall every time.

Onto our subject. There's a real divide in the boxing community over a guy named Juan Manuel Lopez. He's a power punching 122 pound belt holder with a really pretty record. There are a lot of people who think he's going to be an elite level fighter soon and remain there for a long, long time. I'm not one of those people. I think he's gotten some gifts, his record is largely padded, and he has more holes in his game than Swiss cheese. Let's get down to business.



1) All Right…But No Left - I've seen a lot of big right hand shots from Juan Manuel Lopez, or as his fans call him "JuanMa." Never once have I seen his left hand do anything of merit. He's essentially a one handed fighter. That doesn't immediately doom him. Look at Rocky Graziano who made an entire HOF career in a deep middleweight division with a big right hand and no left. Rocky however did it against guys who were great fighters. He beat men like Tony Zale, Freddie Cochran, and Harold Green.

Lopez has yet to beat a very good fighter in his own division. Daniel Ponce De Leon? De Leon is another guy with a completely padded record. The biggest name on his resume was Gerry Penalosa, a bantamweight who's about a decade past his best and was truly a junior bantamweight, not a junior featherweight. That man is also the best name on Lopez's record and despite landing a staggering number of power punches(including an inhuman 84 in one round), he was never able to hurt Penalosa.



Its not hard to beat a one handed fighter. Make them work behind their week hand. Carry your left hand high against Lopez, feint with it and throw lead right hands. Everytime he's throwing the right hand just stick a left hand into his chin and discourage him from throwing the right. Stick ramrod jabs into his ribcage and have him have to drop his right hand to protect himself. Lopez lives and dies by his right hand. You take it away from him he's simply not capable of a win.

2) Head Movement - He hasn't faced a lot of power punchers…actually he's hardly faced any. In all of his fights however he tends to take a lot of punches. Do you know why? Because generally if you throw punches at Lopez they'll hit him because he doesn't ever move his head. Lopez's defense is atrocious. The only times punches don't land against him are when he steps out of range or uses his gloves to block them.

Lopez still seems to not understand that boxing isn't simply just hitting, its making the other guy miss. Taking power shots from undersized guys or guys with no power won't trouble him for now. He can afford to take punches from guys like Penalosa and Hugo Dianzo. But what happens when he starts having to face legitimate top opposition at 122 pounds? He can't afford to be a punching bag for everybody. There's talent at 122 pounds and if he tries to pull the same stuff against the elite that he does against the non-entities he's going to be in for a severe beating.

3) One Dimensional - The most glaring weakness of Lopez's entire game is that he's one dimensional. He doesn't have the capability of doing anything other than coming forward and throwing a lot of power shots trying to knock the other guy out. He can't fight off the back foot. He doesn't have a good jab. He's very easy to predict from move to move and punch to punch. The greatest fighters are normally the guys who can best anticipate what to expect from their opponent and neutralize it. Predictability is a very undesirable trait, and Lopez has it in spades.

Who Can Beat Him?


Celestino Caballero 1:4 - Caballero is a freak of nature. He also is very good at dictating nearly every move his opponent is going to make. His performance in dominating Steve Molitor was an evisceration. The way the man maximizes his tools and thinks throughout the course of the fight is the exact opposite of Lopez's anti-cerebral attack. He can hit you hard with either hand, and is as technically sound a fighter as there is. Lopez better hope Caballero's beard isn't as good as it seems, because that's his only hope.


Israel Vazquez/Rafael Marquez 1:3 - It still remains to be seen how much these guys were able to take out of each other in their epic trilogy. Marquez looked very good in stopping Jose Mendoza in his first fight since, and Izzy will see action against a power punching foe in October. The bottom line is each of these guys hits with unbelievable power, great hand speed, a ridiculous tolerance for punishment, and much better skills than either gets credit for. I haven't seen Lopez in a situation where his heart or courage is tested, so at the moment I can't say I'm confident he beats either of these guys.


Steve Molitor EVEN - Molitor isn't a heavy puncher, but he's a pain in the ass to fight unless your name is Caballero. Molitor and JML's styles are as different as night and day. Molitor likes to use his jab, defensive skills, and hand speed to win fights by out pointing opponents. Against JML his real worry would be whether or not he would be able to take his punch. I'm skeptical of it, but Molitor's advantages in seemingly every other catergory make him an even money bet.