What do you think will happen in this fantastic clash of styles between two excellent technicians? Yuh was a skilled pressure fighter with a strong work rate, whereas Lopez was more of a power-packed boxer. One is unbeaten, and the other is seeking revenge for a single loss. Is Yuh able to outwork Lopez, or does Lopez teach Yuh how to box?
This is actually a baller fight. Lopez's pristine technique and outside skills, with his fantastic counter punching and lead hand - vs the premiere of "just throw more than the other guy". My gut says Yuh, but Lopez might be the right guy to beat him.
I go back and forth on this one. For now I cannot decide, so I won't cast a vote. I used to lean toward a Lopez win, because I thought Finito hit hard enough to discourage Yuh from coming, setting up shop, and doing his "sonagi" (his knickname, translation "downpour") punches. But I haven't really ever seen Yuh hurt to the point where he couldn't fight his fight. And Lopez could definitely be bothered by tanks who barged in and outworked him. So the operative question is really: Can Yuh's chin, which was superlative, hold up?
Really split on this one. Lopez can outbox Yuh at a distant and has enough power to deck Yuh . Yuh has the buzzsaw workrate in his favor and can give Lopez hell similar to that of Alvarez. 50/50 fight either way where one of them wins by SD. It all comes down to if Yuh's chin holds up to Lopez's power and if he can outhustle Lopez down the stretch.
I would probably favour Yuh. I think Yuh was educated enough and grimy enough for him to force Lopez out of himself. His work-rate and relentlessness would present serious problems for Lopez, especially if the Rosendo Alvarez fights are anything to go off. Most of the best South Koreans that I've seen are very capable when it comes to taking away the jab, and Yuh was no exception. I think the cleanliness of Lopez's superlative boxing would work against him here honestly. Lopez wasn't very good at dirty boxing and often would create resets in his own work after punching. By contrast, Yuh was very good on the inside and knew how to frame and use physical controls to maintain the flow of his punches after finishing his combinations. It's part of the reason he could throw so much and so often, and how he maintained such a high pace. I think it would really irritate Lopez to have Yuh constantly pressing into him and forcing a faster pace on him that he wants to be fighting at. I think Lopez would be forced to fight outside of himself and would be forced away from fighting his fight so would lose his composure. Then again, it's entirely possible that Lopez puts on a clinic and keeps Yuh on the end of his jab for 12 rounds, but I think it's unlikely.
