By Dan Ambrose: Undefeated WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez (30-0, 27 KO’s) plans on moving up in weight to the super featherweight division in 2012 after fighting Orlando Salido (34-11-2, 22 KO’s) on April 16th, and then a rematch with aging 35-year-old Rafael Marquez (39-6, 35 KO’s) later on in the year. Lopez already stopped Marquez last year in an 8th round retirement.

What Lopez isn’t saying is when/if he’ll be facing fellow Top Rank fighter Yuriorkis Gamboa. That’s the only fight that boxing fans really want to see involving Lopez right now, yet he’s going in the opposite direction of that fight by taking on Salido, Marquez and then moving up in weight.

There’s nothing and no one at super featherweight that’s worth watching Lopez fight. Look at the champions: Ricky Burns, Mazonke Fana, Takahiro Aoh, and Takashi Uchiyama. Who would want to see Lopez fight any of those guys? I wouldn’t. Lopez might as well skip super featherweight altogether rather than wasting a fight beating one of those champions. The super featherweight used to be one of the best in boxing but it’s completely dead and devoid of popular fighters at this point. Lopez should stay at featherweight, forget about Salido and Marquez, and just fight Gamboa.

Lopez would also be better off staying at that weight because Nonito Donaire will soon be moving up to that weight in the near future. By moving up to super featherweight to fight guys that don’t interest the casual boxing fans, Lopez will be going in the opposite direction of the biggest fights for him. Lopez could get a couple of decent fights if he moves to lightweight, but only if Brandon Rios stays at that weight.

Juan Manuel Marquez is already looking to move up, so he won’t be around. Humberto Soto is about to move up, and that’s pretty much it in terms of interesting fights at lightweight. I would hate to see Lopez going after old timers like Marco Antonio Barrera, but I wouldn’t be surprised. If Lopez is interested in fighting needless bouts against guys like Salido, who’s coming off a loss to Gamboa, and looking to fight Marquez again, then I can see him going after Barrera.