by James Slater – The fight has not been signed yet, but it looks very likely that unbeaten WBO super-bantamweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez will make the second defence of his belt against tough Sergio Manuel Medina of Argentina. The fight is up as happening on BoxRec and according to various internet chatter Medina is the man “Juanma” will be facing..
If so, the De La Hoya-Pacquiao card just got a whole lot better. A “dream fight” the welterweight showdown may be, but many see it as a cynical money-maker/mismatch also. The addition of the red-hot and quite sensational Puerto Rican to December 6th’s card, whoever it is he winds up facing, is a very welcome one and will likely earn a number of additional pay-per-view buys.
What can we expect from Lopez-Medina? Well, judging by the way he smashed his way to the WBO title he now holds, and the way he made his initial defence of it, a 1st round KO is a distinct possibility. True, the 26-year-old from Argentina is currently 33-1(18) and has never been stopped, but when Lopez can hit as hard as he does a quick win is always on the cards; whoever he is in the ring with. The 23-0(21) southpaw is absolutely lethal, as he showed in his biggest win to date thus far, against fellow banger Daniel Ponce de Leon.
Simply put, Medina will have done well if he can make it out of the first three minutes against this dynamo. A decent enough fighter who has boxed all but one of his 34 bouts in his homeland, Medina’s one and only visit to America, against his most recognisably named foe, resulted in a loss. Widely out-pointed by the then undefeated Rey Bautista on the under-card of the massive Mayweather-De La Hoya fight, Medina was put down at the half way stage and comprehensively beaten – although he did manage to hurt the Filipino late in the bout, it must be said. Medina has won five straight since, but against no-names. Indeed, the Bautista fight aside, the 26-year-old has faced no-one of real note.
Going up against the southpaw many feel will be boxing’s next big superstar, the fighter nicknamed “Rocky” will be hoping to pull off a Rocky-style, against the odds, upset win. Can he do it? In a word, no. He may get out of the 1st round, an achievement in itself considering the number of good men Lopez has wrecked inside three minutes (nine 1st round KO’s in total for Lopez), but it won’t be too much longer before “Juanma” lowers the boom.
Very much wanting to look good on such a big card, Lopez will do just that. Look for another devastating KO win. This writer goes for a Lopez win in around 3 or 4 rounds. However, the Puerto Rican’s tenth 1st round win cannot be at all ruled out.