By Chris Williams: You have to wonder why WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (30-0, 27 KO’s) is fighting Yuriorkis Gamboa’s sloppy seconds. Lopez, 27, instead of facing someone that’s currently winning their fights and looking good, is being put in by his promoter Bob Arum with recently beaten Orlando Solido (34-11-2, 22 KO’s) in a fight on April 16th at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

I could understand this fight if it were to have taken place five years ago when the 30-year-old Salido had a little bit of a winning steak going after being schooled by Juan Manuel Marquez in 2004. But Salido has lost two out of his last five fights, including his last fight against Gamboa in September 2010. By putting Lopez in with a fighter that is coming off a loss in his last fight, Arum is taking a page out of the playbook of another one of his fighters Manny Pacquiao.

I expected better from Lopez, because up until he started with the cherry picking against and old Rafael Marquez, Lopez had been facing quality guys. But he’s now looking to take on Salido, who just go schooled by Gamboa. That fight wasn’t competitive at all and I don’t see any point of Lopez facing a guy that’s coming off a loss in his last fight like Salido has. Doesn’t Arum have any better ideas than this? Come on, how about putting Lopez in with Hozumi Hasegawa. That would be a great fight and would be something that might interest Lopez.