THE “OTHER FIGHT” DESERVES SOME ATTENTION
Josesito Lopez Just Pizza For Saul Alvarez?
San Francisco, CA– This is a big weekend in Las Vegas for boxing. Mexican and Mexican-Americans, the sport’s real base here in the United States and in North America, have three of their own fighting as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will meet World middleweight (160 lbs) champion Sergio Martinez of Argentina (now Riverside, CA) at the Thomas & Mack Arena, located off the strip at the UNLV campus. At the same time, it’s “Mexican vs. Mexican American” as WBC 154 lb. guy Saul Alvarez meets Josesito Lopez at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
ALVAREZ HAS FOUGHT A LOT OF EASY GUYS
Saul Alvarez, a TV phenom when it comes to commercials and the like in his homeland is 40-0-1, 29 KOs as a professional boxer. Now while that record looks all sporty and unblemished, truth be told the best fighter “Canelo” Alvarez has ever faced was the near 40-year old Shane Mosley, who probably hit his peak as lightweight (135) champion, this before moving to 147 and 154 lbs., Shane was as shot as Tupac! With nothing but his name left, Mosley (46-8-1, 39 KOs) never had a chance and was thrashed over 12 rounds, losing all 12 on my card.
LOPEZ IS A SMALL SLICE OF GOLDEN BOY PIZZA
Initially, Lopez (30-4, 18 KOs) was nothing more than “fast food” for Victor Ortiz and was losing until he broke Ortiz’s jaw and netting an inside the distance stoppage. Lopez, a natural 140 lb. boxer who had lost his prior fight to Jessie Vargas (19-0, 9 KOs) before the upset of Ortiz at 147 lbs. in June. Ortiz, a prohibitive betting favorite was signed to fight Alvarez. But with Ortiz losing, Team Alvarez went looking for their next piece of pizza. Erislandy Lara was turned down, as were a number of worthy opponents and Golden Boy Promotions ended up selecting a small slice compared to Alvarez who is a full pizza pie.
FACE FIRST STYLE MADE FOR ALVAREZ
Although Lopez is tough and rugged, his “face-first” style along with the difference in size makes this look like a mismatch as Saul, although he’s as green as guacamole and that’s why Golden Boy went with Josesito Lopez. If this fight goes the route, Lopez will have taken a thorough beating. If the fight gets stopped early, real early, Lopez might not suffer any residual effects and drop back to 140 where he belongs. Game as he is, Josesito is going against size, age, and oh, the “house” fighter, this makes him a 7-1 underdog here.
Pedro Fernandez