Juan Manuel Lopez is the kind of fighter you simply can't take your eyes off of -- seemingly vulnerable and with exciting skills. In October, during his final bout at super bantamweight, Lopez had to survive a near-knockout in the final round to successfully defend his then-WBO 122-pound title against Tanzanian journeyman Rogers Mtagwa. In January, Lopez easily dethroned Steven Luevano for the WBO featherweight (126 pounds) crown, but defending that title the first time on Saturday night was a completely different story. Lopez scored a first-round knockdown before being floored himself not long before the bell ending that same round. The 27-year-old then turned it up a notch, coming up with two second-round knockdowns -- the second one ending the fight -- on the way to his 29th victory without a loss and his 26th knockout in an exciting, Showtime-televised match up with 22-year-old Filipino challenger Bernabe Concepcion before Lopez's screaming hometown fans at Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot in San Juan. In victory, the Puerto Rican southpaw dropped Concepcion to 28-4-1, with 15 KOs; this while competing in only his second-ever 126-pound bout. http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2010/07/10/juan-manuel-lopez-stops-bernabe-concepcion-in-second-round/
