Juan Manuel López (boxer)

Juan Manuel López Rivera (born June 30, 1983), often known as Juanma Lopez, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2019. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBO junior featherweight title from 2008 to 2009, and the WBO featherweight title from 2010 to 2011. As an amateur he represented Puerto Rico at numerous international tournaments, including the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games, the 2003 Pan American Games, and the 2004 Olympics. López was considered a knockout artist at his peak in the late 2000s and early 2010s.

Amateur career

López started boxing when he was ten years old. He won the Puerto Rican national amateur championship for five consecutive years between 2000 and 2004. López represented Puerto Rico internationally, fighting in the bantamweight division ( in the amateur circuit). In the 2001 Pan American Championships held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on August 10–18, López ended in the second place after Elio Rojas of the Dominican Republic. He was part of the national team assembled to compete in the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games, held in San Salvador. In this competition, López debuted by defeating local pugilist Antonio Nuñez by points (23:16), but lost a decision to Abner Mares of Mexico, with scores of 23:19. In the first 2003 Pan American qualifier, López debuted by defeating Francisco Palma of Ecuador, with scores of 12:8. In the semifinals, he lost to Alexander Espinoza of Venezuela by points (11:10). His next major international event was the 2003 Pan American Games, organized in Santo Domingo. Debuting in the preliminaries, López defeated Castulo González of Guatemala by points (27:10) in the inaugural fight. In the quarterfinals, he was matched against Mares, losing another fight by points, on this occasion with results of 24:21. López was among the Puerto Rican boxers that competed in the American Olympic qualification tournament, which took place in Tijuana. He began his participation on March 14, 2004, by defeating Roberto Benítez of the United States via decision. In the tournament's second date, he defeated Algenis Méndez, who represented the Dominican Republic, by points. In the final, López lost a decision to Andrew Kooner of Canada, with scores of 29:18. This performance earned him a position in the national team that participated at the 2004 Summer Olympics, held in Athens. As part of his training for that games, López participated in two "Puerto Rico vs. USA" tournaments, where both national teams paired those qualified for the event. The first of these took place on May 7, 2004, in Reno, Nevada. There, López defeated Eric Hunter by walkover. In the second, organized in Trenton, New Jersey