While the winners of each fight are a natural to face each other down the road, many in the press and in the message board forums felt Mtagwa deserved an immediate rematch based on those last two rounds. Lopez’ take on the situation is a fair one.
“The fight was won easily,” he said. “I won most of the first ten rounds. Everyone remembers the last round. But you know, obviously I won the fight. I don’t think anyone doubts that I did. If they look at the scores, they’ll know who won the fight. But you know, if [Mtagwa] beats Gamboa, maybe he will be attractive to fight again.”
While some took this as “JuanMa” being exposed by a veteran fighter, Lopez took the moment in stride; attributing it to a learning experience on the way to becoming a more complete fighter.
“I think it was important for me to go deeper into fights,” Lopez would tell Maxboxing.com this past weekend. “I think everyone was doubting how good I really am. I think I showed in the last few fights what I can do when I go deep in fights. The [Mtagwa] fight was a real tough fight but we don’t like them to be that tough. But I think it’s important to have those types for the public, and for myself, to know that I am capable.”
While the Mtagwa fight was a tough test, it was not the first of his career. Earlier in 2009, Lopez took on veteran Gerry Penalosa, 54-7-2 (36) and while Lopez was not hurt in the fight, he ate more leather than he’d have liked. Penalosa found a home for a counter right hand and fed it to Lopez all night. It was the first time Lopez had shown some cracks in his defense. But to hear Lopez tell the story, nothing compared to the way Mtagwa hit him.
“Without a doubt,” said Lopez. “I had some other fights where I had been hit hard maybe once or twice in a fight and I felt them. But not like this. Never. I never felt the way I felt that night.”
Getting to the winner of the Gamboa-Mtagwa fight won’t be easy. What Lopez has in front of him, in Luevano, is a fighter making the eighth defense of his title who possesses an innate counter-punching ability to go along with sneaky power, a hidden toughness and strong will to win. Like Lopez, Luevano is a southpaw in the traditional sense; calculating, crafty and not exactly what I would call aggressive. While he isn’t rugged and strong like Mtagwa, what Luevano brings to the table might be even more dangerous.
“I fought like two or three [southpaws] as a professional,” said Lopez. “Not that many, but I never felt, at any time, uncomfortable facing left-handers. I know he is a very capable boxer and that’s what we have to worry about more than anything: making him fight. I know that [Luevano] is a technical fighter. He’s a boxer. We are going to have to pressure him more. We’re going to have to go after him more than some other guys who stand up and fight him. Like Penalosa stood and fought me. I don’t think [Luevano] will, so I am going to have work really hard because I know he is a very good boxer.”
While some fans and media have criticized Lopez for not taking on fellow super bantamweight titleholder Celestino Caballero, 33-2 (23), in a super bantamweight unification match, Lopez felt the move up in weight was needed after having trouble making weight in his last few fights. But even with moving up in weight, Lopez still doesn’t rule out the future possibility of Caballero, though he feels that his job is to fight and his team and promoter’s job to make the fights.
“I had a really good training camp. I feel real strong,” said Lopez. “I think this weight is really going to be good for me. I needed it. Obviously Gamboa is an option out there. They are talking about me fighting him maybe by the end of the year. I know I will eventually fight him. Caballero is going to have to wait his turn. When [Top Rank] decides that that’s who I am going to fight, then that’s who I am going to fight. Those are decisions made by my company; by my team. I just fight the guys they put in front of me.”
With the record he possesses, Lopez is generally expected to stop the man across the ring from him. He boasts two-fisted power and an aggressive mentality that, early on, was getting him comparisons to Puerto Rican great Felix “Tito” Trinidad, 42-3 (35). After a 2009 that saw him go 3-0 with 2 KO, there are some whispers that “JuanMa’s” power may not be all it’s cracked up to or that he might need to change up his style, in order to get back to what he was. Lopez disagrees with the notions and chalks it up to simply tough matchmaking.
“I know that not everyone is going to be knocked out,” he explained. “Both [Penalosa and Mtagwa] took a lot of punishment, took a lot of punches. They were able to take it. I don’t think there are a lot of guys who will be able to do that. I know I have skills to box and win fights by boxing, but I know my power’s always going to be there.”
Lessons learned and ring identity clarified, “JuanMa” looks forward to the Luevano fight with wide-open eyes. Though as prepared and confident as ever, Lopez understands what he has in front of him.
“I know it’s going to be a long fight,” Lopez forecasted. “If I do knock him out, it will probably be in the later rounds. So I have to be focused. I have to very concentrated. He’s very smart in the ring, so we have to fight intelligently. We can’t be reckless. We have to be at our best, every round. Bank as many rounds as we can early. And if it goes to a decision, it goes to a decision.”
Email Gabriel at maxgmontoya@gmail.com or follow him at twitter.com/Gabriel_montoya
