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After a quiet fall so far things finally kick off in a big way with the Featherweight clash of Juanma Lopez against Rafael Marquez this Saturday. It presents us with a young up and coming fighter, who’s a two weight world champion against a older guy who’s place in the history books is already assured and looking to become a three weight world champion. Throw in the Puerto Rican, Mexico rivalry and this has all the makings a tremendous fight. It could be a changing of the guard if Lopez wins or it could be a reminder of just how good Marquez is if he wins. For his part Juanma has done all that has been asked of him so far going a perfect 29-0(26) which is a kayo ratio of nearly 90%. While Marquez boasts a 39-5(35) ledger with an almost equal kayo ratio. Showing both guys can clearly punch. Lopez has been down against Bernabe Concepcion & close to being stopped with Rogers Mtagwa while Marquez has been stopped in 4 of his 5 loses showing a chink in there armour. Of course you don’t go as far as these two guys if you can’t box, but a stoppage must be favoured in this battle of gunslingers. Here’s what Lopez had to say ahead of arguably his biggest fight to date.

Hello Juanma, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – You have a big fight coming up with Rafael Marquez, what are your thoughts on this fight?

Juanma Lopez – This is the greatest fight for me in my career. I think that I have to go in the best shape for this fight because I’m going to face a good fighter who’s also training hard for the bout. Marquez is a good champion and an experienced fighter.

Anson Wainwright – The fight was originally scheduled for 18 September but has been put back 6 weeks how has that effected you?

Juanma Lopez – The change had no effect for me because I came from a fight in July 10 and with the postposition I rested a little bit and continued my training as always. But with my family did affect a little because I would take my children to Disney World and now I have to take them after the fight.

Anson Wainwright – You gave your 30 day pre-weigh in how did that go? What do you normally weigh between fights?

Juanma Lopez – In the first pre-weigh in I made 136 pounds of a 144.9 maximum, I’m in a good way in this moment with this weight. Normally, when I don’t have fights, I’m in 144 or 145 pounds.

Anson Wainwright – This will be your third fight at Featherweight since moving up from Super Bantamweight, how much easier is it for you to make weight? Do you think you’ll stay at 126 for long?

Juanma Lopez – I’m very comfortable in this weight, it’s more easy to make the weight of 126. When I was in 122 for my latest fights I was dehydrated as the Rogers Mtagwa fight, my last in 122. I think that I’m going to fight in 126 for a year, always looking for the good offers.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your team, who is your manager, trainer & promoter? Also what gym do you train at?

Juanma Lopez – My manager is Orlando Piñero, who has been with me from amateur and is like a father, my trainer is Alex Caraballo and my promoters Top Rank and PR Best Boxing Promotions. I train in the Jose “Cheo” Aponte Gym in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

Anson Wainwright – Much has been made of your rivalry with Yuriorkis Gamboa, what are your feelings on him and that potential fight?

Juanma Lopez – That is a fight it must be given, promoters have been talking about that for a long time. Both of us want the fight and if all goes well, it’s going to make in the summer of 2011. We are both hard punchers and there will be a good fight between Gamboa and me.

Anson Wainwright – The Featherweight is pretty strong at the moment along with Marquez & yourself you have Celestino Caballero, Elio Rojas & Chris John along with up and comers like Mikey Garcia & Juan Carlos Burgos. What are your thoughts on those guys & how strong the Featherweight division is?

Juanma Lopez – In this moment the division is one of the best. I want to face the best fighter and I’m ready for all of them, Chris John, Celestino Caballero, Gamboa, Rojas. There are a lot of talent in this 126 division right now.

Anson Wainwright – So far what fight do you think was your best performance & why? Also which KO of yours do you consider the best?

Juanma Lopez – I had good fights in my career, but one of my best performances was the Daniel Ponce de Leon KO. It was in my first title bout and I knocked out him in the very first round. He was downed three times, it was a great fight for me.

Anson Wainwright – Finally do you have a message for Rafael Marquez ahead of your fight?

Juanma Lopez – The message is that he will be well trained for this fight because I’m training to do the best. I know he is a good boxer and I’m training for that, to box, to brawl, to everything will happen in that ring.

Thanks for your time Juanma keep up the good work.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

NEW MAPASHEVILLE INFORMATION MARKS CITY OF ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION OWNED ROADS

US Fed News Service, Including US State News July 27, 2010 ASHEVILLE, N.

C., July 26 — The city of Asheville issued the following press release:

Who should you call to fix that pothole or broken curb? In a recent update to mapAsheville, the city’s online user-accessible mapping and GIS service, The City of Asheville added a new application that displays ownership of all roads and corridors within the city limits so residents can find out who maintains their street.

While many of the streets inside the Asheville city limits are owned and maintained by the city, others are a mix of North Carolina Department of Transportation property, privately-owned roads, or roads owned by the National Park Service.

“A lot of people don’t understand that difference,” says Transportation Director Ken Putnam. “They just assume they are on a city street.” Knowing who owns the road brings a resident that much closer to finding out who to call if repairs or maintenance are needed, because whoever owns the street is responsible for its maintenance, Putnam notes. here asheville north carolina

For instance, Putnam continues, most major traffic corridors in the City of Asheville, like Merrimon Avenue, Charlotte Street and Haywood Road, not to mention I-240, are the property of NCDOT. “We thought this would be important information to put out there,” Putnam said. “And that it would be another useful resource for the citizens of Asheville.” The new application, says Information Technology Director Jonathan Feldman, is a good example of the versatility of the award-winning mapAsheville system developed in 2006. Like previous applications that supply developer information and maps instances of crimes within the city, the update consists of data the city is already working with in some fashion. Because of the way mapAsheville was structured in its creation, it is easy to follow up by plugging in new information and making it available to the public.

“It’s like a Mr. Potato Head system,” Feldman says. “We can put it together with all these different components. So when we decided to do this one, it was literally done within the week.” The City of Asheville already uses extensive GIS information for anything from directing emergency vehicles to supplying Asheville City Council with current annexation boundaries. Having that tool also increases the efficiency by which City of Asheville staff can answer technical questions without digging for data. The mapAsheville component allows the public to access data it needs as well, Feldman says. web site asheville north carolina

“Without an application like mapAsheville, all that information is locked away where the people can’t get to it,” Feldman says.

To see the mapAsheville’s new application, go to www.ashevillenc.gov/mapasheville and click on the “Standard GIS” link. Then, in the map criteria column on the left side of the page, select “Maintenance Responsibility,” and zoom in to the desired location. Clicking the “+” sign will show the map’s color-coded key. A “Simple Search” from the mapAsheville main site will also allow for address-specific searches. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at [email protected]

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