
The following first appeared in elnuevodia.com. It was translated and edited for our readers enjoyment.
CABO ROJO, PR — Super flyweight Juan Manuel “Juanmita” López de Jesús will make his debut as a professional fighter on February 14 at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York, as part of the card that will be headlined by lightweight world champion Denys Berinchyk and in which fellow Puerto Rican Xander Zayas will act as a co-main event in a duel between undefeated fighters.
The announcement about López, who signed with the promotion company Top Rank after representing Puerto Rico at the last Olympic Games in Paris in 2024, was made by the firm itself.
López de Jesús is the son of the former world champion of the same name, and will face Bryan Santiago in a four-round fight, with a record of 1-1 and one draw. Their fight will be part of the preliminary round.
The card will be headlined by Berinchyk, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) lightweight champion, whose title will be at stake against undefeated American Keyshawn Davis.
Meanwhile, Zayas will face German Slawa Spomer in the super welterweight division (154 pounds). Both are undefeated with a record of 20-0. Zayas has 12 knockouts, one more than the German.
These two fights, as well as Vito Mielnicki Jr.’s fight against Connor Coyle will be broadcast live and exclusively on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ from 10:00 p.m., Puerto Rico time.
The Juanmita López fight, meanwhile, as well as the other preliminaries, can be seen on ESPN+ from 6:00 p.m.
“Juanmita has the family and amateur pedigree to become a world champion, and one of the faces of Puerto Rican boxing,” legendary Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said in a press release.
Juanmita, 19, of Caguas, will fight in a venue with family significance, as his father, Juanma, won two world title fights at the Theater. He defended his WBO super bantamweight crown against Rogers Mtagwa in 2009, and won the WBO featherweight belt against Steven Luevano the following year.
“The most anticipated moment has arrived,” Lopez de Jesus said. “We are ready to show what we are truly made of. As we say in Puerto Rico: ‘He who inherits it, does not steal it.’ On February 14, my professional career begins and I am very excited to be able to create my own history representing Puerto Rico,” Juanmita said in a written statement.
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