Juan Manuel Lopez - You could see his Demise coming for Months...

Juan Manuel Lopez - You could see his Demise coming for Months...

By Steve Kim, MaxBoxing (April 18, 2011) Doghouse Boxing (Photo © Tom Casino / SHOWTIME)
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You could see the demise of Juan Manuel Lopez coming for months, if not miles. Back when you saw him in Las Vegas during the weekend of Nonito Donaire-Fernando Montiel, he looked awfully heavy. It went much further than just the usual puffiness you see from fighters in-between assignments. As I mentioned it to Bob Arum at a press conference held that day at Lupo's inside of Mandalay Bay, where various fights on Top Rank's schedule were announced, Arum said to me bluntly, "That's nothing; you should've seen him two weeks ago."

There were some who were troubled by his trip to the Philippines in late December for Manny Pacquiao's annual birthday bash. This was a perfect storm of distractions, from his marital problems, the excess poundage and then the late pissing contest with fellow Puerto Rican Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. and, folks, Orlando Salido isn't the type of guy you want to face in these situations. Salido is the classic Mexican tough guy who has a bad record, which has made him a damn good fighter. Salido is the Mexican version of Glen Johnson (although, believe it or not, he's just 30 years old), both guys who were never protected, had to go out on the road and each have double-digit losses on the “L” side of their ledgers (Johnson has 14, Salido 11). However, those experiences have steeled and galvanized them.

They are hard men, ones that have to be at less-than-optimum to overcome.

With Lopez coming in soft, well, what took place at the Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez isn't THAT big of a surprise. Lopez simply didn't have his legs by the fourth round and as Lopez couldn't really hurt Salido- who hasn't been halted in over a decade- he got walked down by the rugged Mexican. As he was sent crashing to the canvas in the fifth by a booming right-hand, “JuanMa” knew this wasn't going to be his night. No matter how passionately the partisans in Bayamon tried to exhort their man, it wasn't going to matter.

Yeah, the stoppage in the eighth frame from referee Roberto Ramirez Jr. was a tad premature but that thing was going all downhill for Lopez at that juncture. It saved him from taking undue punishment, the type that shortens careers.

Arum is already talking about a rematch in November in either New York or Puerto Rico. You can expect a more focused Lopez this time around. But here's the thing; it still may not be enough. Top Rank matchmakers believed this was a tough fight for Lopez, regardless of his mental and physical condition.

- Salido showed that you don't have to be a speedster to cut off the ring against a lefthander. From the very beginning, he moved toward his left and kept his lead foot on the outside of Lopez's. Gil Clancy would've been proud. As for Lopez, as he has become more and more reliant on his strong right hook. Like Miguel Cotto from the opposite side of the plate, he put more and more of his weight on his front foot and his back hand became less of a factor. This also made them easier targets as their chins seemed to hang over their front sides. Like Cotto before him, it looks like Lopez has fallen into the trap of becoming a bit one-dimensional.

Another thing I really like about Salido is that sneaky overhand right he throws. Not only does he hide it well from its delivery point, Salido basically leans to his left, as if he's going to throw a left hook to the body and comes instead with that booming shot, which he seems to time so well. Salido may not be flashy but turning pro at age 15 (yes, you read that correctly) and going through the hard knocks of the boxing business with basically no safety net have made this guy into a real fighter.

I can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com and I tweet at www.Twitter.com/stevemaxboxing. We also have a Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing.

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