Today, many boxing fans pay close attention to such eminent fighters as Chavez Jr., Tyson Fury, Gennady Golovkin, Adonis Stevenson, Sergey Kovalev, Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather Jr. But, as you know, people who made history should not be forgotten. One of these boxers, who bore the official nickname the Magnificent (and rightfully so), was Ricardo Lopez. Unfortunately, due to some incomprehensible desire of the leadership of boxing federations to please the public with “large” fights, this athlete often spent his most significant fights on the undercard of other boxers, which were larger than him in size, but much lower in skill level. Ricardo Lopez is a man who, at a farewell press conference regarding his retirement from sports, considered it an honor to be Eric Morales, Marco Antonio Barerra.
Start
On July 25, 1966, in a very small Mexican town with an extremely difficult pronunciation pronunciation, the name Cuernavaca was born the future fist master. Ricardo Lopez passed his elementary school in boxing in the amateur ring. The career in his amateurs was not too long, but at the same time very bright and intense. Although he did not perform at the Olympics, but from this his record did not become less significant: in 38 fights 37 victories were won. An impressive indicator, is not it? By the way, the only defeat in amateurs was the only one in his entire sports life.
Pros
Ricardo Lopez first stepped into the ring as a professional on January 18, 1985 in his hometown. The debut was very successful. His opponent, Rogelio Hernandez, was knocked out in the third round. Despite the successful start, the path to the top turned out to be quite long. Latin American fighters, unlike the same Asian, go to the title fight for a very long time, overthrowing several dozen people from their path for this. For our hero, the road to battle for a belt took five and a half years. During this period of time he fought 25 times, and he never lost or did not end the match in a draw. Moreover, his 18 victories were premature, and the first 8 were pure knockouts. Objectively speaking, during this period he fought with the "bags", and of the significant victories we can only mention Victoria over Ray Hernandez, which allowed Lopez to become the WBC Continental Champion. All this allowed in October 1990 Ricardo to take the first line of the rating of the World Boxing Council. Although, at the same time, he quite deservedly gained a reputation as a domestic fighter, since he fought very rarely outside his native country.
First world title and first defense
Ricardo Lopez is a boxer whose biography is full of many vivid fights. For his first belt, he went to Japan. In the Land of the Rising Sun, he took the belt from the then-current champion Hideyuki Okashi. However, the Japanese did not make any worthy competition, the charter was already in the fifth round to resist.
In the same state, but six months later, another heir to the samurai, Kimio Hirano, was defeated. These two fights have clearly shown who is who, demonstrated the fact that Lopez is two heads ahead of all competitors.
Features of the technique
Ricardo possessed a phenomenal technique. It was not difficult for him to “cut down” the opponent if necessary. During the battle, the boxer held his hands high (very close to his head) and skillfully dodged the body, performing swings and subtle maneuvers with his whole body, which minimized the effects of enemy attacks. The most terrible weapon of the Mexican was his left side. The fighter did not have too obvious weak points. In any case, during his entire career, not a single opponent of his has ever been able to find them.
Unification battle
On August 23, 1997, Ricardo Lopez, a boxer, whose photo is shown below, met with Alex Sanchez, the WBO champion.
The Mexican in that fight used his advantage in growth over the opponent. Lopez simply bombed the Puerto Rican’s jabs, simultaneously hard punching into the hull. In the second round, Ricardo knocks down the opponent, and already in the fifth - to knock out.
Confrontation with Rosendo
Ricardo Lopez is a boxer who has never been afraid of competition and hard punches. In 1998, he fought immediately for three belts with the most dangerous Rosendo Alvarez. Their first fight was a real bloody drama, ending in a completely logical draw.
In the rematch, Alvarez could not "make weight", and therefore for him the fight was not a title one. The battle itself turned out to be as bloody as the first meeting of the fighters, according to the results, a separate judicial decision was announced in favor of Lopez. By the way, after the fight, for the first time in his life he looked badly beaten.
Total
For sixteen years of his eventful sports life, Ricardo spent 51 fights, 50 of which he did not lose. 37 fights he completed ahead of schedule. Thus, he left the sport as an undefeated and highly respected athlete who forever inscribed his name in boxing history.