Lopez vs. Garcia

I'll be ringside at this fight this weekend.  Who do you guys have winning?

I have Mikey winning big. JuanMa fell in love with his power and didn't correct some bad habits. Juan MA also blew up like a balloon between fights. He is however a live dog and says his problems with Salido came from his unorthodox style, he says he found him hard to time. Garcia is a class fighter, with both power and finesse. Fundamentally he is what anyone could want in a fighter, much like Andre Ward, or Bernard Hopkins. Great feet, routinely in ready position, patient and puts his combinations together very nicely. Very poised as well, he doesn't get excited. If he can stay away from Lopez' power I believe he finishes him in 9. If not we'll see how Mikey holds up to raw power from a Southpaw.

Yuck, JuanMa doesn't even look like a top 400 fighter.  He looked awful tonight. He should retire.  He was slow, predictable and all around terrible. Garcia is a bum for no making weight.

i agree with hardcore. juanmas power can always make things interesting, but garcia is a solid fighter. i see garcia staying away for the first half of the fight and boxing and then going for the kill in the later rounds once he has gassed juanma (since we know that stamina isnt his strong point).

i have seen juanma get taken into the trenches too many times and get beaten or close to beaten when he probably shouldnt have. garcia may be the best fighter he has faced thus far in his career.

Garcia is a sharp counterpuncher.  He is younger, fresher, and naturally bigger.  I have to thin he wins this fight going away. 

Lopez is 30 I believe, but he is an old 30.  Some hard fights (or moments in easier fights) even before the 2 Salido fights.

Man, Juanma got blasted bad lol.

Juanma looked shot to hell.  His balance which has never been great, was absolutely horrible.  He's turning 30 but he might as well be 50.  He's done.  After the Mtagwa 12th round, 2 salido fights, and that beatdown, he will get blasted by a journeyman in the next year.


Hope he saved his money.

As for Mikey, I love the footwork.  The half step backwards to be just out of Lopez's range, but entices Lopez to try, and then he would counter.  Good stuff.

the only question I have about Garcia is something Steve Kim raised on twitter-what happens when Garcia is into a real dogfight where he is going to have some rough moments.

Poor Juanma. That guy took a beating and was never in the fight. Every punch he threw he was off balanced and lunging. His legs looked stiff. The worst part was he didnt even tuck his chin half the time.

i hope that garcia moves up to 130 even though he said that he can still make feather. if by chance he stays at feather though, it better be to fight mares. thats the only fight worthwhile at that weight if he isnt going to move up.

that is the fight the fans want, but we may as well get over it.  Top Rank guys fight Top Rank.  Golden Boy guys fight Golden Boy guys.  Guys from other promotional companies (Main events, lou dibella, goosen, etc) can be an opponent, but TR guys aren't fighting GB guys. 

Maybe a year or two from now when TR and GB have cannibalized their own, we can expect them to deal with each other.