Juan Manuel Lopez facing a possible long suspension and big fine

By Boxing News - 04/02/2012 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: Former WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez (31-2, 28 KO’s) is looking at a possible lengthy suspension today when the Puerto Rican Boxing Commission meet to decide Lopez’s fate to determine whether they should give him a long suspension with a fine or a short one.

This is for the comments that the 28-year-old Lopez made about referee Robert Ramirez in which Lopez, unhappy with the referee for having stopped Lopez’s fight against Orlando Salido in the 10th round on March 10th giving Lopez a TKO loss, said that Ramirez had a gambling problem when interviewed on live television after the fight.

Lopez clearly didn’t know what he was saying nor did appear to grasp fully the ramifications of making a statement like that on air in front of thousands of people.

A suspension lasting until September 2013 has been mentioned along with a fine. A suspension of that kind would wipe out the remaining eight months of 2012 and would add another eight months in 2013. We’re looking at Lopez facing a year and half suspension for the comments he made after having been TKO’ed by the hard hitting Salido. Lopez took a lot of head shots in the fight and to have someone stick a microphone in your face immediately after the fight when Lopez may not be still thinking clearly due to the punishment he took in the fight, it’s just doesn’t seem quite fair.

I could understand Lopez receiving a fine and possibly a short suspension, but to knock off a 16 months from his career at this point might have crippling effect on him. You can an athlete out of that long of a period and it’s likely they’re going to lose a lot of their ability. With Lopez, that could pretty much finish off his career. He’s already been stopped in his last two fights and there’s big question marks about whether he can ever be what he once was.