On Thursday, it was
announced that the Secretary of Sports and Recreation of Puerto Rico has pardoned
Juan Manuel Lopez's one-year suspension, meaning he’s now free to resume his
career immediately. Lopez had been suspended for a full year for the incendiary
remarks he made toward referees Robert Ramirez Sr. and Jr. after his second
consecutive knockout loss at the hands of Orlando Salido in March.
“It's about time,” said Bob
Arum, whose company, Top Rank, co-promotes “JuanMa.” Now the focus is on making
a fight with Lopez and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. on January 19th at the
Theater at Madison Square Garden as part of an HBO tripleheader. “Hopefully we
can make the fight; we're trying to make the fight now. I don't know where we
are exactly but [Top Rank Vice President] Carl Moretti is negotiating the
fight.”
One of the hurdles in making
this Puerto Rican grudge match a reality is the weight in which this bout will
be contested. Lopez is said to be moving up to 130 while Vazquez Jr. still
campaigns at 122 pounds. “The weight is one of the issues,” Arum admitted, “but
y’ know, my guys will get it done. I'm optimistic.”
As for Kelly Pavlik facing
Andre Ward in late January, Arum told Maxboxing, “We told [Goossen Tutor] how
much we need and we're waiting to hear back from them.”
It's very simple. Can
Goossen Tutor (or really, HBO) make it worth its while for them to throw in
Pavlik?
“We told them what we needed; we're willing to play ball and get it done. But
Kelly wants a certain amount of money and we have an investment in Kelly; we
have to get paid,” said Arum on Thursday afternoon from Mexico. “So if it's too
much money, we'll have to get another opponent. But again, it's a business
deal; everybody is working together and if it can't be done, it can’t be done.
Kelly, if we can't make the fight with Ward, we can perhaps make Kelly against
[Julio Cesar] Chavez Jr. in the spring.”
