Juan Manuel Lopez (26-0, 24KOs) has had a smooth ascension through the professional ranks. Part of that has been by design, a result of expert matchmaking courtesy of Top Rank. The other half has been Lopez's uncanny ability to raise his game when faced with daunting challenges.
There have not been too many perceived challenges to date, but when tested with the likes of a Daniel Ponce De Leon or Gerry Penalosa, the man nicknamed "Juanma" has passed with flying colors. If history prevails on Satuday evening at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden, Rogers Mtagwa (25-12-2, 18KOs) does not stand much of a chance.
"He's a real tough guy and I know he can take a lot of punches," Lopez said. "I don't think it's going to be an easy fight, and I know it is going to be hard to get it."
If Lopez prevails as expected, the attention will turn to the Cuban Featherweight sensation fighting in the co-feature, Yuriorkis Gamboa. Juanma, who has fought at or near the Junior Featherweight limit for his entire career, has discussed moving up to Featherweight in the near future. Without a plethora of big names at 126 pounds, Gamboa has emerged as the first logical super-fight for Juanma.
"A lot of people are talking about Gamboa, but I don't think about that," Lopez said. "I think about my next fight. {The} Gamboa fight may happen, but that is far down the road."
Now, with Gamboa looming as a potential opponent sometime in 2010, Juanma will be unable to dodge those questions. If he is to follow in the footprints of Puerto Rican icons Felix Trinidad and Miguel Cotto, he needs a name like Gamboa on his ledger. On the way to superstardom, the 26-year-old says all the right things
"I know people expect a lot out of me," Lopez said through an interpreter at Tuesday's media workout. "That's why I work so hard."
Like his countryman Cotto, there is a strictly businesslike approach to everything he does, from the way he dissects his opponents to the congenial manner in which he carries himself. There is no hooting and hollering from his entourage, no boisterous proclamations of pugilistic immortality. But he is cognizant that the skills writers and fans rave about have not been fully displayed.
"My skills have always been there, but I don't get to use them," Lopez said. "I have not had someone to push me."
Maybe that man will be Rogers Mtagwa. Crazier things have happened. Gamboa will have to wait.