Robert Jackson: Juanma’s emotional accusatory rant directed towards referee Roberto Ramirez after Saturday night’s fight ending TKO loss for the 2nd time to Orlando Salido has cost him a year, so say the WBO. The WBO yesterday suspended Juan Manuel Lopez for a year (Lopez has 5 days to respond). But what does this mean for Lopez?
At 28, Lopez will be missing out on a year of his prime for fighting.. But as far as Lopez looked Saturday nite, this brief respite could provide him some relief and rest, while also giving him time to make other arrangements as far as continuing his career is concerned. What arrangements you might ask?
Lopez before facing Salido – a journeyman type fighter, was 30-0 ; now 31-2, Lopez needs to retool his skills if he’s to advance and fulfill the promise of his Puerto Rican fighting roots. Lopez showed a lot of heart Saturday nite but he was beaten by a more skillful fighter. Any arrangements that Lopez would make could involve hiring another trainer to give him an advanced boxing education; Emanuel Steward comes to mind here. Freddie Roach is another option that could be considered, seeing how he’s improved the once one-handed Manny Pacquiao. Lopez needs to be more agile in his movement, more versatile in his offense and develop better defense, he also needs to be more relaxed in the ring. Any of the Mayweather brothers could serve Lopez well in all 4 of the aforementioned areas.
With all that being said, the year out of the ring will give Lopez a chance to rest, then go back to the drawing board so when he returns, it won’t go unnoticed. The time off will give Lopez time to perfect and burn into his muscle memory – in the gym at least, an improved style of fighting which will serve him well if he’s to advance up the boxing pyramid to the top. He may also want to return at lightweight rather than featherweight because of his struggles to make weight.