Showtime Boxing - Josesito Lopez Interview: The Modern Day Rocky

Don't be surprised if Josesito Lopez handles Canelo Alvarez on September 15th. Size matters but not the kind of bulk Alvarez is carrying into the bout, the length (5'10) is what made Lopez competitive with Ortiz and it can be a factor again. A coach once told me (a shorty on the hoop team) a long time ago, "you can be short but damnit you better be special" and by that he meant explosive like a Manny Pacquiao, Barry Sanders or Nate Robinson. Canelo Alvarez is simply very good, but he isnt special, and if he were Golden Boy would have put him in with Alfredo Angulo or James Kirkland (instead of alienating and then losing the Texan) or done better than the intellectual laziness of dressing Lopez up as "Rocky". He's not that much of an underdog and the stare down between the two reminds of me of Liston-Clay when Angelo Dundee realized he had the "bigger guy".The weight, if added correctly on Lopez's more advantageous frame may be to his advantage and give him more power than he brought in vs. Ortiz. I like his chances because I've never bought into Alvarez, and i don't buy the Rocky bullshit on Lopez. Lopez was by no means a club fighter, yeah he was a "set up" for Ortiz but it's not like he had one foot in pro Boxing and the other in some miserable job. Lopez was propelled to the set up bout due to his performance on a PPV under card, a highway robbery that showed the Chicagoan to be a tough pro but not a spoiler for the likes of Ortiz. In fact, had Ortiz continued broken jaw and all he might of stopped Lopez who had still given a good enough accounting of himself for future paydays. This isn't a Rocky story, i can see how Lopez is convincing himself of it ..but it's more of a cover up story and Alvarez needs the covering. either way, we have a new face and a bright new Prospect to follow and that reality is better than anything Sylvester Stallone can create. 

Oh yeah, memo to Philly if theres no Joe Frazier statue soon you should tear down the Rocky statue- like Malcolm X i say it plain.