Eighteen-year-old Juanmita López De Jesús will make his pro debut early next year
Puerto Rican Olympic boxer Juanmita López De Jesús, the 18-year-old son of former two-division world champion Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez, has signed an exclusive, long-term promotional contract with Top Rank.
De Jesús, a native of Caguas, is slated to make his professional debut as a junior bantamweight (115 pounds) in early 2025.
The father-son duo made history as the first such pair in Puerto Rican boxing.
De Jesús enjoyed a strong career as an amateur, winning a Puerto Rican National Championship in 2023. One year prior to that achievement, he reached the semifinals of the IBA Youth World Championships.
Twenty years after his father, Lopez, competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, De Jesús entered the Games in Paris, France, losing a unanimous decision in his first fight against eventual gold medalist Hasanboy Dusmatov.
Lopez fought under the promotion of Top Rank in the 2000s and early 2010s, establishing himself as a dangerous and explosive power puncher.
