By Dan Ambrose: It’s often easier for a previous winner to once again come out on top in rematches because of the confidence and memory that a fighter has from the last fight. It doesn’t even matter if the other guy came in with an excellent game plan, they still lose. I think this is going to be the case for Juan Manuel Lopez (31-1, 28 KO’s) when he attempts to avenge his previous defeat at the hands of Orlando Salido (37-11-2, 25 KO’s) in their upcoming fight on March 10th in Puerto Rico.

Lopez’s promoter Bob Arum made the mistake last time of matching Lopez with Salido thinking that Lopez was good enough to handle Salido the same way one of Arum’s other fighters Yuriorkis Gamboa had seven months earlier in September 2010. But things didn’t work out for Arum when his fighter Lopez was battered by the powerful and highly skilled Mexican Salido and then taken out in the 8th round last year in April 2011.

Lopez and a lot of his Puerto Rican fans thought the fight shouldn’t have been stopped but it was the wisest thing that could have been done because Lopez was getting rocked with every shot that Salido threw in the 8th round. The referee Roberto Ramirez did Lopez a good deed by stepping in and stopping it before Lopez could be seriously hurt.

Now Lopez thinks he’s ready to avenge the defeat and reclaim his World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight title against Salido on March 10h in front of Lopez’s loyal fans in Puerto Rico. I think it’s a really bad idea of Arum to allow Lopez to take this fight because Salido made it pretty clear in his win over Lopez that he’s the much superior fighter.

Lopez can’t fight hard for more than six rounds without gassing. And when he faces pressure, he falls apart unless he can knock the guy out quickly. Lopez doesn’t have the chin to stand up to the kinds of shots that he’s going to be getting nailed with by Salido.

I think this is a pride thing for Lopez. I’m sure Arum told him to move on and continue with the marination thing for a future fight against Gamboa, but Lopez probably stubbornly insisted on taking he fight against Arum’s advice and now he’s about to face the music.

I see Lopez lasting no more than six rounds this time under the furious assault from Salido.