TAMPA, Fla. -- With eyes fixated on perspiration-soaked, WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto's workout, Bob Arum surveyed his latest promotional responsibility at The Fight Factory gymnasium like an artist appreciating his most recent piece.
"Miguel is just a fighter with great, great heart," said Arum, whose 42 years in boxing began with the Muhammad Ali victory over George Chuvalo -- his first of 26 fights involving the man many call "The Greatest" -- and included the George Foreman comeback.
FanHouse caught up with Arum on Tuesday during Cotto's training in Florida for his Nov. 14 defense against Manny Pacquiao to discuss the futures of Cotto, Pacquiao, and several other fighters he promotes.
Puerto Rico's Juan Manuel Lopez retained his WBO super featherweight crown with a unanimous decision over Tanzanian native Rogers Mtagwa of Philadelphia in his fifth defense before a packed house at the WaMu Theater in New York's Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
The 26-year-old southpaw rose to 27-0 with 24 knockouts, but failed to earn his 15th straight KO against the hard-punching Mtagwa (26-13-2, 18 KOs).
Lopez, who was in his first fight as the main event, was nearly out on his feet from the start of the 12th until the end, but managed to hold on for a victory, 114-113 on Kevin Morgan's card, 115-111 on that of Steve Weisfeld, 116-111 on that of Carlos Ortiz.
Cuban-born Yuriorkis Gamboa successfully defended his WBA featherweight title on Saturday night with a fourth-round knockout over Panama's Whyber Garcia before a packed house at the WaMu Theater in New York's Madison Square Garden.
Gamboa, a 27-year-old former Olympic gold medalist, dropped Garcia with a left-right combination that deposited him face down early in the round.
Garcia beat the count, but took about 20 or so unanswered punches before referee Steve Smoger stepped in to wave an end to their fight 58 seconds into the fourth.
On Saturday night, three fights of interest will transpire in the superbantamweight and featherweight divisions.
Puerto Rico's WBO superbantamweight (122-pounds) champion, Juan Manuel Lopez (pictured left) and WBA featherweight (126) king Yuriorkis Gamboa (middle) will be involved in two of them at the WaMu Theatre in New York's Madision Square Garden, with Mexican-born 126-pounder, Israel Vazquez (right) being in the third at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.
Depending on the results, any of the three boxers could soon wind up in the ring opposite each other.
Cuban-born featherweight Yuriorkis Gamboa (15-0, 13 knockouts) will go after his sixth straight knockout when he defends his WBA title against Panama's Whyber Garcia (22-6, 15 KOs) on Oct. 10 at New York's Madison Square Garden.
The clash of 126-pounders will take place on the undercard of a main event featuring another rising star and potential opponent for Gamboa - Juan Manuel Lopez. The 26-year-old, Puerto Rican super bantamweight (122 pounds) (26-0, 24 KOs) will put his WBO crown on the line against Rogers Mtagwa (26-12-2, 18 KOs).
"I do not want to lose focus in preparation for this fight, because I know that without winning this fight I can't get to the bigger fights, with Juan Manuel Lopez being one of them," Gamboa said.
A storm is brewing in the superbantamweight and featherweight divisions of professional boxing, and Puerto Rican southpaw Juan Manuel Lopez is at its epicenter.
For whenever a rising 122-, or, 126-pound fighter mentions an opponent, Lopez's name always comes up.
"It's a big compliment when people talk about me being the centerpiece," Lopez said. "It's up to me to do what they expect me to do."
After watching last weekend's one-sided loss by Juan Manuel Marquez, fellow Mexican Cris Arreola feels a cultural responsibility entering Saturday night's fight against heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko.
"It did give me an extra incentive to carry the Mexican torch and grab the bull by the horns," said Arreola. "Whether my fellow Mexican fighters are on the top or not, I am in the business to win the title."
Juan Manuel Marquez, who is considered one of Mexico's greatest fighters, will fight at 144 pounds -- the highest weight at which he's ever competed -- to face unbeaten Floyd "Pretty Boy" Mayweather Jr. in a battle pitting two of boxing's pound-for-pound best performers Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
FanHouse sought out the opinions and predictions of some of the sport's most knowledgeable sources in the boxing world for the megafight.
In March of 2008, Michael Buffer was lying on an operating table at the USC Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles.
The man known for igniting crowds with an electrifying introduction of boxers with his signature, copywritten phrase, "Lets Get Ready To Rumble," was receiving potentially life-- if not -- career-threatening neck and throat surgery.
"The prognosis early on was that I would have to have continuous radiation, which, of course would cause a problem with the saliva glands, which would mean I wouldn't be doing any more announcing," said Buffer, 65, whose operation removed a lymph node attached to his tonsils -- the source of a cancer called squamous cell carcinoma.
HBO's Max Kellerman responded to the performance by saying, "A star is born," and he's absolutely right. Lopez is a destructive fighter, with punching power that guys who weigh 121 pounds just aren't supposed to possess: He's 22-0 with 20 knockouts, and in his two fights that went the distance, he dominated so thoroughly that four of the six judges awarded him every round.
The super bantamweight division has been dominated of late by Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez, who fought twice last year and had a rubber match this year. But now there's another super bantamweight force to be reckoned with: Lopez is the real deal.
TAMPA, Fla. -- With eyes fixated on perspiration-soaked, WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto's workout, Bob Arum surveyed his latest promotional responsibility at The Fight Factory gymnasium like an artist appreciating his most recent piece.
Puerto Rico's 
Cuban-born 
Cuban-born featherweight 
A storm is brewing in the superbantamweight and featherweight divisions of professional boxing, and Puerto Rican southpaw Juan Manuel Lopez is at its epicenter.
After watching last weekend's one-sided loss by 
In March of 2008, 
During 
