Ricardo lopez vs michael carbajal

[joemama]

I had Michael Carbalal winning the second match and Humberto Gonzalez winning the third.

[greeh]

Gonzalez and Carbajal were much bigger names than Lopez at the time, and so that was the rivalry that really got pushed, with great results of course. Lopez just never reached that level of popularity, and that was maybe as much due to not having a great rival.

It was also largely the timing too. Carbajal and Gonzalez were hugely popular and very big names at the end of the 80s/start of the 90s and had ended their great careers when Lopez was still only a few years into his ten year championship reign. Lopez really wasn't a name fighter or even on the radar, apart from boxing insiders, until after those two had already retired which was a pity. Maybe if he'd been a bigger name, there would have been more pressure to move up and get those fights done.

It's unfortunate because it could have really added another chapter to that great story, a bit like if Chang had come along a little later too and fought when he was still in his prime. Would have undoubtedly been the greatest flyweight foursome ever. Never would have been matched if those guys had all fought.

Lopez just stayed at 105 for too long. It would have been great to see him move up and get into the action much earlier, but he was still in his the early stages of his first reign when they were at the height, then end, of their careers.

As for the fight, I think Lopez would take it reasonably clearly. I think a Gonzalez fight would have been much harder and I'm not too sure he could have won that one. Actually, I think Gonzalez has become by far the most underrated one. He's the best L. flyweight out of all of them and undoubtedly one of the best to ever fight around Flyweight. Better resume than all the others too. I find it interesting that Carbajal often gets mentioned above Gonzalez as Gonzalez clearly had the more successful career, with two wins, and better wins overall.

I don't agree on that Chiquita is the 108lbs. GOAT, but then I don’t rate him as highly as others seem to do. I don’t doubt that he was a very good fighter, but he had some apparent flaws and his often sloppy execution doesn’t make me a fan of his. I think he benefitted immensely from the exposure he got from US television and that’s largely due to why he is so highly thought of by some. His fellow weight class companions Zapata, Yuh, Gushiken, and Torres don’t get as much attention. Even Chang is lesser known in general than him. At least it seems to be the case quite often.

In potential match-ups I don't think he would fare too well against the sluggers with top-end durability or the more sophisticated boxer-punchers that the flyweight division has to offer.

Anyway, Chang is the light flyweight GOAT and everybody knows it.

[BennyST]

I don't agree on that Chiquita is the 108lbs. GOAT, but then I don’t rate him as highly as others seem to do. I don’t doubt that he was a very good fighter, but he had some apparent flaws and his often sloppy execution doesn’t make me a fan of his. I think he benefitted immensely from the exposure he got from US television and that’s largely due to why he is so highly thought of by some. His fellow weight class companions Zapata, Yuh, Gushiken, and Torres don’t get as much attention. Even Chang is lesser known in general than him. At least it seems to be the case quite often.

In potential match-ups I don't think he would fare too well against the sluggers with top-end durability or the more sophisticated boxer-punchers that the flyweight division has to offer.

Anyway, Chang is the light flyweight GOAT and everybody knows it.

Yeah, Chang is the one guy I'd say could be above Gonzalez purely because of his long run, very underrated wins and in ring brilliance, but he also lost to Gonzalez. His epic win over Zapata makes up for it, but then Gonzalez has wins over Carabajal and Chang himself, and was also the unified champ. But then his losses and inconsistency hold him back.

I have Chang and Gonzalez above Carbajal.

I think my overall ratings would be:
Chang/Gonzalez
Carabajal
Zapata

[Anthony342]

Wasn't Carbajal also in the 1988 Olympics? That probably led to his getting more exposure on American TV as back then networks still showcased former Olympians regularly. Heck, remember in 1984 on ABC when they had the Night of Gold or whatever they called it? I believe Holyfield, Whitaker, and Taylor fought on that card.

[TBear]

Wasn't Carbajal also in the 1988 Olympics? That probably led to his getting more exposure on American TV as back then networks still showcased former Olympians regularly. Heck, remember in 1984 on ABC when they had the Night of Gold or whatever they called it? I believe Holyfield, Whitaker, and Taylor fought on that card.

He won the silver. He and several Olympians turned pro on the Duran-Barkley card. Among them were Mercer, Robert Wangila, Maynard and Kennedy McKinney.

[RINGG]

Lopez-Carbajal has always been a dream fight for me. Would have been a tougher fight for Lopez than Rosendo Alvarez was. I would have picked Lopez by close decision.

[BennyST]

Lopez-Carbajal has always been a dream fight for me. Would have been a tougher fight for Lopez than Rosendo Alvarez was. I would have picked Lopez by close decision.

It would have been epic, but Lopez was pretty far past his use by date at that stage and Alvarez was a very different fighter than Carbajal. Completely different styles. I think it would have looked quite different, and maybe even not been as hard. Much more of a technical chess match, rather than the war Alvarez/Lopez was.

Still, I think that fight was maybe a little harder for two reasons. One was because of his age and the other was that Alvarez was, for a short time at his peak, an incredible, underrated fighter who had the perfect style to fight Lopez at that stage.