Chris John willing to fight Gamboa or Lopez
by Scott Christ on Jan 25, 2010 6:40 PM EST
in Boxing News Analysis
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Long-running featherweight titlist Chris John quickly dispelled any doubts that he's willing to fight Yuriorkis Gamboa or Juan Manuel Lopez when speaking with the Jakarta Globe today.
"I think we’ll jump on it if the offer comes. I’ll be ready to fight either one of them."
He also said they've yet to receive any offer.
John (43-0-2, 22 KO) came to the United States to fight for the first time last year, engaging in two bouts with Rocky Juarez. In February 2009, he was given a highly-disputed draw in Juarez's hometown of Houston (most felt John clearly won), and in September he outpointed him in the main support slot on the Mayweather-Marquez pay-per-view. In both fights, John was rocked late by the strong Juarez, but outworked him for the majority of each fight.
It had been a long time coming. John won the interim WBA featherweight title way back in 2003, and became full titlist when he beat Osamu Sato in 2004. Since then, he's made 11 defenses of his title, mostly in Indonesia. He was long doubted as a valid "champion" by many, but a lot of that was overcome with the two strong performances out of his backyard last year.
At 30, John has had a lot of rounds and a lot of fights as a pro, and he's probably a bit past his very best. Given that the sluggish but powerful Juarez twice came close to knocking him down or even out, I think both Lopez and Gamboa would be awful matchups for John at this stage. He'd be the best fighter either of them has fought, and he's a really good boxer, but I just can't see him surviving 12 rounds against either of them anymore.
Right now, John is scheduled for an April fight in Bali. It will be his first fight in Indonesia since January 2008.
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My take
I think Gamboa will just destroy John. John looked terrible in the 12th round when Juarez finally decided to push the action. Gamboa will be game from the get go and can outwork John. Lopez will be patient, figure out how to get to the chin of John, precede with destruction.
everybody would look terrible against rocky when he actually throws. you guys seem to be really underestimating rocky’s power
The Dude Abides
by battle axe of doom on Jan 26, 2010 9:42 AM EST up reply actions
Exacrly,
when he throws, the man is dangerous!
by Don From Prov on Jan 26, 2010 1:37 PM EST up reply actions
everybody would look terrible against rocky when he actually throws.
Well, let’s not get out of hand here. I agree with you that he’s a very strong featherweight, but he’s also pretty slow and he’s lazy as hell in the ring. Honestly if he was faced with a guy like Gamboa instead of Chris John or Barrera, I don’t think he ever manages to get uncorked. Marquez shut him down something awful.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Jan 26, 2010 6:14 PM EST up reply actions
well yeah i’m not saying rocky is the best ever, but if in some alternate universe there is a rocky who actually threw punches that rocky would sure have won at least 2 belts and KO’d John.
The Dude Abides
by battle axe of doom on Jan 29, 2010 12:27 AM EST up reply actions
Both you and worldsoldestsport badly need to re-watch that fight. John dominated the first eleven rounds and only got rocked in the twelfth because of his own stupidity (and his corner’s). It was a mental error, not a failure of ability.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om3Qd0tYPo0
I remember thinking at the time, what the hell is he doing? Since when does Chris John ever engage in infighting? Juarez was not pressuring him that badly. He did it by choice.
I think both Lopez and Gamboa can get to John and KO him. If Rocky pushed the fight sooner he could of done it, so either the fast accurate Gamboa or the technical power of Lopez will find his chin at some point.
"It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up." - Ali
gamboa’s will press early and won’t stop. tough fight for john. i don’t think he can counter Gamboa the way he did diaz…and barely pulled it off at that.
Gatti. Dekkers. Pele. Aoki. Kang. Vanderlei. Basillio. Harry Greb.
by theworldsoldestsport on Jan 26, 2010 11:58 AM EST reply actions
I’m inclined to think that Gamboa or Lopez would win too, but that second fight between John and Juarez doesn’t really count at all. The only reason why Juarez was able to rock John in the 12th was that John’s corner idiotically told him to go all-out for the KO when he was already winning by about ten rounds on the cards, which John proceeded to do. In a typical John fight, he never goes all out for the KO no matter what the situation.
To be fair
his corner was probably afraid that he was going to get robbed again. He clearly won at least 7 rounds in the first fight yet ended up with a draw.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
I’m inclined to think that Gamboa or Lopez would win too, but that second fight between John and Juarez doesn’t really count at all.
Yes it does. I mean I get what you’re saying, but if they were worried that THAT fight was close on American soil, where will they be when faced against someone who doesn’t just stand there for the first 50-60% of a fight?
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Jan 26, 2010 6:17 PM EST up reply actions
I’d like to think that hearing what the actual scores of Juarez II were after the 12th round debacle would have disabused them of the notion that they have to go for a KO in every close fight.
Anyway, like I said, my point isn’t that John will necessarily beat Gamboa or Lopez. What I’m saying is that what happened in the second Juarez fight isn’t a sign of slippage and doesn’t accurately reflect John’s current capabilities. Instead, it just reflects what happens to John when he fights like an idiot. When he swings for the fences, he can get tagged, but then, anyone who goes out there deliberately swinging for the fences is liable to get tagged, from Floyd Mayweather on down. John could get knocked out by Gamboa or Lopez, but the fact that he was almost knocked out by Juarez doesn’t prove that.
I don’t think John’s resistance is all that great, and Lopez is just as strong as Juarez, while Gamboa is strong and incredibly fast. He was rocked earlier in the first fight against Juarez, who looked better that night than he did in the second fight, but he was still slow Rocky Juarez who fought like Eeyore too often.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Jan 26, 2010 7:08 PM EST up reply actions
I think you are mixing up punch resistance and hittability here. Those are two different things. Now, regarding punch resistance, I will agree that getting rocked when hit cleanly by Juarez suggests that you will also get rocked when hit clearly by Lopez or Gamboa, as all three guys are comparable in terms of sheer power. (Although I would dispute the characterization of this as being bad punch resistance. All three guys have excellent power. Getting rocked by them isn’t anything to be ashamed of. But that’s neither here nor there.)
Regarding hittability, I will also agree in theory that if Juarez is able to hit you cleanly, then Lopez and Gamboa will be able to hit you cleanly even more often, because they (especially Gamboa) are faster than Juarez. But that logic only applies if you get hit by Juarez while you’re actually doing the best you can. Getting hit by Juarez while fighting like an idiot does not trigger the same logic. That’s why I say the second fight isn’t good evidence for the argument that Lopez and Gamboa will find John to be hittable. Now, is there other evidence out there that does support that argument (such as the first fight)? On that, I have no opinion. The only opinion I stated was the narrow one that the second John-Juarez fight isn’t meaningful to this analysis.
If you've watched old John fights
like the Gainer or Marquez fights, there are definitely signs of slippage. He’s past prime at this point.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
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