Danny Lopez (boxer)

Last updated
‹ The template Infobox boxer is being considered for merging. ›
Danny Lopez
Danny Lopez by Theo Ehret.jpg
Lopez c. 1980
Born (1952-07-06) July 6, 1952 (age 73)
Fort Duchesne, Utah, U.S.
Other namesLittle Red
Statistics
Weight(s) Featherweight
Height5 ft 7+1⁄2 in (171 cm)
Reach71 in (180 cm)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights48
Wins42
Wins by KO39
Losses6

Danny Lopez (born July 6, 1952) is an American former professional boxer who was the WBC featherweight champion of the world from November 1976 to February 1980. His nickname was Little Red.

Contents

Known for his tremendous punching power, in 2003 The Ring magazine rated Lopez at number 26 on their list of "100 Greatest Punchers". [1] In 2010, Lopez was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Background

Lopez describes himself as having Native American, Mexican, and European-American heritage. He had been moved from one foster home to another, and coming off the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in Fort Duchesne, Utah, he finally found a home in Southern California. [2] He said that his father was a Mission Indian from Northern California, that his maternal grandmother was three-quarters Ute, and that his maternal grandfather was part Irish. [3] He is also the brother of welterweight contender Ernie Lopez. He is married to Bonnie Lopez and has three sons, Bronson, Jeremy, and Dylan.

Pro career

Lopez began boxing professionally on May 27, 1971, knocking out Steve Flajole in one round at Los Angeles. He won his first 21 fights in a row by knockout, in one of the longest knockout win streaks ever. During that streak, all but one of his fights were in Los Angeles, a fact which could be credited for his popularity in the area. The only one of those 21 fights to be held outside Los Angeles took place in Honolulu, where he beat Ushiwakamaru Harada by knockout in three.

On January 17, 1974, Genzo Kurosawa became the first person to go the distance with Lopez, Lopez winning by a ten-round decision. His next fight, a month later, in Mexicali, Mexico, was his first fight abroad. He beat Memo Rodriguez by a knockout in nine rounds.

People in Los Angeles were eager to see Lopez and another up-and-coming Los Angeleno, Bobby Chacon, square off inside a ring. The fight took place on May 24, and Lopez was knocked out in the ninth round in a thrilling fight. In his next fight of note, he lost once again by a knockout in round nine, this time to Shig Furuyama. [4]

After losing to Octavio Gómez to begin 1975, Lopez went on a roll, beginning with a knockout of Chucho Castillo in two rounds. Two more wins, and he was faced with Rubén Olivares, whom he beat by a knockout in seven rounds, after recovering from a first round knockdown himself.

In 1976, he beat Sean O'Grady by knockout in four, Gómez by knockout in three and Art Hafey by knockout in seven. Finally ranked number one by the WBC, he travelled to Ghana to challenge world Featherweight champion David Kotei in front of an estimated crowd of more than 100,000 Kotei partisans. Lopez became world champion by outpointing Kotei over 15 rounds on November 6. Due to all communication systems having been cut down in Ghana, Lopez could not get his message through to his family; they only learned he was World Champion when they picked him up at the airport one week later.

Lopez won three fights in 1977, retaining the title once, against José Torres by a knockout in round seven.

He and Kotei had a rematch on February 15 of 1978, as part of the undercard where Leon Spinks dethroned Muhammad Ali of the world Heavyweight title. Lopez knocked Kotei out in round six of their rematch, and then he retained the title against Jose DePaula by knockout in round six, and Juan Malvares (on the undercard where Ali regained the title from Spinks) by knockout in two, after recovering from a first round knockdown himself. On October 21, he had a fight with Fel Clemente, against whom he retained the world title with a four-round disqualification in Italy.

By the end of 1978, there was much talk of a "super-fight" against world Jr. Featherweight champion Wilfredo Gómez, but the bout never materialized.

His fight on March 10 of 1979 against Spain's Roberto Castañón in Salt Lake City, not only marked the first time he defended his world title in his home-state, but the first time he fought in his home-state as a professional period. He retained the crown with a two-round knockout. On June 17, 1979, at San Antonio, Lopez defeated Mike Ayala with a thrilling 15th-round knockout and retained his WBC Featherweight title for the seventh time; the exciting bout would be recognized by Ring Magazine as its Fight of the Year for 1979. [5] Lopez went on to defend the title once more that year, knocking out Jose Caba in three rounds.

Lopez's reign as world champion came to an end on February 2, 1980, at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. He met Salvador Sánchez that day, and he lost by knockout in round 13 in a one-sided affair. A rematch was fought on June 21, in Las Vegas, and that time around, Lopez was knocked out in the 14th round. He announced his retirement after that fight.

In 1985, he talked about a comeback, but decided to delay until 1992, when he was 40 years old. He lost that bout via TKO.

His record was 42 wins and 6 losses, with 39 wins by knockout.

In June 2010, Lopez and 12 other boxing personalities were inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. [6]

Professional boxing record

48 fights42 wins6 losses
By knockout395
By decision21
By disqualification10
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
48Loss42–6Jorge RodriguezKO2 (10), 0:37Feb 27, 1992Marriott Hotel, Irvine, California, U.S.
47Loss42–5 Salvador Sánchez TKO14 (15), 1:42Jun 21, 1980 Caesars Palace Sports Pavilion, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.For WBC and The Ring featherweight titles
46Loss42–4 Salvador Sánchez TKO13 (15), 0:51Feb 2, 1980 Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.Lost WBC and The Ring featherweight titles
45Win42–3Jose CabaTKO3 (15), 1:41Sep 25, 1979Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.Retained WBC and The Ring featherweight titles
44Win41–3 Mike Ayala KO15 (15), 1:09Jun 17, 1979 Convention Center Arena, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.Retained WBC and The Ring featherweight titles
43Win40–3Roberto CastañónKO2 (15), 3:02Mar 10, 1979 Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.Retained WBC featherweight title;
Won vacant The Ring featherweight title
42Win39–3Fel ClementeDQ4 (15), 2:15Oct 21, 1978Palazzo Dello Sport, Pesaro, ItalyRetained WBC featherweight title
41Win38–3Juan Domingo MalvarezKO2 (15), 0:45 Sep 15, 1978 Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.Retained WBC featherweight title
40Win37–3Jose de PaulaTKO6 (15), 1:30Apr 23, 1978Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.Retained WBC featherweight title
39Win36–3 David Kotei TKO6 (15), 1:18 Feb 15, 1978 Hilton Hotel, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBC featherweight title
38Win35–3José TorresRTD7 (15), 3:00Sep 13, 1977Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.Retained WBC featherweight title
37Win34–3Jorge AltamiranoKO6 (10)Aug 28, 1977 Sahara Tahoe Hotel, Stateline, Nevada, U.S.
36Win33–3Jose OlivaresKO2 (10)Jul 29, 1977Coliseum, San Diego, California, U.S.
35Win32–3 David Kotei UD15Nov 6, 1976 Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, GhanaWon WBC featherweight title
34Win31–3Art HafeyTKO7 (12), 0:56Aug 6, 1976Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
33Win30–3Octavio GomezKO3 (10), 1:15Apr 28, 1976Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
32Win29–3 Sean O'Grady RTD4 (10), 3:00Feb 25, 1976Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
31Win28–3 Rubén Olivares KO7 (10), 1:59Dec 4, 1975 Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
30Win27–3Antonio NavaTKO6 (10), 2:09Sep 13, 1975Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
29Win26–3Raul CruzKO6 (10), 0:30Jul 26, 1975Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
28Win25–3 Chucho Castillo TKO2 (10), 3:00Apr 24, 1975Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
27Loss24–3Octavio GomezUD10Jan 18, 1975 Convention Center, Anaheim, California, U.S.
26Loss24–2 Shig Fukuyama RTD8 (10), 3:00Sep 19, 1974Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
25Win24–1Masanao ToyoshimaKO3 (10), 2:59Aug 8, 1974Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
24Loss23–1 Bobby Chacon TKO9 (12), 0:48May 24, 1974Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
23Win23–0Memo RodriguezTKO10 (10)Feb 3, 1974Gimnasio de Mexicali, Mexicali, Mexico
22Win22–0Genzo KurosawaUD10Jan 17, 1974Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
21Win21–0Goyo VargasKO1 (10), 2:59Sep 27, 1973Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
20Win20–0Ushiwakamaru HaradaRTD2 (10), 3:00Jul 31, 1973 Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
19Win19–0Juan OrdonezKO4 (10), 1:44Jun 21, 1973Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
18Win18–0Cesar OrdonezRTD6 (10), 3:00May 10, 1973Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
17Win17–0Kenji EndoTKO2 (10), 1:26Mar 17, 1973Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
16Win16–0Jorge CarrascoKO1 (10), 2:24Feb 8, 1973Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
15Win15–0Jorge ReyesKO7 (10), 1:25Oct 19, 1972Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
14Win14–0Yoshinobu GotoRTD8 (10), 3:00Jul 27, 1972Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
13Win13–0Benny RodriguezKO1 (10), 2:25Jul 20, 1972Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
12Win12–0Jose Luis ValdovinosTKO4 (10)May 11, 1972Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
11Win11–0Arturo PinedaKO4 (10), 2:59Mar 9, 1972Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
10Win10–0Rafael LopezKO2 (10)Feb 18, 1972 Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
9Win9–0Jose Manuel OrantesKO2 (10)Jan 20, 1972Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
8Win8–0Margarito RiosKO1 (6)Nov 18, 1971Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
7Win7–0Frankie GranadosKO2 (6)Oct 14, 1971Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
6Win6–0Rafael LopezTKO5 (8)Sep 16, 1971Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
5Win5–0Modesto OrtizKO4 (6)Aug 12, 1971Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
4Win4–0Jose Luis EstradaKO3 (6), 0:35Jul 29, 1971Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
3Win3–0Mauro OlivaresKO1 (6)Jul 8, 1971Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
2Win2–0Filiberto CastroKO1 (6)Jun 17, 1971Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
1Win1–0Steve FlajoleKO1 (6)May 27, 1971 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.Professional debut

Life After Boxing

After his final bout, Lopez was the object of various dedications and was active on the autograph signing circuit. He returned to live in Utah full-time, then moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a construction worker. Today he lives in Chino Hills, California.

Lopez acted in the 1989 film "Fists of Steel".

Honors

See also

References

  1. ↑ Eisele, Andrew (2003). "Ring Magazine's 100 Greatest Punchers". About.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Bobby Chacon and Danny "Little Red" Lopez". Archived from the original on 25 December 2007. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  3. ↑ "YOU CAN'T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Sports Illustrated . Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  4. ↑ "Danny Lopez vs. Shig Fukuyama - BoxRec" . Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  5. ↑ Ring, The (2 January 2013). "Past winners of THE RING year-end awards" . Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  6. ↑ "Boxers "Little Red" Lopez and Chang Elected to Int'l Boxing Hall of Fame - IBHOF.com". Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
Sporting positions
World boxing titles
Preceded by WBC featherweight champion
November 6, 1976 - February 2, 1980		Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Alexis Argüello 		The Ring featherweight champion
March 10, 1979 - February 2, 1980
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.