By Jake Donovan
Plenty of names have surfaced in pursuit of the next challenger for the middleweight crown. There were top middleweight contenders. There were garden-variety alphabet contenders. There was even a welterweight willing to move up two divisions.
In the end, the linear middleweight crown was put on the shelf for the remainder of 2008, as Kelly Pavlik has instead settled for an over-the-limit catchweight bout with Bernard Hopkins.
Win, lose or draw, Pavlik's handlers will have to renew their search for a challenger once he's ready to drop back 10 pounds to defend his crown. They can start by looking under the one rock they failed to turn over during the last treasure hunt.
For whatever reason, David "The Destroyer" Lopez was never mentioned as a possible candidate. Next time around, he figures to not only be in the mix, but standing at the front of the line – or a lot closer to it than presently seems to be the case.
"It's frustrating, but as long as I keep winning, I'll keep moving forward," said Lopez, fresh off a 5th round knockout of Billy Lyell last Friday on Telefutura. "With this win, I'm now the #3 ranked fighter in the WBC. My goal by the end of the year is to be the #1 contender, and fight for the world title by next year."
The win was Lopez' 12th straight, a streak that accounts for one-third of his overall win total for the Mexican southpaw. His record now stands at 36-12 (23KO) as he continues with his late surge through the rankings. But there was a time when the only direction his career moved was sideways – and that was on a good day.
Though just turning 30 years old last November, Lopez is already a 13-year veteran of the sport, having turned pro in 1995 at the age of 17. The old saying "win some, lose some" was a literal reference to the early years of his career.
Thrown to the wolves early, Lopez never enjoyed a winning streak of more than five fights through the first seven years as a pro. By the end of 2002, he was stuck at an unimpressive 19-11 record, with most of the losses coming against undefeated prospects.
There was no rhyme or reason to his career – have gloves, will travel was the long and short of it. No real promoter, no manager looking out for his best interests, not even a given weight class at which he pretended to campaign.
"I used to take whatever fight was offered," admitted Lopez when reflecting on a career once destined for journeyman status. "It didn't matter what weight, or how much notice was given. I just wanted to fight."
Somewhere along the way, winning would have to become an option. It came in 2003, with his first fight of the year kicking off what would become a five-fight win streak.
But it was how the year ended – and the next one began - that would redefine his career. Back-to-back knockout wins over previously unbeaten middleweights Lonnie Bradley and Jerson Ravelo put the boxing world on notice that Lopez was far from done.
The knockout over Bradley – a complete whitewash from the opening bell until the merciful ending - was a message for all rehabbing middleweights to look anywhere else but Nogales, Mexico when in search for a comeback opponent suitable to their needs. Ravelo learned the hard way, but paved the way for future middleweight prospects to travel a safer path if they wanted to remain undefeated.
The only problem with snatching an "0" in back to back fights is that eventually the rest of the industry gets the hint. Lopez had a hard time securing fights as a result, at least against similar opposition. He was brought back to the Deuce, though on the A-side of the bout sheet for a change, easily handling journeyman Kirino Garcia for his fifth straight win, but with little else beyond that on the horizon. A record too ugly to warrant contender status, a style too dangerous to get anyone ranked above him to look his way.
Golden Boy Promotions tried to keep the Mexican banger busy and in the win column. A January 2005 Boxeo de Oro card was headlined by Lopez, as he took on the equally hard-hitting Fulgencio Zuniga. The bout was a donnybrook throughout, with a 7th round knockdown providing Lopez a slim lead on the scorecards heading into the final round.
Then disaster struck.
Zuniga scored a knockdown early in the round to turn the tide. Lopez recovered, but was never quite back in the fight. The dramatic turn of events prompted announcer (and current middleweight contender, ironically enough) Raul Marquez to begin screaming "Que esta pasando (What is happening?)."
Lopez had to ask himself the same thing, as he was pummeled along the ropes and eventually to the canvas before the bout was waved off with just a minute to go.
It was career loss number twelve, leaving him with a career winning percentage of just .667. Back to opponent status it was, or so most would think. But eleven losses couldn't bury his career; why should one more?
Besides, even without a winning streak to speak of at that moment, Lopez had something else to fall back on for the first time in his career – stability.
"It took a long time for me to find the right people to care about my career," admits Lopez. "I now have that, and with a strong team comes confidence."
It begins with manager Javier Zapata, who helped turn around the career of another perceived journeyman in Carlos Baldomir. The Argentinean saw his career come full circle in 2006, when he was in the right place at the right time, outworking and outlasting Zab Judah to scoop up the linear welterweight crown. His year ended with a loss, but managed to clear more than $3,000,000 in the process.
Lopez is a long way from that tax bracket, though a big enough win at middleweight will help bring him one step closer. Winning twelve in a row is a step in the right direction, though there's no sense of self-entitlement when it comes to Lopez' immediate future. Unlike most, Lopez has no problem proving his worth to those who insist there's more work to be done; in fact he was willing earlier this year.
"I was supposed to fight an eliminator in April, on the same HBO card as Joe Calzaghe-Bernard Hopkins," Lopez reminds everyone. "Marco Antonio Rubio was scheduled to face me (in the co-feature), only he pulled out after suffering an injury."
Lopez wound up settling for an off-television bout against Ryan Davis, knocking him out five rounds for his 10th straight win. What should have been cause for at least minor celebration instead turned to disappointment when he read up on the status of his original opponent.
"Rubio was supposedly too hurt to fight David," says Zapata. "But then the next thing we hear, he's being lined up to fight Pavlik for the title. It's funny how quickly his injury healed."
Too bad his reputation was still damaged in the eyes of HBO, who rejected Rubio as a potential future opponent for Pavlik without first winning a significant middleweight fight.
Such a fight still awaits if he's so willing.
"I wanted to fight him in April, but he pulled out," says Lopez. "I have no problem fighting him next. I've already fought three times in 2008; I want to fight once more this year, and for that fight to be an eliminator and then wait for my chance to challenge for the middleweight title."
Fighter, manager and promoter are all on the same page in regards to that mission.
"Golden Boy Promotions is currently working on getting a WBC eliminator for David Lopez for his next fight," reveals GBP Vice President and matchmaker Eric Gomez. "David had a great performance (in his last fight) and is now ready for a career defining bout."
A win over a fighter like Marco Antonio Rubio will get Lopez one step closer toward that goal, though the next trick would be, getting Pavlik or any other top middleweight to look his way. That remains the hardest part, even though a 6'2" hard-hitting southpaw would normally stand out from the rest of the middleweight pack.
But as long as he keeps winning, Lopez remains in a far better place than he's ever been in his 13-plus year career. Although he'll tell you that such has been the case well before his current winning streak ever began.
"Everyone at Golden Boy Promotions does right by me," insists Lopez. "Between them, my manager and my trainer, I'm getting the support I've never before had in my career.
"That support is the biggest difference. It motivates me to train harder, knowing that as long as I keep winning, my opportunity will soon come."
As soon as the other middleweights remember his name.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .