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What if Ricardo Lopez moved up to flyweight? How would he have done? Would he clean out the division? Would he have eventually lost? Who would he have faced?
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Lopez vs Mark Johnson at 112 would have been one helluva fight. -
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If he had moved up to 108, the two top guys were Chiquita Gonzalez and Michael Carbajal. That would have been two very good match-ups, and I belive that Lopez would have won both. But he would never have fought Gonzalez as both were managed and trainde by Nacho Beristain.Comment
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I believe he would have cleaned out the division and remained undefeated. He would have had some competitive and difficult fights but I don't think there was anyone out there who would have beaten him. He had the frame to move up, and considering that his dominance was based purely on skill and his professionalism in and out of the ring, I have no doubt that he would have been able to move up and still be a dominant force. He also had a really great trainer. People really wanted Lopez to move up to 108 to face Humberto Gonzalez and/or Michael Carbajal but those plans evaporated when Gonzalez lost to a guy that Lopez had already destroyed, and even if he hadn't lost that fight, I still don't think it would have happened because they were both trained by Nacho Beristain. And the Carbajal fight lost it's appeal after the last 2 Gonzalez fights. To be honest, the Flyweight division doesn't look like it was much better than the one he was competing in, but you did have two great champions in Mark Johnson and Yuri Arbachakov. I think both would have tested him, but beat him? I don't think so.
I don't understand why people think Mark Johnson would have beaten Lopez, at all. What is this based on? Mark Johnson didn't beat anyone that suggests he would have beaten Lopez so let's compare their attributes. What did "Too Sharp" do better? Did he have better speed? Maybe. Was he more powerful? No. Did he have better defence? No. Was he a smarter fighter? No. Was he more versatile? No. Was he a better combination puncher? No. Was he a better body puncher? No. That's not to say that he wasn't a great fighter but Lopez was a better one and would have beaten him if they fought. I think sometimes people look at great fighters with a few losses and they are willing to give them more credit than undefeated fighters because they get the feeling they were tested more. Lopez's resume is better than it's given credit for. He did beat 10 world champions and unify the belts, and even though his resume could have been better if he moved up, he is still one of the greatest boxers of all time regardless, whether people want to admit it or not. Of all the great boxers I have seen from the last 20 years there's only one that I can rate above him which is Floyd Mayweather.Last edited by JK1700; 06-19-2012, 10:21 PM.Comment
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I believe he would have done well at flyweight if he moved up earlier in his career. By the time he moved up to junior flyweight against Grigsby he was at the end of his career, but if he did it earlier he would have had success.Comment
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Lopez beats anyone in history from flyweight on down, with the possible exception of Jimmy Wilde.
Absolutely no weaknesses in the man. The only times he looked even remotely beatable was against Rosendo Alvarez, who is most definitely an all-time great, and Finito was past his best at that point.
If you've watched as many strawweight bouts as I have, you'd have no doubt that Ricardo Lopez is the greatest Mexican fighter to ever lace up a pair of gloves. His competition was far tougher than he's given credit for.Last edited by SBleeder; 06-20-2012, 01:53 PM.Comment
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He spanks Jimmy (he's doesn't exactly have a style that would translate over well to this era) but there's been way too many great Flyweights to say he beats them all, Miguel Canto, Pascual Perez, Fighting Harada, Kingpetch and quite a few others all give him a run for his money, more so then Wilde at least imo.Originally posted by SBleeder View PostComment
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Chavez said that he thought, this was in the early 90s, that Ricardo Lopez was better than he was. He said that, if they were the same weight, Lopez would knock him out. Against Alvarez, the first fight, Lopez was certainly past his best, but far from shot. He got timed and knocked down by a guy that was a real good fighter. That kind of thing happens when you fight, and it only happened once in over 50 fights to Lopez. In the return, he gave up considerable weight to Alvarez, who fought like a young Duran, using headbutts elbows and what ever else to bust up Lopez, and still Lopez beat him by a wide margin.
To say that Lopez was not a good counter-puncher is to miss the whole point of what he was doing in the ring. He was a master at setting guys up, making them throw specific punches in specific situation and knocking them out. In his early career he was primarily a left handed power puncher, but developed one punch power in his right hand as well. He boxed like a text book, and was incredibly smart in the ring. These are things you notice in a fighter. His opposition may not have been the best, but the only really good fighters that carbajal and gonzalez, at 108, ever fought were each other. Who did Mark Johnson fight? Or Arbachakov?
Gonzalez was comparable to Lopez, in that he fought thoughtfully, he was clever in the ring, a hallmark of all Nacho Beristain fighters. (Like Juan Manuel Marquez) Carbajal, not so much. Watch the 2nd and 3rd Gonzalez fights and his inability to adjust and adapt. Johnson was a southpaw and a solid puncher, not much more, and I saw him fight live twice. Lopez absolutely ate southpaws.Comment
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