Juan Manuel Lopez vs. Aldimar Silva Santos on Saturday in Puerto Rico

By @James_theGrad - 02/01/2013 - Comments

lopez4334By James Le Blanc: This Saturday, Juan Manuel Lopez has an up-hill battle to begin in a 10 round tune-up fight in trying to restore his image against Aldimar Silva Santo at the Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico. As a very fan friendly fighter, Lopez was making a big name for himself having been featured on the Showtime telecast several times.  Like many other exciting fighters to watch it was his ability to overcome adversity within the ring that made watching him so special. Juanma is a heavy hitter, yet extremely vulnerable at times, and it was this vulnerability that got him Knocked out twice by veteran Orlando Salido.

But after the second KO loss to Salido, Juanma demonstrated one of the most classless post fight interviews of all time, accusing the referee of having a gambling problems insinuating that the fight was stopped because the referee needed to ensure it was stopped.  Of course this accusation surprised everyone because we all saw a guy that was getting pummeled to his defeat and a referee that had no other alternative than to end the fight.

Now that the time on Juanma’s appropriate suspension has passed he has a task in front of him come Saturday that is not just a showcase of what he brings to the ring, but will be a showcase of what he brings to the sport. Will we see a smarter fighter in the ring and a smarter fighter after the fight, upon a potential loss? Juanma says his second loss had a lot to do with personal issues and a divorce and these issues contributed to him not being fully focused in the ring. Now he is in a better place, he has new people around him and in his corner, and says this fight is a new beginning for him.

I’m rooting for Juanma, I’m rooting for the potential match-ups that can be made upon his return to the ring which could include Mikey Garcia, Nonito Donaire, and Yuriorkis Gamboa, just to name a few.

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