By Jake Donovan

Saul ‘Baby’ Juarez and Ganigan Lopez both made weight for Friday’s Telemundo-televised headliner in Mexico City, Mexico. 

The pair of Mexico City-based boxing veterans weighed in at 109 pounds for a scheduled 10-round contest that represents a must-win scenario for each combatant.

A regional title is stake for the evening’s main event, though with the tease of the winner moving on to a title shot.

Juarez (25-9-2, 13KOs) comes in as the fresher of the two, entering on the heels of a technical decision win over Mario Andrade in their rematch this past March. The two fought to a draw last July, with the sequel proving every bit as contentious but with Juarez doing enough to hold the lead when a cut suffered by Andrade ended fight early in round seven. 

Wedged in between the second of his two failed title bids, going the distance with the excellent unbeaten 108-pound titlist Ken Shiro in dropping a landslide decision last December. His previous shot at a major title ended in similar fashion, albeit in a far more competitive performance in an Aug. 2016 loss to Wanheng Menayothin at strawweight.

The 28-year old from Mexico hopes to get at least one more crack to win a title, something which was never achieved by his older brother Raul—a four-time title challenger—and father Raul Lopez during their respective careers.

Lopez (35-9, 19KOs) can at least claim a title reign but has shown to be long in the tooth. The aging southpaw—who turns 38 in November—came up aces in his second bid at a junior flyweight strap, scoring a 12-round win over Yu Kimura in their March 2016 title fight in Kyoto, Japan. The win came eight months after dropping a decision to countryman and then-reigning titlist Pedro Guevara, who in turn lost his belt to Kimura in his very next fight.

Just one successful defense came of Lopez’s 14-month reign, a 12-round nod over Jonathan Taconing before losing the title to Shiro in a hard fought decision in May 2017. Their rematch last May proved considerably less competitive, suffering a 2nd round knockout at the hands of the still-reigning unbeaten titlist. 

Efforts to claim another version of the title proved disastrous for Lopez, as he was manhandled in eight rounds by Angel Acosta in their title fight this past April following a 10-round win over countryman Ricardo Rodriguez last November.

FULL WEIGHTS

Saul Juarez 109 lbs. vs. Ganigan Lopez 109 lbs.—10 rds, flyweight

Alejandro "Pacquiao" Villaseñor 107 lbs. vs. Armando Torres 108 lbs.—8 rds, flyweight

Giovanni Garcia 111 ¾ lbs. vs. Miguel Angel Luna 111 ¾ lbs.—6 rds, flyweigh

Juan Manzo Rebolledo 108 lbs. vs. Yale Marquez 107 lbs.—4 rds, junior flyweight

Juan Carlos Gonzalez 119 lbs. vs. Sergio Granados 119 lbs.—4 rds, bantamweight

Roberto Nava Diaz 138.5 lbs. vs. Barrera Maldonado 138 lbs.—4 rds, lightweight

Jesus Marin 145 lbs. vs. Edrei Gonzalez Robles:146 lbs.—4 rds, welterweight

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox