By Ian S Palmer
There’s a huge all-Puerto Rican showdown set for this Saturday, October 29th as Wilfredo Vazquez Jr will be taking on Juan Manuel Lopez in a 10-round bout at a catch weight of 129 lbs. The fight takes place at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan. Vazquez last fought in December of 2015 and lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Rafael Rivera. Lopez’s last outing took place way back in September of 2014 when he was stopped in just two rounds by Jesus Cuellar. This bout can be seen in the U.S. live on pay per view. Both boxers are now past their prime, but are still young enough to put on a dramatic and potentially exciting contest.
Lopez was arguably the better boxer in his prime when it comes to power and skill, but he seemed to lose his ability to take a punch almost overnight and he’s been stopped in all five of his losses. On the other hand, Vazquez has been stopped just once, by Jorge Arce in the 12th round back in 2011. In addition, Lopez has dropped three of his last four bouts and hasn’t been in the ring in over two years. Perhaps on the bright side for him is the fact that Vazquez has lost his last two fights against mediocre opponents. The 32-year-old Vazquez has a 24-6-1 mark with 19 Kos to his name.
Vasquez has stepped up in class against Arce and also against Nonito Donaire in 2012, but lost a 12-round split decision to the Filipino. Vazquez won the vacant WBO junior featherweight title with his win over Marvin Sonsona in 2010 and defended it twice over the next 15 months with a 10th-round KO over Zsolt Bedak and an 11th-round stoppage over Ivan Hernandez. He lost his title in the loss to Arce. Vasquez was beaten in a couple of attempts to regain the title, but finally managed to win it back in September of 2013 with a win over Guillermo Avila for the vacant belt. After that he vacate the title and moved up to featherweight.
Vasquez enters the contest with 194 rounds under his belt after turning pro back in 2006. He stands just over 5-feet-5-inches tall with a reach of 66 inches. Vazquez has pretty good power with a current knockout ratio of 61 per cent. He’s also been beaten by Sonsona, Fernando Vargas and Yasutaka Ishimoto. His biggest wins have been against Sonsona, Avilla and Jonathan Oquendo. Vasquez has never really been a Grade A boxer as he’s fought mainly Grade B opponents, but he’s durable and has a solid chin.
Former featherweight king Juan Manuel Lopez is now 33 years old and the southpaw enters the contest with a record of 34-5 with 31 Kos. It’s obvious that he possesses a lot of power since his knockout ratio is currently 79 per cent. However, if he doesn’t knock his opponent out there’s a good chance he’s going to be knocked out. Lopez is the same size as Vasquez at just a shade over 5-foot-5. He also possesses a four-inch reach advantage at 70 to 66 inches. Lopez has a fought 169 rounds since turning pro in 2005 and is a former two-division world champ.
Lopez has been stopped by Cuellar, Francisco Vargas, Mikey Garcia and Orlando Salido twice. His biggest wins have been against the likes of Jonathan Oquendo, Daniel Ponce De Leon, Gerry Penalosa, Sergio Medina, Steve Luevano and Rafael Marquez. He has a lot of experience against tough opponents, but the ring rust and weak chin definitely won’t help him out against Vasquez. Although, the reach advantage might.
Prediction…
It doesn’t appear that either boxer has much left in the tank, but they’ll be motivated for bragging rights in their Puerto-Rican homeland. It’s all going to come down to Lopez’s chin and if he can take a punch. If his chin holds out he should win, but it’s a big if. His best chance for a victory is to jump all over Vasquez early and hope to land a bomb on the button. A tough one to call, but I think Vasquez takes it.
