Saturday, Feb. 2, Juan Manuel Lopez (32-2) scored a TKO victory over Aldimar Silva Santos (18-3) at the Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
Notably, the bout was a comeback fight for Lopez after being suspended by the Puerto Rican boxing commission for his allegations towards referee Roberto Ramirez in which he stated that Ramirez had a gambling problem. Many felt the suspension was a bit harsh as the comments came after Lopez was clearly dazed after taking alot of punishment in his bout with Orlando Salido.
Nevertheless, it should be interesting to see what Lopez's next move is as he will have many options within his promoter's, Top Rank, stable of fighters. With fighters such as Miguel Angel "Mikey" Garcia, Nonito Donaire, Yurtiorkis Gamboa and Guillermo Rigondeaux all signed with Top Rank and within Lopez's weight class, it is likely that the boxing world will get the opportunity to view Lopez matched up against one of those foes.
From a marketing perspective, Lopez must look to put together an impressive victory against a notable opponent in order to regain the significant momentum that he had prior to his two losses to Salido. Thus, Lopez still has alot of upside both career wise and monetarily if he can put together a strong string of victories.
In the end, it will be up to Lopez to focus on correcting his defensive flaws in order to put together the victories he needs to bring his career back to stardom level. If not, Lopez will be looked upon as just a challenger and test for the world's elite fighters in the lower weight classes.
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