Juanmita López De Jesús signs with Top Rank, bids to emulate father

Top Rank today announced the signing of Juanmita López De Jesús, the son of former two-weight champion Juan Manuel Lopez.

López De Jesús, a 2024 Olympian who represented Puerto Rico, has pledged his long-term future to the Las Vegas-based company and will debut at junior bantamweight in early 2025.

The 18-year-old is the son of the big punching star who had a long and successful career under the Top Rank banner.

“Juan Manuel Lopez is one of Puerto Rico’s great champions, and it brings me great pleasure to welcome Juanmita to the Top Rank family,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “Juanmita is an exceptional talent, someone we feel will excel in the ring and, like his father, bring many championships to the great fighting nation of Puerto Rico.”

López De Jesús added: “I thank God and Top Rank for the incredible opportunity to walk this path alongside them, following in my father’s footsteps. This marks the beginning of something truly extraordinary. Thank you, Puerto Rico, for your unwavering support. I am thrilled to embark on this journey filled with passion and dedication. I am ready to give it my all to achieve greatness and create my own story.”

Both father and son fought for Puerto Rico in the Olympics, Juanma at the 2004 Athens Games and López De Jesús this year in Paris, going out in his opening match to eventual gold medalist Hasanboy Dusmatov.  

The explosive “Juanma” had his last fight in 2019 and was 36-6-1 (32 KOs) when he retired.