Lopez Getting Drilled
New York, NY– The stakes are high and fists will fly in reprise of one of last years most brutal slug fests when rugged mexican madman WBO featherweight (126 lbs) belt holder Orlando Salido (37-11-2, 25 KOs) attempts to defend his trophy against fierce former champion Juan Manuel Lopez (31-1, 28 KOs) in a schedule 12 rounds of pound at Coliseo Roberto Clemente, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Saturday at 10 PM ET on Showtime.
FIRST FIGHT WAS HELL TO PAY FOR BOTH
In what was without a doubt one of the most gnarly throw downs of 2011, Orlando Salido and Juan Manuel Lopez, to put it simply: beat the ever loving shit out of each other. Over the course of their electrifying affair, both combatants fought evenly until referee Robert Ramirez had enough of the carnage and stopped the debauchery at the half way mark of round 8 ( W Salido TKO 8 ) handing Lopez his first professional defeat.
BEEN THERE DONE THAT, STILL GOIN’ PLACES
Streaky former champion Orlando Salido’s career has seen many ups and downs. Going into his last fight against Juan Lopez, Orlando’s record (to most experts) suggested him to be somewhat of “a has been, never will be” type of fighter. However, it was heavily overlooked that most of his defeats came from the hands of some of the best fighters in his division. During those setbacks, for the most part, Salido gave a valiant effort resulting with him answering the final bell and leaving his mark (in more ways then one) on his opponent. As seen in his most recent effort against Juan, Salido throws in large volumes and packs a nasty punch. Another dangerous attribute is that Orlando appears to become stronger as the fight goes on. A superior quality to possess in a taxing sports such as boxing.
NATURAL BORN SLUGGER
Boasting a knockout percentage of 90 percent, free-spirited combination throwing Juan Lopez has shown “lights out” type power. Contrast to his barrage of terror, Juan has shown a multiplicity of craft and intestinal fortitude; attributes that were highlighted by answering the final bell in his “life and death” battle with Rogers Mtagwa (W Lopez, UD 12). By displaying “heart”, which is a scarce trait of many of today’s prize fighters, “Juan Ma” is a rare breed. After his blistering epic with Mtagwa, by knocking out 3 straight top featherweights in Steven Luevano (W TKO 7), Bernabe Concepcion (W TKO 2), and the great Rafael Marquez (W TKO 8), Lopez had looked nothing short of menacing. However, in his next affair against Orlando Salido, Juan’s pride got the better of him and a whimsical carefree style of reckless abandonment surfaced. Albeit a commendable effort for Lopez against Orlando, he did get his “bell rung” some (L TKO 8). Postmortem, “Juanma” returned six months later with a second round TKO win over decent scrapper Mike Oliver.
PREDICTION? PAIN.
My usual opinion about rematches is that the guy that won the first time wins even more decisively the next time. While this theory doesn’t always come to fruition, (e.g. Rahman v Lewis II) I am going with my usual thrum for this one. I feel Salido is just to damn stubborn, confidant, and hungry to lose this contest. Also, throw in the fact that Lopez is very hittable and most likely gonna try to “war” with Orlando to prove himself to his adoring fans, something I feel he will fail at and get beaten up badly. Salido KO 9 in another amazing battle.
UNDER CARD GOT SOMETHIN’ FOR YA
Up and coming featherweight (126) power puncher Miguel Garcia (27-0, 23 KOs) will trade hands with highly entertaining scrapper Bernabe Concepcion (29-5-1, 15 KOs) over 10 rounds or less.
John Signorella