Lopez ditches glamour to pack a punch

At 42, Jennifer Lopez is proving she hasn't lost her sexy edge by posing for a series of raunchy images that reveal "the lady is a champ".

The actress, singer and dancer posed for celebrity photographer Mario Testino, with the photos appearing in V Magazine's sports issue.

In one black and white photo, a naked Lopez has boxing gloves on her hands to cover her bare breasts.

In another image, the American Idol judge looks like a sexy boxer - wearing only a red Cleto Reyes groin guard and a customised Emporio Armani white t-shirt that barely covers her breasts.

Lopez, who is known for her glamorous image and penchant for designer labels, told V she had learnt to take a hit or two.

The Latina superstar is dating a younger man following the break-up of her marriage to Marc Anthony and has been known to re-tweet her lover Casper Smart's messages about the irrelevance of age in matters of the heart.

"Age, status, n opinions of others are irrelevant [sic]," Smart tweeted.

"Our hearts are endless and our souls infinite. Our ages are mere reminders of the hours logged on this earth and the precious time remaining.

"We should all honor our time here by indulging our passion and dreams. So, close your ears and open your hearts; Love and be happy!"

Lopez's photos for V show that just because she is in her early 40s and a mother of two, it is no reason to write her off - she is still very much a sex symbol.

That's not to say she has hit the mark each time with her career decisions, but she told V that she had learnt to roll with the punches.

"You're not going to hit the target or the bull's-eye every time. That's part of it," Lopez told V.

"At the end of the day, I made those choices. I've been in the business now, I don't want to say how many years.

"You have amazing moments of recognition and success. But at this point in my life, I try to take it all with a grain of salt."

Jennifer Lopez poses for V Magazine. Pictures: Mario Testino/V Magazine

Lopez said she had "always felt like a tough girl from the Bronx . . . [but with] a soft core".

Robin Givhan reported in V that Lopez's "boxer-fighter-survivor" photo shoot with Testino for the magazine was "a theme symbolic of her career of late".

Jennifer Lopez poses for V Magazine. Pictures: Mario Testino/V Magazine

"I can take a lot of punches and still keep going," she said.

"I've been trained like a boxer to go 15 rounds."

In some images, Lopez chose to pose in a black groin protector - the men's version - instead of the women's red version.

Jennifer Lopez poses for V Magazine. Pictures: Mario Testino/V Magazine

"I thought it was more graphic," she said of her decision.

She said it made her feel tougher. But she also wanted her usual "big, glamorous, curly hair".

"But no. Testino and [fashion stylist Carine] Roitfeld advocated for a slicked-back, more masculine, more aggressive style. It will still be sexy, they assured her," Givhan said.

"It will still be very Jennifer Lopez."