Juan Manuel Lopez thinking money with potential move to 126

Juan Manuel Lopez told Primera Hora (link via BoxingScene.com) that he's considering moving up to 126 pounds after his Saturday night fight with Olivier Lontchi, but it's not because of any trouble whatsoever making weight at 122. He's simply looking to make the best money deals.

Often when a fighter talks about making more money, it comes with an asterisk that he might be avoiding good fights in his own weight class. But that is hardly the case here. Lopez would be moving up along with divisional stars Israel Vazquez, Rafael Marquez and Celestino Caballero, so instead of avoiding any of them, he's just chasing them up the ladder a bit. There's also been all that recent talk of a super exciting clash between Lopez and fellow phenom Yuriorkis Gamboa, a featherweight titlist who recently signed on with Top Rank.

I've said plenty of times that I might be the world's biggest non-Puerto Rican fan of Juanma, and this potential move does nothing but excite me as a boxing fan. There are bigger and better fights at 126, he's got the size and definitely the skill for the division, and he's coming off as a guy that really wants the best fights. In the lighter weight classes, it's generally the best fights that make the most money, because nobody's a box office superstar, really. There's no Mayweather-de la Hoya to make down there.