JuanMa Keeps Getting Better

Michael Nelson gives his thoughts on the performance of Juan Manuel Lopez in his victory over Gerry Penalosa this past Saturday night.

Juan Manuel Lopez passed the second big test of his career Saturday night. Thoroughly answering many of the remaining questions left about his game, he overwhelmed the durable Gerry Penalosa and left trainer Freddie Roach with little choice but to call an end to the fight after the 9th round.

JuanMa had blown out the vast majority of his opponents before Penalosa within four rounds. Against the only man he couldn't run over, Hugo Dianzo in August 2007, he showed vulnerabilities that young fighters tend to have by slowing down late in the fight and not paying much attention to Dianzo's body.

He came much more prepared for Gerry Penalosa. Displaying incredible conditioning, he swamped the 36 year old with power punches while remaining responsible defensively, picking off or slipping most of Penalosa's counters. With the bigger, stronger Lopez working every minute of every round, Penalosa was never able to back him off. Worst, the deep waters Gerry and Freddie were hoping for never arrived. Lopez hardly took a deep breath during the action.

Even more impressive was the variety of punches Lopez threw. Understanding that Penalosa's guard would catch most of the blows directed at his head, Lopez was determined to rip the body. Also understanding that Penalosa likes to get low and duck under his opponent's punches, Lopez wasn't nearly as reliant on the right hook as he was in previous fights. He handcuffed Penalosa's head movement by consistently shooting the uppercut underneath. Trainer Alex Caraballo came up with a great game plan, and Lopez executed it with perfection.

Perhaps the only scantron bubble left unmarked pertains to how fast Lopez will escalate up the pound-for-pound ratings. Right now, it seems to be more of a matter of when than if. With the violence of the Israel Vasquez-Rafael Marquez trilogy taking a huge chunk out of the careers of both men, I'm not sure who at 122 pounds would threaten to beat the 25 year old phenom. Celestino Caballero is on quite a run and may be the man with the tools to test Lopez' whiskers. But with Celestino's leaky defense, it's hard to favor him in a shootout.

Meanwhile, a word must be said about Gerry Penalosa. Clearly outgunned throughout the fight, Gerry could have easily gone into survival mode and dropped a lopsided decision instead of having a TKO by 9 on his record.

But Penalosa has never been about just surviving. Regardless of who he's up against and where the fight is taking place, he believes he can win and he does his damndest to make that belief into reality. So while it's likely he'll fall just short of the Hall of Fame, Gerry's a special fighter who has had some tremendous performances during his 20 year career.

Freddie Roach did the right thing in pulling him out. He knows his fighter. He knows that the word 'quit' won't be found in Penalosa's vocabulary. Someone needed to do what was best, and look out for the interests of the remainder of Penalosa's career, and more importantly, his life beyond boxing.

As often happens in boxing, a young man shined brightest at the behest of an older man's fading glimmer. But neither fighter's performance last night will soon be forgotten.

e-mail Michael Nelson
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Saturday Night Fights Live Blog

We're trying something new tonight at The Boxing Bulletin. We're going to do some live blogging. We'll be following along with both cards, starting with the Showtime broadcast at 9 PM EST, and switching over to the HBO show after Froch/Taylor finishes.

Coverage will start at 9 PM EST. I'll be commenting throughout the evening, and will definitely remark on all the key events, but it won't be a truly comprehensive blow by blow coverage. If you're looking for that, I recommend checking out Bad Left Hook's live blog. Those guys do an excellent job every week.

9:04...We're under way. Gus Johnson and Al Bernstein are handling the duties for Showtime. 9:08... Carlos DeLeon Jr and Allan Green are both in the ring. Jimmy Lennon Jr. has the intros. 9:11... We're underway. Al Bernstein mentions how important the early part of the bout will be for DeLeon, as he's making a big jump up in class. Decent opening round. Green landed a really nice combo with about 20 seconds left, and there was some good action to close the round, with both guys ripping shots. 9:15... DeLeon certainly didn't look out of his depth in the first round. Green won it, but the action was competitive. And just as I say that, Green lands a huge left hook, sending DeLeon crashing to the canvas. He's up at 6. Doesn't look too fresh, but chooses to get back in there and start trading... and he's down again. 1:40 still left in the round. DeLeon is in big trouble, and down he goes. He doesn't have his legs, but he's back in there. 1:10 still to go in the round. DeLeon is down again. That's it. 9:21... The time of the stoppage was 1:06 of the 2nd round. DeLeon never really had his legs after the first knockdown. He jumped back in right away and landed a left hook, but immediately got caught again with a hook, and sent back towards the ropes before he went down again. 9:22... Green tells Jim Gray that he wants the winner of Froch/Taylor next. On the first knockdown: Green says that DeLeon kept throwing a long left jab to the body, and he kept countering with his right hand, and was just waiting for DeLeon to get a little brave, so he could open up with the hook. 9:24... Green's picking Froch to win the main-event. 9:32... Showtime's filling some time at the moment with highlights from last night's Shobox card. 9:38... Bernstein's going over the "Keys to victory". For JT, it's - use the jab, no rounds off and land the right. "Froch can be hit with right hands, and Taylor will need to land it early and often." For Froch, the keys are - keep the left up, don't lunge and land the uppercut. "Froch has fight ending power in his uppercuts, and he can deliver that punch with both hands... and since Kelly Pavlik used the uppercut well against Taylor on the inside, expect to see this tonight from Froch." 9:47 Taylor starts with a big right over the top. Very crisp jabs and a few other right hands over the jab. They've worked on that in camp obviously. Froch finds his way a little in the middle of the round. Cute hook by Taylor ends the round. Taylor's round. 9:54.. Round 2 could have gone either way though I though Froch got more of what he wanted. Both are lining each other up. Mostly a battle of jabs, though they exchanged wildly to end it. 9:58... Great 3rd round. Taylor caught Froch with a huge right hand, only for Froch to come right back. A little later on, with about 45 seconds left, Taylor hurt Froch and put him down with a right. Froch was clearly buzzed, but got up and got right back in there. Great stuff. 10:02... Froch is okay after the rough ending to the 4th round, and the action was a bit more cautious in the 4th. Froch is getting a chewing out from his trainer. Press row has Taylor up 40-35, 39-36 and 39-36. 10:06... Taylor landed a really nice left hook to the body about 45 seconds in the round. Froch is showing quite a bit of respect here. Taylor meanwhile is looking very comfortable. He just slipped a right, and tied Froch up in close. Taylor was just warned after a left hook that landed around the belt-line. 10:10... Froch opens up the 6th trying to work the jab. Soemething he hasn't done enough of. Froch just landed a thudding right hand that backed up Taylor for a second, but he took it well given how clean it looked. Now Froch getting a little more aggressive. Tainer Rob McCracken told Froch to throw 1-2's between rounds, and it's working for him here. Better from Froch in the 6th, although Taylor had a good flurry to finish it. 10:14... Gus Johnson comments on Taylor's defense being excellent. It has been good, and he's looked fairly comfortable when under attack. Froch is now starting to put a bit of pressure on, but JT manages though to keep working his jab, and not let Froch load up too much. Interesting 7th round. Froch was the more aggressive of the two, but Taylor landed some nice clean jabs. 10:17... Froch is starting to find the range here in the 8th with his right hand. Taylor's not really letting his hands go at the moment. Bernstein comments that JT looks like he's trying to buy some time here. Taylor is using the ring here, backing away. After Froch controlled the first 2:50 of the round, Taylor had an excellent flurry at the end. He caught Froch with a couple really nice clean shots, and I think wobbled him a bit. McCracken isn't pleased. 10:19... The big punch from JT at the end was a left uppercut. Landed flush and shook Froch. 10:20... Bernstein is saying that Froch should stick to the 1-2's. They've been what's working for him. 10:22... Froch is moving forward here, while Taylor is using his jab to keep a comfortable distance. Round 9 has been a close one. JT's in retreat, but Froch is only cautiously attacking and not landing anything of note, while JT catches him with the occasional counter. Press Row has it 87-83, 86-85 and 86-84 for Taylor. 10:26... Froch comes out aggressively in the 10th and has some success. Froch firing off some 1-2's. 1:30 into the round and JT hasn't really let his hands go at all. JT is giving ground here. Froch continues to press and he's landing. JT occasionally opens up with something flashy. Good round for Froch. 10:27... The scores are tightening on press-row...96-93, 95-95 and 95-94. 10:30... Froch is fighting like he knows he needs these final 2 rounds to have a chance. JT being very cautious. Froch lands a looping right hand on the side of Taylor's head. JT loads up and misses with a big uppercut. Froch has been open for that when he lunges in. JT misses with a right and eats an uppercut and holds on. Froch is having things mostly his way here, and then suddenly JT opens up with some combos and catches Froch clean. Froch digs back though. Exciting action here. Froch lands a hard right hand. Froch with an uppercut. Still a minute left in the round. Froch eats a hard right, but fires right back. They are trading power shots. Taylor with a right hand over the top. Exciting stuff here. Froch forces Taylor into the corner. Hell of a round. Great stuff! 10:31... Press row has it a draw right now. 1-1-1. Bernstein has Taylor up by 2. 10:34... Froch coming forward. JT looking to counter, and he does with a huge right hand that sends sweat flying. Froch roars back though. This is really exciting stuff. Froch has opened up, and JT has hung in there and met him head on. 2:00 minutes left. Froch with a jab and a huge right hand! Taylor is in trouble. Froch chases him! Taylor backs off and holds on. 1:30 left. Taylor was badly hurt and is still in trouble. Froch comes forward trying to finish. Does Froch have enough left. He's pouring it on. JT backs into the corner and he's in big trouble. He's wobbling backwards and eats another big shot, but he somehow throws back! Wow. Froch pours it on and JT is down. 30 seconds left. He's up at 8. He's a little unsteady. He's allowed to continued. He's in bad shape. Froch trying to finish. JT's done. It's over! Wow! One of the greatest finishes you'll ever see. What a fight! 10:35... JT is getting checked out by the doctor. He took some big punishment there, and really dug deep to stay on his feet as long as he could. Really ballsy effort. 10:36... Taylor is on his feet (he was on his feet at the time of the stoppage, but was sitting down while being examimed). He's okay. Absolutely stunning. Showtime are showing the replay, and the camera's on Taylor sitting on the floor in the corner with 25 seconds left. There's no way it looks like he can get up. But he does, and he desperately tries to fight on. 10:37... I need to catch my breath. 10:38... According to Gus Johnson, if Taylor would have managed to finish the fight, he would have won on the cards. The time of the stoppage was 2:46. 10:40... Froch is talking with Jim Gray. "I needed a big round and I got it." 10:42... Froch says he'll definitely give Taylor a rematch. Taylor wants it. No surprise there. I think we'd all love to see it. 10:45... Jim Gray is asking referee Michael Ortega why he didn't let the fight go. Given the state Taylor was in, this seems like a bizarre question. There was still 15 seconds left, and Taylor's hands had dropped. He was clearly done. I don't think it's even debatable. To his credit, Taylor had no issues with Ortega's decision. 10:47... The judges cards at the time of the stoppage where 106-102 twice for Taylor and 106-102 for Froch on the other card. Off to HBO! 10:49... Just in time to hear Harold Lederman going over the rules. Lopez has a 3 pound advantage, as he'd hydrated back up to 131 while Penalosa is at 128. 10:54... The fighters are in the ring, and Michael Buffer is doing the intros. 10:57... Final instructions have been given, and we're seconds away from getting underway. 11:01... Lopez is edging forward a little, while Penalosa appears very composed as he looks to counter. Penalosa manages to tie Lopez up and the youngster whacks him in the body for his troubles. Lopez is warned for a left hand that landed on the hip. Penalosa is managing to slip most of Lopez' stuff upstairs, but he's digging the occasional nice shot downstairs. Interesting opening round. Penalosa stood his ground over the final 20 seconds and didn't take the worst of it. 11:05... We're into round 2. Something new for JuanMa given his recent history. Lopez coming forward, firing heavy looking combos. He's also following up by digging downstairs, while Penalosa attempts to duck and dodge before firing back. Every once in awhile, Penalosa comes back with a flurry, but he's mostly on the defensive. Lopez just looks like the stronger man whenever they exchange, and he's really letting his hands go nicely. I might be wrong, but I think some of those shots downstairs will have Penalosa in a bad way before long. 11:06... Harold has it 2-0 for Lopez. 11:09... Lopez comes right out putting the pressure on. Firing the jab, following it up with hooks, up and down. Penalosa digs downstairs with his own body shot, and jumps in with a combo. He's countering nicely in spots, but he's getting banged around a bit in the process. JuanMa just keeps pushing forward. Gerry's now standing his ground more, and he's bouncing a little, but Lopez comes firing back and pushes him back. He's throwing some really nice little shots inside. Penalosa trying to rip back now, as they slug it out at the end of the 3rd. 11:10... HBO shows a graphic indicating the body work Lopez has been hammering Penalosa with. Harold has it 3-0. 11:11... Harold comments that Penalosa is fighting the wrong fight when he bangs in the middle of the ring. Not sure what options he has. He's going to get run over if he just backs up. He needs to do something to keep JuanMa honest. 11:13... Lopez now forcing Penalosa from one side of the ring to the other, as the older man is again in retreat. Kellerman comments on JuanMa's accuracy and patience. He's banging Penalosa along the ropes here. Gerry tries to counter back. 11:14... Lopez is averaging 101 punches thrown per round. Many of them of the hurtful variety. 11:17... Gerry's doing his best here to keep Lopez at bay. He's got his guard up, elbows tucked, moving his head, sticking the jab and countering when he can. But he doesn't have the firepower and Lopez just keep pushing forward, digging in with a variety of hard shots thrown in combination. They exchange right hands, and Lopez lands with more authority and he pushes Penalosa back into the ropes. Penalosa fires back, and JuanMa comes back and keeps firing. High quality stuff. 11:18... Harold has it 5-0. 11:21... Lopez comes right out, moving forward, letting his hands go. Penalosa moving from side to side, trying to keep Lopez at bay, but the pressure is relentless. It's a controlled pressure. Steady, with lots of body work mixed in. Lopez just digging hard shots in here. Penalosa trying to fire back, but he's getting the worst of it. He's looking like he's in a bit of trouble. Lopez presses forward. Hooks to the body. Heavy shots upstairs. Penalosa is on the ropes here. He tries to fire back, but Lopez with his head down, just keeping banging away. Not sure how much longer Penalosa can take this. Lopez again bangs hard to the body, and Penalosa backs into the ropes. Gerry gets away from the ropes, but Lopez follows him and keeps up the pressure. Roach tells Penalosa in the corner he's getting hit too much. You've got to feel that another round like that and Freddie might call this off. 11:25... Every once in awhile, Penalosa lands a nice clean counter, but it's not making a dent on Lopez, who keeps pushing forward. Lopez chases Penalosa into the corner and continues his assault. Gerry slips out of there, but JuanMa's on him right away. Penalosa fires off a nice combo, but JuanMa forces him backwards again. There's really nothing Penalosa can do. He's showing guts, but I can't see this lasting too much longer. Lopez is just landing some heavy shots, but Penalosa fires back. "The fact that Penalosa is having his moments here is unfathomable," says Kellerman. 11:26... Lopez asked his corner if he was winning after that round. That's a real testament to the gutsy display Penalosa's giving here. 11:29... Lopez continues to press. Hooks to the body, and some uppercuts. Penalosa has his back to the ropes. Lopez is drilling him with some hard shots, but Penalosa rips a counter right. He's having success with those. Gerry's now managing to keep the action in the center of the ring for a bit, only to get forced back again. Lopez is digging with some uppercuts, while Gerry flurries back. Good action here. "Gerry Penalosa is not human, I can't believe what I'm seeing." - Kellerman 11:29... Roach is thinking about stopping this. He's going to give Gerry one more round. 11:30... Harold has it 8-0. 11:33... Lopez comes out banging some more power shots in while pressing forward. Gerry gets backed into the corner, but slips away. Lopez never lets up though. It's just constant pressure. He pushes Gerry into the ropes again. Bob Papa comments that Lopez has lost a little of his technique. The action is a little bit slower here, but JuanMa then turns it up with about 20 seconds to go, and they exchange bombs. Penalosa got his own in there. Interesting decision Roach will have here, because Gerry had one of his better rounds. That's it. Roach has called an end to it. 11:35... Good move from Roach. Really gutsy effort from Gerry Penalosa, but he wasn't going to win and he was taking too much punishment. 11:38... Max Kellerman asks Lopez why he asked his corner after the 6th if he was winning. Through the translator..."Because every time I fight, I always ask for guidance from the corner." Kellerman presses to ask if Lopez felt Penalosa's power? "Definitely, his right hook is his most powerful punch and several times he did get me." 11:39... Lopez mentions Marquez and Vasquez as opponents he'd like to face, although he admits he won't stay at 122 much longer. 11:41... Bob Papa says that Gerry Penalosa received a huge ovation from the crowd for his efforts. 11:42... Alright, that's it for tonight. Hope you enjoyed the debut of The Boxing Bulletin's live blog coverage. We'll be back next week for Pacquaio/Hatton.

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Juan Manuel Lopez vs Gerry Penalosa Predictions

TKO1, KO1, TKO1, TKO3, TKO2. The destructive path of the explosive Juan Manuel Lopez looks to add another victim tomorrow night, but Gerry Penalosa promises not to go down easy. In a pro-career dating back to 1989, the crafty Filipino has yet to be stopped. No doubt he'll give the youngster some quality rounds, but can the 36 year old veteran win?

The Boxing Bulletin writers give their thoughts on how this compelling battle of southpaws will play out.

Penalosa is getting up there in age and weight. I think the veteran will teach JuanMa a thing or two in there and win a few rounds. But the younger and bigger man takes a clear decision, 8-4 or 9-3.- Mark Lyons

Penalosa against Juan Manuel Lopez is another difficult fight to call. Because of the short nature of Lopez' fights, we don't know much about how he'll handle a guy who can neutralize his right hook. He may become lost if his hook is taken away, or he may expose wrinkles in his game we haven't seen yet. Although a Lopez knockout wouldn't shock me, I think Penalosa sees 12. Lopez is a bit unseasoned for my tastes to see him outboxing a vet like Gerry, and too economical to outwork him. Since the fight's in Puerto Rico, I'm not sure if Penalosa gets a close decision, but I see him winning in the eyes of most observers. - Michael Nelson

Lopez-Penalosa is an interesting fight. I agree with Mark that Penalosa will teach Lopez a thing or two in this fight but I can't see Penalosa lasting the full twelve rounds against a quick young fighter with a huge punch. I see Lopez stopping him in the 5th or 6th round after a fairly even fight up until that point. - Dave Oakes

Penalosa is good enough to answer some of the questions surrounding the young sensation from Puerto Rico, but I expect Lopez to win a wide decision. If he shines, I'll be impressed. - Lee Payton

I'm going with youth and power here. While Lopez hasn't really been tested by a boxer of Penalosa's caliber, I think he's talented enough to win this impressively. He moves well, keeps his hands up and puts his punches together nicely - all things that make countering his aggressiveness easier said than done. - Andrew Fruman

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Juan Manuel Lopez vs Gerry Penalosa Preview

Michael Nelson previews this Saturday's intriguing HBO Boxing After Dark main-event between Juan Manuel Lopez and Gerry Penalosa.

Photo © Marty Rosengarten / Ringsidephotos.com

Puerto Rican heritage isn't the only thing Felix Trinidad and Juan Manuel Lopez have in common.

Trinidad's left hook terrorized the Welterweight and Jr. Middleweight divisions during his reign. Thrown with the power to discombobulate his opponent at any moment during a fight, it was perhaps the most feared punch in boxing.Southpaw JuanMa Lopez' right hook is quickly gaining a similar reputation. He has finished his last three opponents with it inside the first round, including Ponce De Leon, a man notoriously hard to hurt.

But like Trinidad, while Lopez has a great deal of talent, he has apparent vulnerabilities that are covered up by the deadly efficiency of his money punch. He head hunts a bit too much. He doesn't have much of an uppercut. And his left hand is more often than not simply used as a diversion to set up his right hook. Sum it up and it'll be very interesting to see how he deals with an elite defensive fighter.

Enter Gerry Penalosa.

Never stopped in 62 fights, Penalosa's six losses have all been close or controversial. Recently, the 36 year old took Ponce De Leon to school for long stretches of their bout, only to be rewarded with miserable scorecards that suggested he got dominated.

No matter. He bounced back with a surprising come-from-behind knockout victory over the talented and rangy Jhonny Gonzales. Far from a fluke shot, he slipped Gonzales' long right hand and expertly placed a left on Jhonny's liver before he could regain position. Gonzales took a step back and dropped to a knee, paralyzed with pain. KO 7.

The main ingredient behind Penalosa's success is his defensive acumen; he deflects or slips the vast majority of punches thrown in his direction, particularly at his head. Always calm and never changing expression, Gerry's style is like Winky Wright's without the monstrous forearms - making him susceptible to being outworked as well as providing openings for a dedicated body attack.

Lopez, also a calm operator who's fairly economical with his punch output, will have to deviate from his usual game plan if he wants to outwork Penalosa or consistently rake his body. Otherwise, it could be a long night for the 25 year old Phenom.

It should be noted that Gerry has shown vulnerabilities against fellow southpaws in his younger days, as he has been hurt or dropped by the right hook in previous fights. Gerry got staggered by a Hiroshi Kawashima hook in his 1997 WBC Super Featherweight title winning effort, and suffered a first round knock down as a result of getting nailed with a right hook from Young-Joo Cho a few fights later. Although those bouts took place more than a decade ago when Penalosa was far less seasoned, he can ill afford to make similar mistakes against JuanMa Lopez. Look for him to circle away from Lopez' right hand for the majority of the night.

Lopez can firmly entrench himself as one of the top 3 young talents in the sport with a spectacular victory over a well respected boxer like Penalosa. Likewise, Penalosa can make an intriguing argument for Canastota recognition if he overcomes Lopez' size and youth to stymie the meteoric rise of a potential pound-for-pound player. There's a uniquely wide range of possibilities - neither a quick Lopez knockout or a comfortable Penalosa decision would shock me.

The only thing clear about this fight is that it's a must-see. If you're watching the competing Showtime card, make sure to set your DVR or VCR. You don't want to miss this one.

e-mail Michael Nelson
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