JUAN MANUEL LOPEZ vs STEVEN LUEVANO

After his desperate struggle with Rogers Mtagwa in October, Juan Manuel Lopez decided that making 122 pounds was taking too much out of him. On Saturday, the undefeated Puerto Rican steps into the featherweight ranks to challenge Steven Luevano for the WBO championship in an all-southpaw fight that will be televised on HBO.

The oddsmakers have made Lopez a clear favourite, with a perception that it was the effects of weight-making that caused his rather alarming fade towards the end of the fight with a very tough and determined Mtagwa. We will soon find out.

Luevano has always seemed to me to be one of the most underrated fighters in the game. He is a technically sound, clever and smart fighter who is stronger and tougher than he looks.

Lopez has the flashier skills and is the more explosive type of fighter. Luevano can punch but Lopez has the firepower to blow people out. He was looking so powerful that many believed he would slam Mtagwa out of the fight in short order. My pal Jack Obermayer, the long-serving New Jersey writer and aficionado, told me he thought it would be a moral victory for Mtagwa to last six rounds. This was the general perception. If we throw out the Mtagwa fight and look at Lopez’s quick blowout over Daniel Ponce De Leon and the relentless pressure he exhibited in stopping Gerry Penalosa it is difficult to see Luevano winning on Saturday.

Luevano was down against another Puerto Rican southpaw, Mario Santiago, in their entertaining draw and he suffered a knockdown against the tough Thai, Terdsak. In his last fight, Luevano was dropped heavily by an after-the-bell shot from the Filipino, Bernabe Concepcion. I can picture Lopez catching and hurting Luevano, either with the left hand or the right hook.

Yet Luevano is one of those deceptively talented fighters, someone who is probably more difficult to fight than it might appear from outside the ropes. He has a good jab and hits sharply with the left hand, and he moves well. His camp believes that Luevano was getting away from what he does best, which is disciplined, controlled boxing, and trying to be too much of a crowd-pleaser in the fight with Santiago, and it got him into trouble.

I think that Luevano will be focusing on scoring points and being smart in Saturday’s fight. I don’t see him taking too many chances. His jabs can keep him in the fight even if Lopez is having strong rounds, and Luevano’s left hands and combinations are likely to be a problem for the Puerto Rican boxer. Luevano is big-hearted, too. He will fight back strongly if Lopez lands good shots. Luevano is such a nice, easy-going individual that we can forget that he has the instincts of a true fighter.

This is an excellent match and I think it will be well-fought and possibly quite enthralling. I have to go with Lopez, though. I think that there is something special about him, a certain star quality. He should be strong and dangerous at 126 pounds, and I think we will see him looking to be aggressive and assertive. He looks just a bit quicker, a bit more powerful, just a touch more naturally gifted than Luevano.

I believe that Luevano is as good as he is going to get, while Lopez just seems to me to be a fighter with untapped potential. I expect a long fight, with Lopez inching his way in front as the rounds go by and coming on in the later stages. A points win for Lopez looks the most likely outcome, although a stoppage win for the Puerto Rican fighter in the last three rounds seems a possibility.

Note: This preview was written away from base and without access to my research material.