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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 **** 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.
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 **** 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.
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