• JUAN MANUEL “Juanma” LOPEZ
• Updated: 082708
• Age: 25 (6-30-83)
• Residence: Caguas, Puerto Rico
• Birthplace: Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico
• Record: 22-0, 20 KOs
• Height: 5’7”
• Reach: 68”
• Manager: Antonio Pinero
• Trainer: Alex Caraballo

JUAN MANUEL “Juanma” LOPEZ (22-0, 20 KOs)

World championship fights: 1-0, 1 KO...

WBO jr. featherweight world champion...

Former WBO Latino jr. featherweight champion, three successful defenses...

2004 Olympic representative for Puerto Rico, 119 pounds…

At the age of 25, Juan is a three-year pro. The WBO jr. featherweight world champion, he won the title with a spectacular first-round TKO against defending champion Daniel Ponce De Leon in his last fight in June, 2008.

After the fight, Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com [excerpts]: Who saw this coming? Lopez went from hot prospect and rising contender to bona fide real deal with this electrifying and unexpected destruction of Ponce De Leon. It was not so much that the 24-year-old 2004 Puerto Rican Olympian defeated Mexico’s hard-hitting Ponce De Leon, 27, but the manner in which he did it that was so surprising. Lopez recorded two knockdowns and needed just 2:25 to get rid of Ponce De Leon, who was making his seventh title defense.

Lopez, on the radar screen of prospect watchers for years, delivered on the potential that so many believed he had. He looks like the total package. He has speed, power, boxing ability and one of the most devastating right hooks in the sport. Even though the fight was short, he also displayed a solid chin by withstanding some hard shots from Ponce De Leon, one of boxing’s best punchers.

Lopez has a good chance to become a major star because of the love he’ll get at home in Puerto Rico. Top Rank knows how to develop Puerto Rican fighters, too.

Fightwriter.com’s Graham Houston reported [excerpts]: The fight that I was looking forward to most of all this weekend turned out to be an astonishing one-round blowout as Juan Manuel Lopez destroyed Daniel Ponce De Leon in two minutes, 25 seconds.

One moment De Leon was steaming in, looking strong, and, as HBO analyst Emanuel Steward said, comfortable - the next moment he was on the floor.

A star was born, certainly, as the HBO commentary team agreed - Lopez was sensational.

I had been aware of the possibility that De Leon might get thoroughly outboxed in the 122-pound title bout, but I must confess I had never dreamed that he wouldn’t even make it through the first round.

In fact, the one thing most people were agreed upon was that De Leon would have Lopez under pressure in a long fight, even if he was getting outpointed.

After all, De Leon had never shown a chin problem.... De Leon stood up to some heavy hits from Gerry Penalosa, and the Filipino can really bang. The freakishly tall and hurtful hitting Celestino Caballero landed his best punches and the game De Leon kept taking the fight to him for 12 rounds - and even won the last round on the scorecards.

So, for De Leon to get knocked out in one round has to be considering really surprising, shocking even - but, well, that’s boxing.

Full credit to Lopez, who stayed cool and composed under De Leon’s initial heavy-handed assault, waited for the right moment to fire back, then caught his fellow-southpaw with a full-leverage right hook that simply blasted the Mexican slugger out of the fight. Even though De Leon got up he was gone, and Lopez’s finishing barrage was brutal to behold. When De Leon went down for the second time, referee Michael Ortega didn’t bother to count.

Juan was an amateur star in Puerto Rico - a five-time national champion and 2004 Olympian.

He said through an interpreter, “I train at Jose “Cheo Aponte” Torres Gym in Caguas.

“I’m naturally lefthanded. I’m an aggressive fighter, I go forward. I think I have a good defense and other skills. I couldn’t really tell you where the power comes from. My mom and dad are big people, they always looked very strong to me. Maybe it’s just something I have inside of me.

“People talk about me as being the next great boxer from Puerto Rico. A lot of people compare my style to Wilfredo Gomez, and they say my power is something that they rarely see at this weight. I just think it’s because I’m so disciplined.

“I think I have some similarities with Gomez, but I have other things, too. I think my style is not like any other boxer’s. My favorite fighters are Felix Trinidad and Roy Jones. I always liked Oscar De La Hoya, too.”

Regarding his nickname, he said, “Everybody just calls me ‘Juanma.’ It’s short for Juan Manuel.”

Fight by Fight – 2008 – WON WBO JF WORLD TITLE – in his last fight on 6-7-08 in Atlantic City, NJ, he TKO’d lefthanded defending champion Daniel Ponce De Leon (34-1): Juan quickly overpowered him; he scored a knockdown with a right hook in the 1st round, staggered Ponce De Leon two times, then scored another knockdown with a series of punches that dropped Ponce De Leon on his side and cut him over his left eye – Ponce De Leon got up but was very unsteady, and the referee stopped the fight without a count at 2:25; after the fight, Juan said, “I knew he was hurt and it was just a question of time until I landed another strong punch. I just needed to be smart because I knew he was so strong. I know we were both hard punchers, but I thought I had more ability. I always had that great belief in myself, but people have wanted me to show it. I hope I did. I hope I showed it to all of the people tonight, especially the people of Puerto Rico.”...

4TH WBO LATINO JF TITLE DEFENSE - in his last fight on 2-23-08 in Caguas, PR, he TKO’d Jonathan Oquendo (14-1): the fight headlined at Coliseo Hector Sola Bezares, and Juan was very impressive; he scored three knockdowns in the 2nd round, then scored two more knockdowns in the 3rd, and the referee stopped the fight at 0:49...

2007 – 3RD WBO LATINO JF TITLE DEFENSE - on 10-31-07 in San Juan, PR, he TKO’d Omar Adorno (16-8-1): the fight headlined at Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot; Juan gave an impressive performance and stopped Adorno at 2:18 of the 2nd round...

2ND WBO LATINO JF TITLE DEFENSE - on 8-4-07 in Rosemont, IL, he TKO’d 33 year-old former Mexican bantamweight champion and world title challenger Hugo Dianzo (31-11-1): the fight was on the undercard of the David Diaz-Erik Morales main event at the Allstate Arena; Dianzo gave a good effort, but Juan dominated most of the fight – he was penalized one point for low blows in the 7th round, but consistently outworked Dianzo and landed the harder punches; Dianzo was cut on the left side of his scalp in the 2nd round – the cut worsened as the rounds progressed, and the fight was stopped on the injury at 1:12 of the 10th round...

1ST WBO LATINO JF TITLE DEFENSE - on 6-22-07 in San Juan, PR, he TKO’d Giovanni Andrade (54-10): the fight headlined at Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot, and Juan quickly overpowered Andrade; Juan scored a knockdown with a series of punches in the 1st round – Andrade got up but was unsteady, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:59...

WON WBO LATINO JF TITLE - on 4-28-07 in Barranquilla, COL, he TKO’d Jorge Otero (17-8-2): Otero gave a good effort, but Juan gave a strong performance and stopped him in the 7th round...

On 3-3-07 in San Juan, PR, he TKO’d Leiva Brea (16-3-3): Juan scored two knockdowns in the 1st round – the first with a right hook, the second with a left hand; Juan scored another knockdown with a right hand in the 2nd round – Brea got up, but Juan staggered him with another right hook and the referee stopped the fight at 2:24 as Brea sank to his knees; after the fight, Juan said, “We are getting to were we want to be. I still need four or five fights before I can think about fighting for a world title. I am still learning. I still need more experience but I’ll be ready. Tonight, I was patient and just looked for the opportunities.”...

On 1-19-07 in Phoenix, AZ, he TKO’d Cuauhtemoc Vargas (15-1-1): Juan dominated the fight; he consistently outworked Vargas, landed the sharper punches, and steadily wore him down; Vargas did not continue after the 6th round; after the fight, Juan said, “I knew I was getting to him and he was taking a lot of punches, but I was surprised when he didn’t come out. Vargas was definitely one the toughest guys I have fought so far. I am very pleased with my performance. I think with a little more experience, I will be ready to take on the top guys. I know it is time for me to move up. But I also know I have to be patient.”...

2006 – WON VACANT WBO LATINO JF TITLE - on 9-30-06 in Caguas, PR, he TKO’d Jose Alonso (31-10-2): Juan gave an impressive performance - he scored a knockdown in the 1st round and dominated the fight; Juan staggered Alonso with a series of punches in the 3rd, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:59...

On 7-21-06 in Uncasville, CT, he TKO’d Edel Ruiz (28-14-4): Ruiz gave a good effort, but Juan dominated the fight; he steadily wore down Ruiz, and Ruiz did not continue after the 6th round; the Mohegan Sun commission records it as a TKO at 0:02 of the 7th round...

On 6-10-06 in New York, NY, he won a 6 round unanimous decision against previously undefeated Sergio Mendez (4-0): the bout was on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto-Paulie Malignaggi main event at Madison Square Garden, which drew a crowd of 14,365; Juan dominated the fight - he consistently outworked Mendez and landed the harder punches, and won by scores of 60-54 on all three scorecards...

On 4-7-06 in San Juan, PR, he TKO’d Alberto Chuc (8-6): Juan cut Chuc under his right eye, and the referee stopped the fight on the injury at 0:02 of the 6th round…

On 3-4-06 in Bayamon, PR, he won an 8 round unanimous decision against Gilberto Bolanos (5-9-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto-Gianluca Branco main event, which drew a capacity crowd at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez; Juan dominated the fight…

On 1-21-06 in Las Vegas, NV, he TKO’d Jose Luis Caro (10-3-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Erik Morales-Manny Pacquiao rematch at Thomas & Mack Center that drew an announced crowd of 14,618, and Juan scored a spectacular one-punch knockout; he scored one knockdown with a right hook in the 2nd round - it was a cuffing-type punch that dropped Caro to his hands and knees; Juan scored another knockdown with a counter right hook in the 4th that put Caro flat on his back - he

struggled to get up, but the referee stopped the fight at 1:44…

2005 - in his last fight on 12-10-05 in San Juan, PR, he TKO’d Manuel Sarabia (15-16-6): the fight was on the undercard of the Ivan Calderon-Daniel Reyes main event at Coliseo Roberto Clemente; Juan rocked Sarabia with a series of punches in the 1st round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:50…

On 11-18-05 in Hato Rey, PR, he TKO’d former Colombian jr. bantamweight champion and fellow-southpaw Luis Bolano (41-4): it was a step up in class of opposition for Juan, and an exciting fight while it lasted; both exchanged hard punches for two rounds, but Bolano did not continue after the 2nd round claiming an injury to his left hand…

On 9-30-05 in San Juan he knocked out Roberto Chacon (11-5-1): Juan scored two knockdowns in the 1st round, and Chacon was counted out at 2:10…

On 8-20-05 in Ponce, PR, he knocked out Charles Jones (2-2): Juan was knocked down, but came back to score three knockdowns, all in the 1st round, and the referee stopped the fight at 3:00; after the fight, Juan said, “It was weird to find myself on the floor. It was mostly because I was off-balance but that’s the first time I ever went down in my life. I always heard from my trainers that I should take my time getting up but I was fine and I knew he couldn't take my punches, so I decided to shut him out.”…

On 6-11-05 in New York, NY, he TKO’d Eric Nemo (5-0-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto-Muhammad Abdulaev main event at Madison Square Garden; Juan dominated the fight anad scored a knockdown in the 3rd round; Nemo got up, but Juan rocked him with series of punches and the referee stopped the fight at 2:17…

On 4-30-05 in San Juan he knocked out Efrain Perez (1-0) in the 1st round…

On 2-26-05 in Bayamon, PR, he TKO’d Ivan Cordero (0-2): the fight was on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto-DeMarcus Corley main event that drew 12,000 fans; Juan stopped Cordero in the 1st round…

He debuted at the age of 21 on 1-29-05 in Bayamon and knocked out Luis Colon (debut) at 1:06 of the 1st round…

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Juan said, “I was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. I have two brothers, I’m in the middle. My father manages a restaurant called El Caldero. My older brother used to box as an amateur, but he never turned pro. My father used to go to the gym, but he never really boxed.

“I used to fight a lot in school and they told me, ‘You know, you shouldn’t be doing that in the streets. You should go to a gym.’ So that’s what I did.

“I started boxing when I was about 10 years old. I had 150 amateur fights with 126 wins and 24 losses. I was national champion of Puerto Rico for five straight years, from 2000 to 2004. The first year, I won at 112 pounds. The next four years were at 119 pounds.

“I won the bronze at the Central American Games in El Salvador in 2002. I fought for the bronze medal at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo in 2003, but I didn’t win it.

“I’ve been living in Caguas for eight years, but I’ve actually been training here for 13 years.

“I’ve been married for eight years. My wife had three children when we were married, and we have two children together.”…

AMATEUR HIGHLIGHTS: 2004 Olympics, Athens, Greece, 119 pounds: in his first fight on 8-17-04 he lost a 27-19 decision against Khavazhi Khatsigov of Bulgaria…

2004 Americas Olympic Qualifier, Tijuana, Mex., 119 pounds: in his first fight on 3-14-04 he won a 32-22 decision against Roberto Benitez of New York, N.Y.; in his second fight on 3-17-04 he won a 21-15-decision against Argenis Mendez of Dominican Republic; in the championship round on 3-20-04 he lost a 29-18 decision against Andrew Kooner of Canada…

2003 Pan American Games, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 119 pounds: in his fight fight on 8-8-03 he won a 27-10 decision against Castulo Gonzalez of Guatamala; in the quarterfinals on 8-10-03 he lost a 24-21 decision against Abner Mares of Mexico...

2002 Central American and Caribbean games, San Salvador, El Salvador, 119 pounds – BRONZE MEDALIST: in the quarterfinals he won a 23-16 decision against Antonio Nunez of El Salvador; in the semifinals on 12-4-02 he lost a 23-19 decision against Abner Mares of Mexico...

STRENGTHS: A natural lefthander with an aggressive style, good skills and movement…physically strong, has good punching power…had a strong amateur background…is experienced against very good opposition...

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 22 fights…78 total rounds…1 world championship round...

AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 3.5 rounds…

KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 90 %...

DISTANCE FIGHTS: 10 rounds – 1 (1-0)...8 rounds - 1 (1-0)…7 rounds – 2 (2-0)...