With all of the recent boxing events taking place and pleasing fans, it’s hard to look too far ahead when every month brings us new and exciting matchups. All of the action will keep fans occupied, but let’s look forward to June 9th when Josesito Lopez (30-5 18 KO’s) comes back after his devastating loss to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez; to go back down to the welterweight division to face off with the always dangerous, Marcos “El Chino” Maidana. The fight with Maidana will give last year’s “Cinderella man” one more chance to prove his legitimacy in boxing, Tha Boxing Voice caught up with Lopez to get his thoughts on a few topics.
When asking about the effect of a 9 month layoff going into one of the biggest fights of his career:
“…I definitely could’ve used a rest, I had been going at it for a long time and basically went from one training camp to another and I think the rest will definitely help me.”
His confidence going into a fight after a tough loss and a layoff:
“You know what? I’m very confident, I’m very confident in myself…I feel that against the right fighters; fighter in my weight division, I can compete with anyone…I’ve been training real hard, I’ve been active in the gym…my confidence level is high, I got the opportunity to be in there with some of the big fighters and I feel like that’s where I belong so I just have to prove it on June 8th.”
Discussing what it takes to beat Maidana:
“I definitely believe this is going to be one of my toughest fights…I have the tools to beat this guy, he’s a very good fighter, I expect the toughest fight of my life but I’m preparing for the best fight of my life.”
The idea of Golden Boy using Lopez as an opponent for their fighters:
“I’m not sure but that doesn’t matter that’s not part of my plan, obviously that was the plan back in June but it’s not my plan…I don’t mind fighting the fighters nobody else wants to fight, I’m very appreciative of the opportunity, I’ve been blessed to show my skill and talent with some of the best fighters in the world but I got to go out there and give it the best I got to show everyone that I can do it.”
His reaction when the fight with Maidana was presented:
“It wasn’t much thinking…I’ve never been one to choose an opponent or really think you know? I think we’re in a different position now where we can say no to certain opponents, but in this case with Maidana; he’s probably the toughest opponent I’ll be facing and I’m really going to have to show what I got to pull off a victory for this fight.”
How much of a factor “Heart” is going into his fights especially against Maidana:
“Heart is definitely a big factor in me, I think this fight will be a fight I could prove myself, against a fighter who’s no walk in the park…he will give a fight to anybody no matter who it is and I think I have the tools to beat him…I worked so hard to get into this position to be in a big fight…a fight of the year candidate.”
The process of setting up for a Golden Boy fight:
“I basically get a call and they say ‘hey this is the fighter we want you to fight, what do you think?’ And you say ‘hey let’s do it’…I’ve heard of a few other fighter’s options but I never hear anything serious, with the fight with Maidana it’s probably the fight that has made the most sense in my opinion, and it’s perfect for boxing.”
Where the Maidana fight will take him in terms of his career and ranking:
“I take one fight at a time first of all, this is a fight that can definitely open more doors and can make everyone realize here I am and I’m not going anywhere and I’m one of the best in the world.”
Looking back at the Canelo fight and what it did for his career:
“I could easily say it probably wasn’t the right choice, but you know what I have faith and believe in myself that with hard work anything can happen. Before I faced victor Ortiz most people would think he would just blow right through me…I went into that fight with a lot of confidence, this is my health and my abilities and we got the best of it, same thing with Canelo he’s a man with two fists just like me anything is possible; and I wanted to show that I could’ve pulled off the upset, I felt in my heart that I could’ve pulled off the upset. I know the odds weren’t real good but there was definitely a chance I felt…we trained real hard during training camp and we did the best we could fight night, size was a major factor and I think it showed and we came up short but you know I have no regrets. This was an opportunity just like back in June; I got another big opportunity and jumped on it. When you wave an opportunity like that to a poor skinny Mexican kid from Riverside you got to jump on it and I’ve never been given anything the easy way, I know we had to work the hard way for it so I can’t have any regrets…I think that even though I lost I think it opened up some doors and made people realize ‘hey when you match this guy up good with an even fight, a fighter his own size I think he can hang with any of the top fighters in the world’ so that’s what I need to prove now.”
The fans expecting a war and what should be expected fight night:
“as far as performance there’s no pressure at all, when it comes down to it Maidana is a warrior just like I am…we fight, when things get rough we fight our way out and no matter what game plan we go in there with I’m going in there to fight and win the fight so we got to work hard and at the end of the day our fighting styles will definitely give the boxing crowd what they need. It’s just in us I hear fighters say ‘oh I just want to give the people a good fight’ No! The way we fight is giving the people a great fight because that’s our style and boxing fans love it so I’m going to give that.”
Ortiz on Dancing With the Stars:
“Actually you know what I haven’t seen Dancing With the Stars and I’m not a hater if I had an opportunity like that I would jump on it; I wouldn’t care, Ortiz is trying to build a reputation outside of boxing it’s fine with me, and I wish everyone the best of luck whether it’s in my weight division or no.t”
Looking ahead to June 9th it looks like Maidana will be in a tough fight against a very motivated Josesito Lopez who looks to score another win as the underdog.
For Audio of this interview click here: http://thaboxingvoice.cogito24.com/robert-guerrero-arrested-plus-josesito-lopez-terrence-crawford-andre-johnson/11787
