Juan Manuel López (boxer) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Juan Manuel "Juanma" López Rivera (born June 30, 1983) is a Puerto Rican

Puerto Rican people

A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...

professional

Professional Boxing

Professional boxing, or prizefighting, emerged in the early twentieth century as boxing gradually attained legitimacy and became a regulated, sanctioned sport. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse which is divided among the fighters and promoters as determined by contract...

boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

. As an amateur

Amateur boxing

Amateur boxing is practised at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games, and in many other venues sponsored by amateur boxing associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration and fighters wear head protection, so this type of competition prizes point-scoring rather...

, Lopez represented Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

at numerous international tournaments including the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games, 2003 Pan American Games

2003 Pan American Games

The 14th Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from 1 to 17 August 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when this country had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America....

and the 2004 Summer Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

. López's professional career began in 2005. As a professional he won his first nine fights by knockout before winning his first decision. On September 30, 2006 he defeated Jose Alonso to win the WBO Latino super bantamweight

Super Bantamweight

Super bantamweight is a weight division in professional boxing. The maximum weight for this division is 122 pounds, or roughly 55.34 kilograms....

Championship, a regional championship sanctioned by the World Boxing Organization

World Boxing Organization

The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...

. On June 7, 2008, Lopez defeated Daniel Ponce de León

Daniel Ponce de León

Daniel Ponce de León is a Mexican professional Boxer in the Featherweight division and was a member of the 2000 Mexican Olympics team...

by technical knockout to win the WBO super bantamweight championship. He held the title until January 23, 2009, vacating it after defeating Steven Luevano

Steven Luevano

Steven Luevano was a Mexican-American boxer in the Featherweight division and is the former WBO Featherweight Champion. He was trained by the former IBF Super Featherweight Champion Roberto Garcia....

for the organization's featherweight championship.

Personal life

López has a relationship with Bárbara De Jesús that has lasted for several years. The couple has two children, which share the house with three siblings. The couple met in a public housing project in Juncos where López's mother lived. In the beginning López's family did not support the relationship because De Jesús had three children from a previous relation. They eventually moved together and established a residence in Caguas. De Jesús plays a role in López's training, preparing seven daily meals and accompanying him in weight routines. Several members of their family attend his daily trainings, which he considers a "tranquility provider". De Jesús is also present in López's corner when a fight is in progress and receives a salary for scheduling his daily agenda. The couple held their civil wedding in August 2009. A catholic wedding was subsequently held on July 18, 2010. On February, 2011, only 7 months after his wedding, López filed a divorce claim against Bárbara De Jesús for undisclosed reasons.

López's professional success garnered him fame in Puerto Rico where he became a mainstream celebrity, having frequent participation in television segments transmitted throughout the archipelago. Due to this, he has attended public celebrations and other activities unrelated to pugilism, including the launch party for TV y Novelas Puerto Rico, a magazine focused in telenovela

Telenovela

A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...

s. Outside of his own fights, López also attends other boxing cards as a spectator and performed as guest commentator in an event titled Guerra Civil II headlined by a fight between Iván Calderón

Ivan Calderón (boxer)

Iván Calderón Marrero is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. As an amateur Calderón represented Puerto Rico in international competitions and attended the 2000 Olympic Games in Australia. On May 3, 2003, he won the World Boxing Organization's minimumweight championship when he defeated Eduardo...

and Nelson Dieppa

Nelson Dieppa

Nelson Dieppa is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. As an amateur, he represented Puerto Rico in international events including the 1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships, 1991 Pan American Games and the 1992 Summer Olympics. Dieppa debuted as a professional on February 13, 1993, when he defeated...

. He also participates in charity work, including the WBO's Christmas gift giveaways.

Amateur career

López started boxing when he was ten years old. He won the Puerto Rican national amateur championship for five consecutive years between 2000 and 2004. López represented Puerto Rico internationally, fighting in the bantamweight

Bantamweight

Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...

division (119 pounds (54 kg) in the amateur circuit). In the 2001 Pan American Championships held in San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

from August 10–18, López ended in the second place after Elio Rojas

Elio Rojas

Elio Rojas Elio Rojas Elio Rojas (born September 25, 1983, in Villa Rivas, Duarte, Dominican Republic is a Dominican Republican professional boxer.-Amateur Highlights:1999- Gold Medal in the Battle of Carabobo and Cheo Aponte Tournament....

of the Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

. He was part of the national team assembled to competed in the 2002

Boxing at the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games

The Boxing Tournament at the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games was held in San Salvador, El Salvador from November 29 to December 6.- Medal winners :-References:*...

Central American and Caribbean Games

2002 Central American and Caribbean Games

The 19th Central American and Caribbean Games were held in San Salvador, El Salvador from November 19 to November 30, 2002 and included 37 nations and a total number of 7,000 competitors. The main stadium for these championships was the Estadio Jorge "Mágico" González. Cuba did not participate...

, held in San Salvador

San Salvador

The city of San Salvador the capital and largest city of El Salvador, which has been designated a Gamma World City. Its complete name is La Ciudad de Gran San Salvador...

. In this competition, López debuted by defeating local pugilist, Antonio Nuñez, by points (23:16). But lost a decision to Abner Mares

Abner Mares

Abner Mares Martínez is an undefeated Mexican professional boxer in the Bantamweight division. Abner medaled repeatedly in international amateur tournaments for Mexico. Mares grew up in the city of Hawaiian Gardens, California.-Amateur career:As an amateur, Mares compiled a record of 112-8 with 84...

of Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, with scores of 23:19. In the first 2003 Pan American Qualifier, López debuted by defeating Francisco Palma of Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

, with scores of 12:8. In the semifinals, he lost to Alexander Espinoza

Alexander Espinoza

Alexander Espinoza Hernández is a bantamweight boxer from Venezuela, who represented his native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. He qualified for the Olympic Games by ending up in second place at the 2nd AIBA American 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil...

of Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

by points (11:10). His next major international event was the 2003

Boxing at the 2003 Pan American Games

The Men's Boxing Tournament at the 2003 Pan American Games was held in the Carlos Teo Cruz Boxing Coliseum in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from August 8 to August 15....

Pan American Games

2003 Pan American Games

, organized in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...

. Debuting in the preliminaries, López defeated Castulo González of Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

by points (27:10) in the inaugural fight. In the quarterfinals, he was matched against Mares, losing another fight by points, on this occasion with results of 24:21. López was among the Puerto Rican boxers that competed in the American Olympic Qualification tournament, which took place in Tijuana

Tijuana

Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...

. Beginning his participation on March 14, 2004, by defeating Roberto Benítez of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

via decision. In the tournament's second date, he defeated Algenis Méndez who represented the Dominican Republic by points. In the final, López lost a decision to Andrew Kooner

Andrew Kooner

Andrew Singh Kooner is a Canadian boxer.-Amateur career:Andrew Kooner moved to Tecumseh, Ontario at a young age and began boxing at age 13 out of a Windsor boxing club. At the 2000 Summer Olympics he lost in the 2nd round in the flyweight division...

of Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, with scores of 29:18. This performance earned him a position in the national team that participated at the 2004

Boxing at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Boxing at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place in the Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall. The event was only open to men and bouts were contested over four rounds of two minutes each...

Summer Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

, held in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

. As part of his training for that games, López participated in two "Puerto Rico vs. USA" tournaments, where both national teams paired those qualified for the event. The first of these took place on May 7, 2004, in Reno, Nevada

Reno, Nevada

Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...

. There, López defeated Eric Hunter by walkover. In the second, organized in Trenton, New Jersey

Trenton, New Jersey

Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...

on October 4, 2004, he defeated Torrence Daniels by points (16:15). This was followed by his last a participation in the Jose "Cheo" Aponte Tournament in Caguas, Puerto Rico

Caguas, Puerto Rico

Caguas , founded in 1775, is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey....

where he defeated Luis Peña in the finals, 33-5. López's Olympic debut took place on August 17, 2004, where he was paired against Khavazhi Khatsigov

Khavazhi Khatsigov

Khavazhi Khatsigov is a boxer from Belarus.He was born in Russia, but after his failure to join the Russian national team , he moved to Belarus in 1999....

of Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

, losing the contest by points (27:19). At the moment of closing his amateur career, he had compiled a record of 126-24.

Professional career

López turned professional in 2005 following the Olympic games, boxing in the junior featherweight division. As a professional he is promoted by Top Rank Boxing

Top Rank Boxing

Top Rank, Inc. is a Las Vegas based boxing promotion company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973. Since its founding, the company has promoted several world class fighters, such as Muhammad Ali, JI Penalver, Oscar De La Hoya, Roberto Durán, Joe Frazier,...

and comanaged by Orlando Piñero and Peter Rivera, president of Puerto Rico Best Boxing Promotions. López debuted on January 29, 2005, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico

Bayamón, Puerto Rico

Bayamón is a municipality of Puerto Rico located on the northern coastal valley, north of Aguas Buenas and Comerío; south of Toa Baja and Cataño; west of Guaynabo; and east of Toa Alta and Naranjito. Bayamón is spread over 11 wards and Bayamón Pueblo...

picking a quick knockout

Knockout

A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

victory against also debuting boxer Luis Colón. He would go on to defeat nine straight adversaries by knockout: Ivan Cordero, Efrain Perez, Eric Nemos, Charlie Jones, Roberto Chacón, Luis Bolaño, Manuel Sanabria and Jose Luis Caro. He concluded his first year as a professional with a record of 8–0 with eight knockouts, which earned him the Puerto Rico Boxing Commission's recognition for rookie and prospect of the year. On March 4, 2006, he won his first fight by unanimous decision against Gilberto Bolanos of Mexico

Mexico

. He would win four more fights before the end of 2006, three of them by knockout. One of these fights was against Jose Alonso, for the WBO Latino Super Bantamweight Championship, a regional championship sanctioned by the World Boxing Organization. The fight took place on September 30, 2006, in Caguas and ended in the third round when López defeated Alonso by technical knockout. His first fight of 2007 took place in Dodge Arena in Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

against Cuauhtemoc Vargas, in a fight he won when Vargas was unable to continue. He would compete again on March 3 in San Juan, against Leivi Brea, in a fight that he won by technical knockout. On April 28, 2007, López would have his first fight outside of Puerto Rico and the United States in a fight that took place in Barranquilla

Barranquilla

Barranquilla is an industrial port city and municipality located in northern Colombia, near the Caribbean Sea. The capital of the Atlántico Department, it is the largest industrial city and port in the Colombian Caribbean region with a population of 1,148,506 as of 2005, which makes it Colombia's...

, Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

. The fight was against Colombian boxer Jorge Otero, the fight ended when the referee stopped the fight thus giving López another technical knockout victory. López's next fight took place on June 22, 2007, in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico

Hato Rey, Puerto Rico

Hato Rey is a former ward located in the northwest part of the dissolved municipality of Río Piedras. It now stretches over three wards of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico:*Hato Rey Central*Hato Rey Norte*Hato Rey Sur...

against Giovanni Andrade of Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

as the main event of a card

Fight card

Fight card, more commonly known simply as the Card, is a term used to refer to all of the boxing, or another hand-to-hand contact sport such as MMA or kickboxing, matches that occur in the evening of a boxing event. The fight card typically consists of the main event and the undercard....

presented by Puerto Rico Best Boxing. López won the fight by technical knockout at 2:59 of the first round when Andrade indicated to the referee that he could not continue. On August 4, 2007, López retained his regional title in a fight where he defeated Hugo Dianzo by technical knockout. López dominated throughout the fight opening wounds on Dianzo's head. On the tenth round one of López's punches opened one of these wounds further which led to Dianzo losing a significant amount of blood, following this incident the referee stopped the fight. López would successfully defend his regional title against Omar Adorno, in a special fight card

Fight card

presented by the WBO that took place on October 31, 2007. Juan scored three knockdows throughout the course of the fight, and after two minutes of the second round had passed he won the fight by knockout. López's fourth title defense took place on February 23, 2008, when he defeated Jonathan Oquendo by technical knockout in the third round of an event titled Guerra Civil.

WBO super bantamweight title

On June 7, 2008, López fought in his first world championship match when he challenged Daniel Ponce de León

Daniel Ponce de León

Daniel Ponce de León is a Mexican professional Boxer in the Featherweight division and was a member of the 2000 Mexican Olympics team...

for the World Boxing Organization's super bantamweight title in a card organized by Home Box Office at the Boardwalk Hall

Boardwalk Hall

Boardwalk Hall, formally known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is an arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States...

in Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...

. He won by technical knockout in the first round, when the referee stopped the fight after Ponce de León failed to respond following two consecutive knockdowns. After attending several homages, presentations and interviews, López received his championship belt from the WBO's president, Francisco "Paco" Valcárcel, on June 13, 2008. During this ceremony, he received a letter from Wilfredo Gómez

Wilfredo Gómez

Wilfredo Gómez , sometimes referred to as Bazooka Gómez, is a former boxer and three time world champion.-Biography:...

, offering congratulations and predicting a solid career. López's first defense was against César Figueroa and it took place on October 4, 2008, in an event titled "The First Step" which was organized at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum

José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum

The José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, officially named "Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot" , is the biggest indoor arena in Puerto Rico dedicated to entertainment...

in Puerto Rico. The opponent in this contest was originally expected to be Olivier Lontchi

Olivier Lontchi

Olivier Lontchi, is a Cameroon-born Canada based professional boxer who fights in the super bantamweight division. Lontchi is the current NABA super bantamweight champion and like fellow Cameroon born fighter Herman Ngoudjo he is trained by Howard Grant and based in Montreal.-Amateur...

, but he was discarded after earning a draw against what was perceived as a "low quality" adversary. His entrance featured fireworks and personalized music composed by Baby Rasta & Gringo, while Félix Trinidad

Félix Trinidad

Félix 'Tito' Trinidad, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional boxer, considered one of the best in Puerto Rico's history. After winning five National Amateur Championships in Puerto Rico, he debuted as a professional when he was 17. He won his first world championship when he defeated Maurice Blocker...

and Iván Calderón accompanied him in the ring. The fight lasted only 47 seconds, López began by boxing around the ring and throwing sporadic jabs, but in his first offensive attempt he connected a combination that left Figueroa unconscious. Roberto Ramírez, the fight's referee, concluded the protection count without response and stopped the contest by knockout. This marked the fifth fastest knockout victory in a title fight, superating Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson

Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...

's win over

Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks

Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks was a boxing match which took place on 27 June 1988. Both men were undefeated and each had a claim to being the legitimate heavyweight champion; Tyson held the WBA, WBC and IBF belts, while Spinks held the Ring Magazine belt and was considered the lineal champion.Held...

Michael Spinks

Michael Spinks is a retired American boxer who was a world champion in the light-heavyweight and heavyweight divisions...

. Two days after this fight, Bob Arum

Bob Arum

Robert "Bob" Arum is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. He also worked for the US Attorney's Office for the southern district of New York in the tax division....

confirmed that López would be featured as part of "The Dream Match

De La Hoya-Pacquiao boxing match

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao, also billed as The Dream Match, was a professional boxing welterweight superfight. The bout took place on December 6, 2008 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Pacquiao defeated De La Hoya via technical knockout when De La Hoya...

" card, which presented a fight between Manny Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao

Emmanuel "Manny" Dapidran Pacquiao, PLH is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is the first eight-division world champion; having won six world titles, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the...

and Oscar De La Hoya

Oscar de la Hoya

Oscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...

in the main event. López began training again on October 13, 2008, seeking to conserve and improve his physical condition for this event. During this week, Israel Vázquez

Israel Vázquez

Israel Vázquez Castañeda is a Mexican professional boxer. He is a former Super Bantamweight world champion, having held titles at this weight from 2004 to 2008...

responded to a challenge issued following the defense against Figueroa, stating that a matchup between both pugilists would be "interesting" because it would "be a challenge". López concured, noting that after a preparatory fight in 2009, the plan would be to organize the fight in New York, the night before the Puerto Rican Day Parade

Puerto Rican Day Parade

The Puerto Rican Day Parade takes place annually along Fifth Avenue in New York City, on the second Sunday in June, in honor of the nearly 4 million inhabitants of Puerto Rico and all people of Puerto Rican birth or heritage residing in the mainland U.S...

. Approaches were made to several of the ranked pugilists, with Sergio Medina and Bernabé Concepción emerging as tentative opponents. The WBO's bantamweight champion, Gerry Peñalosa

Gerry Peñalosa

Geronimo Peñalosa , more commonly known as Gerry Peñalosa, is a retired Filipino professional boxer....

, expressed interest in pursuing the fight after Abner Mares was injured, but his proposal included a guarantee of $250,000 in earnings, which wasn't considered as cost effective by López and his staff. In the meanwhile, he received a homage as part of the Dominican Parade in San Juan, serving as Padrino Internacional (lit. "International Godfather") along Calderón.

Medina, who at the moment was ranked fourth by the WBO, was ultimately selected as the adversary for the event organized on December 6, 2008. During the activities organized prior to this card, López met Vázquez and Rafael Márquez

Rafael Márquez (boxer)

Rafael Márquez Méndez is a Mexican professional boxer. He is a former world champion at the IBF / IBO Bantamweight and WBC Super Bantamweight divisions....

in person, with both of them expressing interest in competing against him during 2009. The fight lasted 1:38, being stopped by the referee in the first round, when López scored three consecutive knockdowns. According to Compubox

Compubox

CompuBox is the name of a computerized punches scoring system run by two operators. CompuBox is used in boxing matches across the world.The system is based on a computer program, originally named FightStat, developed by Jon Gibbs in 1984-85 when Gibbs worked with Logan Hobson and Robert Canobbio at...

, Medina was only able to land one punch in six attempts, while exhibiting a timid pace. López took offensive initiative and continued in control of the fight's tempo throughout the contest. In recognition to his performance during 2008, López received numerous recognitions including "Athlete of the Year" awards from Primera Hora and the Museo del Deporte de Puerto Rico, in addition he was included in a list titled Los pioneros del año published by El Nuevo Día
El Nuevo Día
El Nuevo Día is a Puerto Rican newspaper based in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico and distributed daily throughout Puerto Rico and some parts of the United States.- History :...

, which discussed the year's most notorious public figures. On February 10, 2009, Golden Boy Promotions

Golden Boy Promotions

Golden Boy Promotions, Inc. is a combat sport promotional firm started by former boxer six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya...

' vice president, Eric Gómez, confirmed that López's first mandatory defense would be against Peñalosa.

The event was held on April 25, 2009, being dubbed "Campeón vs.Campeón", emphasizing that both boxers were champions entering the contest. Early in the fight, both pugilists exchanged combinations, with López gaining an slight advantage by targeting the head and body of Peñalosa. This pattern continued in the third and fourth rounds, while the challenger continued counterattacking despite receiving more damage. Between the fifth and sixth chapters, both pugilists exchanged combinations, with Peñalosa scoring his most solid punches. During the following two rounds, López managed to establish control of the offensive's tempo, but Peñalosa continued using his counterattack. Prior to the ninth chapter, Peñalosa's trainer, Freddie Roach, warned him that he had to win by knockout or the fight would be stopped. In the round, the pattern continued with few variations, once it was over Roach submitted the fight. With this technical knockout, López became the first boxer to defeat the veteran by knockout. After the fight, Peñalosa received an ovation from the public for his effort. Throughout the fight, López established divisional records, breaking the marks for most power punches landed in a round and most power punches thrown in a round, both were achieved during the eight round.

Subsequently, López defended against Oliver Lontchi. The pugilist began the fight calmly. In the second round, López scored a knockdown. Consequently, Lontchi switched to a defensive tactic during the following round, before beginning to exchange combinations. López was scoring the stronger punches during these exchanges, winning the sixth and seventh chapters. In the ninth, Lontchi received a second knockdown and his corner decided to stop the fight during the recess. In his last fight at the super bantamweight division, López defended against Rogers Mtagwa. The first stage of the fight featured a head clash that injured López's left eye. In the fifth round, the pugilist scored a knockdown, but Mtagwa recovered and continued. In the eight round, López engaged on the offensive, gaining advantage. Mtagwa scored punches after the bell in the eight and ninth rounds. Despite holding a lead on the scorecards, López decided to continue trading in the latter half of the fight. In the final minute of the eleventh round, Mtagwa injured him with a punch, but was not able to score a knockdown. López, still injured, employed a defensive stance throughout the twelfth round, surviving to receive a unanimous decision with scores of 116-111, 115-111 and 114-113.

Featherweight division

Immediately following this fight, plans to fight Steven Luevano

Steven Luevano

for the WBO featherweight championship were made public. An economic agreement was reached in November 2009. The event was organized on January, 2010, at Madison Square Garden. Both boxed around the ring during the first round, with López gaining a slight advantage. Luevano used his speed to employ a constant jab during the second round, working on counter-punches, which left him open to a combination to end that stage. López began pursuing the offensive during the third round, employing combinations and pursuing Luevano, who attempted to counter. This pattern persisted during the following two rounds. By the sixth round López's offensive had damaged Luevano's left eye, which began to swell. In the seventh round López scored a knockdown following a combination. Luevano was able to stand up but was still injured, which prompted the referee to stop the fight by technical knockout.

López's first featherweight defense took place on July 10, 2010, against the WBO's mandatory challenger, Bernabé Concepción

Bernabe Concepcion

Bernabe "Abe" Concepcion is a Filipino featherweight boxer. Concepcion resides in Viga, Catanduanes, Philippines. Being from a boxing-oriented family, he trained from a young age. He turned professional at the age of 16.-Early life:...

. The first round began with both boxers circling around the ring, studying their respective opponent. During an exchange Concepción received a left hook that forced him to fall back against the ropes, López then engaged on the offensive, scoring a knockdown. This pattern continued, with Concepción staying on the offensive until he was able to counter and score a knockdown. López began the second round more aggressive, scoring two consecutive knockdowns, which prompted the referee to stop the fight by technical knockout.

With this outcome, previous negotiations with Rafael Márquez's camp continued, pursuing an autumn date for the contest. September 18, 2010, was the original scheluded date, but an injury suffered by Márquez during training forced posponement. The event was re-scheluded for November 6, 2010. López won the fight by a TKO in the 9th round, when Márquez refused to come back to fight due to an injured shoulder. On April 16, 2011, he lost the WBO title to Orlando Salido

Orlando Salido

Orlando Salido Rivera is a Mexican professional boxer. Salido is the current WBO Featherweight Champion and the former IBF Featherweight Champion. Eight of his losses happened between the ages of 15 and 21....

via technical knockout.

Professional boxing record

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|31 Wins (28 knockouts), 1 Loss, 0 Draws
|-
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Res.
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Record
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponnent
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Rd., Time
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes
|-align=center
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Orlando Salido

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|Win||31-1||align=left|

Mike Oliver
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|Loss||30-1||align=left|

Orlando Salido

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Rafael Márquez

Rafael Márquez (boxer)

Rafael Márquez Méndez is a Mexican professional boxer. He is a former world champion at the IBF / IBO Bantamweight and WBC Super Bantamweight divisions....

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|Win||29-0||align=left|

Bernabé Concepción

Bernabe Concepcion

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|Win||28-0||align=left|

Steven Luevano

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|Win||27-0||align=left|

Rogers Mtagwa

Rogers Mtagwa is a Tanzanian professional boxer who currently competes in the featherweight and super bantamweight divisions. Mtagwa is most notable for having fought for a version of the world title at both featherweight and super bantamweight...

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|Win||26-0||align=left|

Olivier Lontchi

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Gerry Peñalosa

Geronimo Peñalosa , more commonly known as Gerry Peñalosa, is a retired Filipino professional boxer....

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|Win||24-0||align=left|

Sergio Manuel Medina
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Cesar Figueroa
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Daniel Ponce de León

Daniel Ponce de León is a Mexican professional Boxer in the Featherweight division and was a member of the 2000 Mexican Olympics team...

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|Win||21-0||align=left|

Jonathan Oquendo

Jonathan "Polvo" Oquendo is a professional boxer from Puerto Rico. He is trained by the well known Puerto Rican boxing trainer, Roberto Nevarez....

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Omar Adorno
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Hugo Dianzo
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Giovanni Andrade
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|Win||17-0||align=left|

Jorge Otero
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|Win||16-0||align=left|

Leivi Brea
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|Win||15-0||align=left|

Cuauhtemoc Vargas
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|Win||14-0||align=left|

Jose Alonso
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Edel Ruiz
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Sergio Mendez
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Alberto Chuc
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Gilberto Bolanos
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Jose Luis Caro
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|Win||8-0||align=left|

Manuel Sarabia
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Luis Bolano
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Roberto Chacon
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Charles Jones
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Eric Nemo
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Efrain Perez
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Ivan Cordero
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Luis Daniel Colon
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Professional championships

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Personal life

Amateur career

Professional career

WBO super bantamweight title

Featherweight division

Professional boxing record

Professional championships

See also

External links