The Showdown 01.26.10: Don't Forget About Juanma

Posted by Patrick Cassidy on 01.26.2010

In the wake of Yuriorkis Gamboa's destruction of Roger Mtagwa, Patrick Cassidy discusses why Juan Manuel Lopez's performance is more deserving of credit than his Cuban counterpart.



If you've ever had a performance in your life that you felt did not receive the praise it deserved you realize it could be a pretty rotten feeling. Sure you're happy with what you accomplished but you understandably want the proper attention that you feel owed to you. Well that feeling has to be on the back of the mind of Juan Manuel Lopez who came out victorious in a brilliant performance against champion Steven Luevano. It was a brilliant display of Lopez's boxing prowess matched by the type of power that is so rare at featherweight. Yet the post fight coverage has mostly focused on the earlier performance of Yuriorkis Gamboa who easily decimated veteran Roger Mtagwa in two brilliant rounds. However impressive Gamboa was, one can't negate the fact that Lopez turned in a brilliant performance that has fans salivating for an eventual showdown.



Now I myself will admit that following Gamboa's bout, I got a little carried away with my assessment of his performance and his chances against Lopez even twittering "Unless Lopez plans on bringing a bat to a fight with Gamboa I don't see how he wins". Now in my defense I may have been a bit inebriated at the time of typing that. Looking back at the performance it's hard not to be amazed but it's also easy to let a few of Gamboa's flaws go unnoticed. Sure Gamboa has improved his defense and timing but there are still some major flaws in his game. His hands often drop and the type of angles he gives his opponents can leave him open for dangerous punches as we have seen him on the canvas several times throughout his career. That's not to say JuanMa is the reincarnation of Willie Pep but JuanMa certainly has the type of offense and strength to challenge the Cuban's aggression.

Another fact which largely went unnoticed from Saturday is just how much Lopez's defense has improved. Lopez in past fights has often been tagged by flush punches as his straight ahead offense often comes at the expense of his defense. I remember clearly seeing Lopez taking several shots from Olivier Lontchi that would have put him down had they came at the hands of a stronger fighter. Gamboa certainly fits that build which is why Saturday's performance was important in emphasizing how far he's come in a short period of time. Lopez looked stronger than I've ever seen him and rarely allowed himself to be exposed to a Luevano's power shots. Lopez also effectively counter punched throughout the fight as Luevano's shots seemed to barely faze the young champion. This is crucial if he's going to be able to withstand the expected early onslaught of Gamboa.

The fact remains after this fight is that such a matchup is still a ways away. Bob Arum has claimed that he wants his fighters to clean out their division before taking each other on. This claim seems a bit farfetched because there are some serious problems out there for his fighters and it may be a bit difficult to see both fighters going undefeated against a division that is loaded with talent and possesses fighters with their own unique styles. For instance Celestino Caballero has been a name that has come up multiple times in discussions with both fighters. Caballero is a brilliant talent who combines a strong offense with a reach advantage that is rarely seen within the sport. Caballero has close to a four inch reach advantage on Lopez and he possesses a very live punch to back it up. You'd have to think Lopez would have some trouble with Caballero as he simply cannot walk into that jab, he'd have to effectively counterpunch because as mentioned Caballero possesses power behind those long arms.

Regardless of how this situation unfolds and who Lopez fights next what is clear is that Juan Manuel Lopez is most certainly a fighter who rises to the occasion for his major fights. All the doubts that surrounded him after lack luster performances against Lontchi and Mtagwa should certainly be erased after Saturday's almost perfect performance. As evidenced in previous fights with Daniel Ponce De Leon and Gerry Penalosa, Lopez is capable of dominating world class opponents. So certainly get excited about Yuriorkis Gamboa but remember that as of now Lopez is the man to beat.