I actually hold Mtagwa in lower esteem than Asiku (and certainly than Hasegawa). He'd lose to either of them IMO. That is not to say that his close call with JML was a fluke. I was sitting about thirty feet from ringside that night, and trust me - Lopez wore a look of constant panic and was lucky to get the verdict (which was extremely unpopular with the MSG Theater crowd, who were mostly there to support him...) but to me it says more about his distaste for protracted wars with guys he can't bully than it does about Mtagwa being at the elite level. In another one of those wacky boxing triangles, I'd expect Gonzalez to blow out Mtagwa about as easily as Gamboa did - but would favor Lopez to stop Gonzalez and still give Mtagwa a good chance in a rematch with JuanMa.
Against Villa? :huh Uh. No. He didn't. Which fight are you remembering? I haven't seen every single one in his comeback since the Nishioka loss, but in most he's looked pretty sharp and able to effectively transmit his still-awesome power - even against the best he's gone up against in that time.
