..RICARDO LOPEZ: The Forgotten Legend...

Perhaps true and that's a shame; I keep a stash of about 15 full. Great fighter even with holes in his resume. As to not being bigger, 105-122 used to be the same division and he was bigger than guys like Wilde and Perez, so not fighting thsoe fights hurts him more thasn a former Fly (Pac) not going all the way to 40. Fair enough.

Perhaps true and that's a shame; I keep a stash of about 15 full. Great fighter even with holes in his resume. As to not being bigger, 105-112 used to be the same division and he was bigger than guys like Wilde and Perez, so not fighting thsoe fights hurts him more thasn a former Fly (Pac) not going all the way to 40.

He went in to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot and is rarely ever criticized; how is he not a big deal...what more is there to respect him. For whatver reason, he missed four mega talents 3 and 7 pounds away while hanging out in a division that mostly sucked. That has to be factored. If Manny Pacquiao moves up to 135 successfully, he'd be 5 pounds away and I wouldn't slight him for not moving up. You have to be COMFORTABLE in the weight at the time that those fighters are there, is my point. You can't fault a guy for not being bigger. This website is relatively knowledgeable. And I'd be happy to bet that if you made a poll, less than half the people here would be able to say that they've seen close to or more than 5 of his fights, the entire fight.

He went in to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot and is rarely ever criticized; how is he not a big deal...what more is there to respect him. For whatver reason, he missed four mega talents 3 and 7 pounds away while hanging out in a division that mostly sucked. That has to be factored.

There is many forgotten legends. like Rafeal Limon, Rubin Olivera, Bobby Chacano, Perez, Wilford Gomez, Azuma Nelson, Alexis Argullo...etc

C-Drone: It would be a bigger deal at 30, 35 etc. because those divisions are usually good. Strawweight at its best is typically average. Lopez beat some very good fighters (Vilamor, Sorjaturong, Sanchez, Alvarez), but were he at 30 or 35 he would have had to have fought a Johnson or Carbajal. His size erased public pressure for him to fight anything above the wasteland he resided in. I know why he's not a big deal, but I still think he SHOULD be a bigger deal. A lot of the things he did are unmatched, in terms of the comparisons that can/cannot be made. True, the weight class was limited. But, once again... Sometimes it's not who you do it against in this sport, but what you do, period.

C-Drone: It would be a bigger deal at 30, 35 etc. because those divisions are usually good. Strawweight at its best is typically average (DAriusz made over 20 defenses at 75 for the WBO belt and no one cares about that either). Lopez beat some very good fighters (Vilamor, Sorjaturong, Sanchez, Alvarez), but were he at 30 or 35 he would have had to have fought a Johnson or Carbajal. His size erased public pressure for him to fight anything above the wasteland he resided in.

Nobody better say anything bad about Ricardo. HE is my ALL TIME FAVE. Ricardo Finito Lopez, the greatest to ever do it. No one came close to saying anything bad, except you. Lol.

Probably the best all-round boxer that I have seen. Lopez could everything, & do it extremely well. People shouldn't bother with instructional video's & books - just watch a few Lopez fights.

I Know man, so many people even "proper" boxing fans switch off after feather weight! So sad, and so true. So many really good and even great fighters get ignored because of this. Kind of pisses me off in a sense.

Seriously, imagine if someone was able to do what he did, or the equivalent of it anyway, at 130 then 135 or 147 then 154. I Know man, so many people even "proper" boxing fans switch off after feather weight!

Ricardo Lopez is a legend of the sport. He doesn't get the recognition he deserves because he was so small, and that's a damn shame.

GREAT GREAT fighter, i honestly cant believe how little was made of his retirement! If the dude was five stone heavier he'd be a household name world wide Seriously, imagine if someone was able to do what he did, or the equivalent of it anyway, at 130 then 135 or 147 then 154.

GREAT GREAT fighter, i honestly cant believe how little was made of his retirement! If the dude was five stone heavier he'd be a household name world wide

1991 Rogelio Marcelo, CUB Ricardo López, MEX Fernando Retayud, COL WOW But thats impossible because Lopez turned pro in 1985 and in 1990 is when he became a world champion (pro) I dunno what to tell you. Lol.

http://www.hickoksports.com/history/panamboxing.shtml 1991 Rogelio Marcelo, CUB Ricardo López, MEX Fernando Retayud, COL WOW But thats impossible because Lopez turned pro in 1985 and in 1990 is when he became a world champion (pro)

Why people think Finito as amateur won the silver medal in the 1991 pan american games? He turned pro in 1985 http://www.hickoksports.com/history/panamboxing.shtml

Some of you might be thinking, 'How the hell is he forgotten? I know who he is. I've read about him.' and so on and so forth. The problem with all of what surrounds Ricardo Lopez is that he doesn't really get the credit that he deserves. Some people complain that he didn't fight GREAT fighters. I wouldn't disagree. What I ask those people to do is give me the names of the great fighters AROUND OR IN his weight that he avoided. Name the fighters he should have fought, but didn't. He beat who he could beat, and he did it for a very long time. Also, keep in mind that EVEN IF he fought NOTHING BUT BUMS, it's still impressive. Imagine trying to do anything that takes skill 51 times, (52 with the draw) and then realize what he actually accomplished. In life, it's not always who you do it against, it's what you do. And he did something that was VERY impressive in a relatively short professional career. Long, by the weight classes standards, though. He was an incredible champion. He defended his WBC Strawweight championship a record-setting 22 times. He also breifly held the WBA and WBO belts at the same weight. He defended the WBA title once and then moved up. He won the light-flyweight belt immediately after moving up, the IBF version anyway. He defended that title twice. He is one of the only champions in the history of the sport to retire AS champion, while also being undefeated. Less than a handful of fighters have been able to do such a thing. He also holds the record for most title fights in a row, without losing one, at 26 straight title fights. This record took him 11 years to accomplish. He also was a TRUE world champion in the sense that he defended his title in several different countries and locations. Those places including; Mexico (ALL OVER), America (SEVERAL DIFFERENT AREAS), Japan, South Korea and Thailand. He fought in some of the biggest hot spots in America, aswell. As an amateur, he won the Silver Medal in the 1991 Pan American Games, fighting in Cuba. Excluding Amerca, he had a decent record of foregin victories including a DECISION victory against the homeboy in South Korea. Outside of Mexico or America, his record was 6-0 5KOs. In terms of the guys he fought, they had a combined record (at the time they fought him) of 620-182-29. This might not look too impressive, until you take into account the circumstances. These were lower weight fighters. You can look at the top ten fighters in the strawweight division and see that they have a combined 19 losses. Doesn't sound like much, but over the course of 50 some fighters, it adds up. Not to mention that he fought some subpar fighters along the way. Lol. However, fewer than a dozen of his opponents were below .500, and he didn't fight a bewlo ,500 fighter after his 21st fight. Though, there were still some bums along the way. his only blemish was a draw with Rosendo Alvarez who was just able to give him trouble. They fought to a draw the first time and then a split decision in the return, with Lopez obviously taking the nod. he won the WBA title in that fight. Other fighters that Lopez defeated were; Hideyuki Ohasha (WBC title), Saman Sorjaturong, Kyun Yun Li, Kermin Guardia, Andy Tabanas, Ala Villamar, Alex Sanchez (WBO title), Will Grisby (IBF light-flyweight title), Zolani Potelo, Rotanapol Sor Vorapin and Manny Melchor. He was a relatively quick-handed fighter who had very respectable power and was able to stay on his toes effectively. He'd move in and out very well and could also bang with the best of them. He was also a very good finisher. He was the best in his division for ATLEAST 7 years, until he decided to change that by moving up and becoming ATLEAST one of the best in that division. Some could argue he was the best strawweight in the history of the division. In 2007, he was inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He retired with a record of 51-0-1 with 38KOs, with his only draw being avenged. FUN FACT: Lol. His final fight was refereed by Arthur Mercante Sr, son of the present day referee of the same name, who also retired from refereeing fights after this bout. Why people think Finito as amateur won the silver medal in the 1991 pan american games? He turned pro in 1985

Unfortunately, he was in a divison that did not interest a lot of casual boxing fans. Only hard core fans truly relaized how great he was.

Lopez-Villamor dammit !!! :(