Orlando Salido vs. Juan Manuel Lopez II- Recap
By: Boxing Reporter, Chris Cercola
Some would call it a fearless move, but Orlando Salido looks at it as a non-issue. Just give the man a ring and an opponent and he’ll take it from there. And so, the ring was built, and the opponent provided, the warrior from Mexico would show up to do battle. Salido was coming back to the scene of his biggest triumph to defend the title that he won against the man from whom he won it. He was coming in once again as the underdog to Juan Manuel Lopez. Puerto Rico’s latest sensation who would be trying to prove that the loss to Salido in the first fight, was more due to personal problems going on in his private life. In Puerto Rico however, his personal problems aren’t so private… It is a small island, where word travels faster than a text message.
Salido would be the only Mexican warrior fighting in the ring at The Roberto Clemente Stadium in San Juan Puerto Rico, but he wasn’t the only Mexican warrior in the building. Showing up to support their fellow countryman were such ring legends as the great Jorge Arce, the spectacular Juan Manuel Marquez, and perhaps the greatest Mexican champion who ever drew breath, Julio Cesar Chavez. Puerto Rico welcomed them, as they knew just who these men were…Puerto Rico might not have fond memories of all of these guys, but they know their boxing, and they remember these ring immortals, even if the memories aren’t all so fond. The pageantry was made even more special with the greatest of Puerto Rico`s fighters were hand to spur on their native son while mingling with their Mexican counterparts and posing for photos. It`s guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of any true fight fan to see Felix Trinidad and El Grande Campeon talking, and hamming it up. It was a special night… It would be a special fight…At least half of it.
Juanma Lopez entered first. Sporting a focused face, he entered with less flare than he did in the first encounter. This was about more than revenge, this was about getting back that aura of invincibility that was stripped away in that first fight with Salido. As soon as the Mexican Music started, a gasp swept through the arena, the crowd was clearly on edge, the tension was thick. This was a big fight, and by the time that ‘The Classy’ Jimmy Lennon Jr. was done introducing the fighter`s, the crowd was swept into a frenzy.
Round one started just like the first fight started. A cautious, feeling out round, Lopez clearly trying to utilize more movement, while the champion was gauging distance while landing some nice hooks and some body shots. In the second, the defending champion added more pressure as Lopez seemed to be tentative to engage. The third round was a telling round. Salido wasn’t going to wait as long as he did to get going as he did in the first fight. He made it clear that he was indeed the stronger man. The feeling of it being too late was starting to creep into the mind. The fourth round saw the fight take a turn in momentum, Lopez came out aggressively, throwing the movement out the window, and engaging Salido more often. Clearly frustrated at his inability to keep the Mexican fighter off of him, Lopez threw an elbow, but Salido wouldn’t be outdone in the foul department either as he charged in with the top of his head into Lopez` head, causing Lopez to complain to the referee.
With 25 seconds remaining into round five, Salido landed a massive left hook to the chin of Lopez, causing Juanma to stagger as he tried to smile to downplay the effect, but the champion went in for the kill and got caught with a sneaky right hand from Lopez. Juanma seemed to be trying to summon an Arturo Gatti-like sudden knockout. Salido got up and Lopez pounced but the bell rang just in time to prevent any real follow up. Hooks and right hands by Salido told the story in round six. Lopez seemed to have the fight beaten out of him once again. In the seventh, the abuse continued, and just as in the first encounter, the Lopez corner seemed to be braver than would be advised.
The thought, “What would Eddie Futch do?” crossed my mind. Eddie Futch, the great trainer who instead of sending Joe Frazier out to fight Muhammad Ali for another round in a winnable fight, cut his fighter`s gloves off, retiring him in his corner to save his fighter any further punishment. But Lopez` corner wasn`t so merciful, and not so smart. A fighter has to be saved from himself sometimes.
Lopez came out for round eight and tried to go to war with the stronger man. The crowd was swept into a frenzy as it looked exciting but the punches landed by Salido were telling, and poignant. Round number nine saw more of the same thing, an assault on Juan Manuel Lopez. What started out as a fun and exciting night filled with questions provided answers and turned sickening. When those answers became obvious, this fight could have been stopped.
This writer was surprised at the Showtime commentators Al Bernstein, Gus Johnson, and Antonio Tarver ignoring the punches being landed to the head of Lopez. Bernstein, a veteran of the game didn’t see how much stronger Salido was? Tarver, who quit in a fight with Eric Harding where he had a bruised or broken rib. Clearly he knew when to say when, so why didn’t he see this as too brutal? Maybe they let the excitement of the crowd cloud their judgement. And so, in round ten, the carnage came to an end when Lopez dropped, hard from another barrage by the champion, and that seemed to sober the Showtime team up.
Lopez clearly had no knowledge of what was happening in the fight for some time because in the post-fight interview, made a ludicrous allegation that the referee, Roberto Ramirez Sr., had stopped the fight due to a bet that he had made on Salido. Lopez also claimed that he was winning the fight. Clearly not in the know of what went down. Lopez went on and apologized to his fans for the referee`s bad stoppage. The stoppage was indeed horrible, as it should have been stopped two or three rounds prior.
I wonder how these commentators felt after the post-fight interview. This was a fight that Lopez will never recover from, and he will never be the same man in the ring again, hopefully he will heal up physically from two such horrific beatings. Retirement should be an option for Juanma, but pride will probably make him go for a third fight, and that’s a fight that Orlando Salido already said he was up for… And why wouldn’t he be?
As for Salido… We know that he doesn’t want to lose to a Puerto Rican fighter! There is a well-documented history of boxing rivalries between the two nations. Maybe Salido will want a rematch with Yuriorkis Gamboa with this new-found confidence, he may believe that he can score revenge on the man who defeated him prior to first encounter with Lopez. Whatever he does from here, he cemented his legacy in his boxing-mad country and his confidence is at an all time high. Can he ride this wave even further against world class opponents not named Juan Manuel Lopez? Hopefully we`ll see it, but no trilogy, please!
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