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| Ricardo "Finito" Lopez officially announced his retirement at an emotional press conference 2002-11-28 in Mexico City | Ricardo "Finito" Lopez officially announced his retirement at an emotional press conference 2002-11-28 in Mexico City | ||
| His last bout was against Zolani Petelo Sept 29, 2001. | His last bout was against Zolani Petelo Sept 29, 2001. | ||
| BIOGRAPHY | |||
| Ricardo Lopez (born July 25, 1966) is a Mexican boxer who made history in the Strawweight and Jr. Flyweight divisions. His nickname is Finito. | |||
| Lopez, a lover of Salsa music, had an amateur record of 37-1, after which he jumped to the professional ranks. His professional debut came January 18 of 1985 in Cuernavaca, Mexico with a three round knockout over Rogelio Hernandez. This was the start of a streak of knockout wins that reached seven. Then, in 1986, he was extended to the ten round distance in Mexico City by Herminio Ramirez, but he still won that fight by a unanimous decision. In a rematch between Lopez and Ramirez, Lopez once again won on points. | |||
| In 1987 and 1988, Lopez won six more bouts, and in 1989, he won six before challenging for a minor, non world title: The WBC continental America's Strawweight title. He won that belt by knocking out Rey Hernandez in five rounds in Mexico City during his final bout of the 1980s. Lopez was then ranked number 1 among the world Strawweight challengers by the WBC. | |||
| Lopez started the decade of the 1990s, by beating Jorge Rivera by a knockout in eight at Texas to retain his regional belt, and then he followed with a ten round decision over Francisco Montiel. After the win versus Montiel, his world championship bout versus WBC world Strawweight champion Hideyuki Ohashi was signed, and in October of 1990, Ricardo travelled to Japan, where he became world champion by knocking Ohashi out in five rounds. | |||
| Next came a string of 22 defenses in a row, which is a record for the Strawweight division, and at the time, the third longest string of defenses in the history of boxing, after Joe Louis' 25 and Dariusz Michalczewski's 23. Lopez's string was stopped only because he struggled to make the 105-pound limit late in his career, and finally moved up to light flyweight (108 pounds) for his final three fights. Among the boxers he defeated were former world champion Kyun Yung Lee, future world champions Samart Sorjaturong and Kermin Guardia, and fringe contenders Ala Villamor, Andy Tabanas and Manny Melchor. On the night of August 23, he unified his WBC belt with the WBO championship at the Madison Square Garden by knocking out Puerto Rico's Alex Nene Sanchez in five rounds in front of a Pay Per View audience. He was promptly stripped of the WBO belt when it became public knowledge that he presented the belt to his father. | |||
| On March 7 of 1998, he suffered the only blemish in his professional record when he attempted to unify his WBC belt with the WBA championship against Nicaragua's Rosendo Alvarez in front of another Pay Per View audience at Mexico City. Lopez was dropped in round one, but he got up and kept fighting. In round five, there was a clash of heads, and the fight had to be stopped in round seven because of the cut on Lopez's forehead. The fight went to the judges' scorecards, and they had the bout scored a draw. There was an immediate rematch, and the second time around, Lopez was able to edge out a split decision win at Las Vegas. | |||
| After renouncing his world strawweight titles, Lopez went up in weight, and in 1999, he received a shot at the IBF world Jr. Flyweight champion Will Grigsby, and Lopez became world Jr. Flyweight champion, beating Grigsby by a decision in 12. | |||
| He fought just two more times after defeating Grigsby. The first was against former world champion Ratanol Vorapin on December 2 of 2000, knocking him out in 3 rounds to retain his belt as part of the Félix Trinidad-Fernando Vargas fight undercard. In his last fight, on September 29, 2001, he scored an eighth-round knockout of Zolani Pethelo. A layoff of 15 months followed. | |||
| November 23 of 2002, Ricardo called all major news outlets in Mexico to announce his retirement from boxing. Among the people who attended the conference were Julio Cesar Chavez and Marco Antonio Barrera. He retired with a record of 50 wins, 0 losses and 1 draw, joining Rocky Marciano as the only world boxing champions ever to retire undefeated. | |||
| Lopez, who is an avid autograph signer, once intended to record a salsa CD, and had many proposals to star in telenovelas on Televisa. | |||
Revision as of 03:59, 10 September 2005
Ricardo "Finito" Lopez Personal Stats Nationality:Mexican Born: July 25, 1967 Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico Height: 5'-5" Reach: 65" Professional Stats:Record 51-0-1 (38 KOs) Division: Junior Flyweight Titles: IBF Junior Flyweight Champion Former: WBA Minimumweight Champion, WBC Strawweight Champion, WBO Mini Flyweight Trainer: Ignacio Beristain
WBC Strawweight Champion---22 title defenses, unified the WBO championship. IBF Mini Flyweight Champion—2 title defenses. Notable wins: Kyun Yun Li, Kermin Guardia, Andy Tabanas, Edito Villamor, Alex Sanchez, Rosendo Alvarez, Will Grigsby and Manny Melchor.
- Ricardo Lopez was the second champion in history to retire undefeated. His incredible record was 51-0-1 38 ko’s.
Ricardo Lopez is another elite fighter among Boxing’s Finest Dozen. Lopez has dominated the straw-weight division while remaining undefeated throughout his fighting career. Lopez unified two championship belts (WBA/WBC) during his reign as a Straw-weight by displaying impressive wins over talented and veteran fighters, Rosendo Alvarez and Alex "Nene" Sanchez. "Finito" fights with skill and talent. He exercises superior protection to his upper body by keeping his arms up high and elbows tucked in tight. His conditioning is above and beyond the common regiment of fighters. He impressed Showtime Commentator Ferdie Pacheco immensly that The Fight Doctor called Lopez a Master at ring generalship. Ricardo Lopez' most impressive fights have been against former champions, Wil Grigsby, Rosendo Alvarez, and Alex "Nene" Sanchez. The new IBF Junior Flyweight champ used double left hooks and pinpoint accuracy to batter Grigsby with punishment in October 1999. Lopez recorded a convincing unanimous decision over Grigsby. In 1997, Lopez stopped Alex Sanchez in a TKO victory in the 5th round and retained his Straweight championship title. Rosendo Alvarez gave Lopez a tougher challenge in an explosive fight in March 1998. The fight was declared a draw but a rematch in November of that same year proved Lopez as the better fighter when he out pointed Alvarez in a decision victory. "Finito" (which means "Finest" in Spanish) has outclassed great fighters like Muhammad Ali and Julio Cesar Chavez in title defenses. Ricardo Lopez is 2nd in the history of boxing to have one of the longest uninterrupted title reigns. Ricardo has made 23 successful title defenses since 1990 and trails slightly behind Heavyweight Hall of Famer, Joe "The Brown Bomber" Louis. If Ricardo is successful in three more bouts, he will surpass Joe Louis in uninterrupted title reigns. His fighting record would remain undisputed while possessing the longest title reign ever in the history of boxing. Ricardo is already without question among Boxing’s Finest. Lopez moved up three pounds after relinquishing the WBA and WBC but now possesses the IBF Junior Flyweight title.
Ricardo "Finito" Lopez officially announced his retirement at an emotional press conference 2002-11-28 in Mexico City His last bout was against Zolani Petelo Sept 29, 2001.
BIOGRAPHY
Ricardo Lopez (born July 25, 1966) is a Mexican boxer who made history in the Strawweight and Jr. Flyweight divisions. His nickname is Finito.
Lopez, a lover of Salsa music, had an amateur record of 37-1, after which he jumped to the professional ranks. His professional debut came January 18 of 1985 in Cuernavaca, Mexico with a three round knockout over Rogelio Hernandez. This was the start of a streak of knockout wins that reached seven. Then, in 1986, he was extended to the ten round distance in Mexico City by Herminio Ramirez, but he still won that fight by a unanimous decision. In a rematch between Lopez and Ramirez, Lopez once again won on points.
In 1987 and 1988, Lopez won six more bouts, and in 1989, he won six before challenging for a minor, non world title: The WBC continental America's Strawweight title. He won that belt by knocking out Rey Hernandez in five rounds in Mexico City during his final bout of the 1980s. Lopez was then ranked number 1 among the world Strawweight challengers by the WBC.
Lopez started the decade of the 1990s, by beating Jorge Rivera by a knockout in eight at Texas to retain his regional belt, and then he followed with a ten round decision over Francisco Montiel. After the win versus Montiel, his world championship bout versus WBC world Strawweight champion Hideyuki Ohashi was signed, and in October of 1990, Ricardo travelled to Japan, where he became world champion by knocking Ohashi out in five rounds.
Next came a string of 22 defenses in a row, which is a record for the Strawweight division, and at the time, the third longest string of defenses in the history of boxing, after Joe Louis' 25 and Dariusz Michalczewski's 23. Lopez's string was stopped only because he struggled to make the 105-pound limit late in his career, and finally moved up to light flyweight (108 pounds) for his final three fights. Among the boxers he defeated were former world champion Kyun Yung Lee, future world champions Samart Sorjaturong and Kermin Guardia, and fringe contenders Ala Villamor, Andy Tabanas and Manny Melchor. On the night of August 23, he unified his WBC belt with the WBO championship at the Madison Square Garden by knocking out Puerto Rico's Alex Nene Sanchez in five rounds in front of a Pay Per View audience. He was promptly stripped of the WBO belt when it became public knowledge that he presented the belt to his father.
On March 7 of 1998, he suffered the only blemish in his professional record when he attempted to unify his WBC belt with the WBA championship against Nicaragua's Rosendo Alvarez in front of another Pay Per View audience at Mexico City. Lopez was dropped in round one, but he got up and kept fighting. In round five, there was a clash of heads, and the fight had to be stopped in round seven because of the cut on Lopez's forehead. The fight went to the judges' scorecards, and they had the bout scored a draw. There was an immediate rematch, and the second time around, Lopez was able to edge out a split decision win at Las Vegas.
After renouncing his world strawweight titles, Lopez went up in weight, and in 1999, he received a shot at the IBF world Jr. Flyweight champion Will Grigsby, and Lopez became world Jr. Flyweight champion, beating Grigsby by a decision in 12.
He fought just two more times after defeating Grigsby. The first was against former world champion Ratanol Vorapin on December 2 of 2000, knocking him out in 3 rounds to retain his belt as part of the Félix Trinidad-Fernando Vargas fight undercard. In his last fight, on September 29, 2001, he scored an eighth-round knockout of Zolani Pethelo. A layoff of 15 months followed.
November 23 of 2002, Ricardo called all major news outlets in Mexico to announce his retirement from boxing. Among the people who attended the conference were Julio Cesar Chavez and Marco Antonio Barrera. He retired with a record of 50 wins, 0 losses and 1 draw, joining Rocky Marciano as the only world boxing champions ever to retire undefeated.
Lopez, who is an avid autograph signer, once intended to record a salsa CD, and had many proposals to star in telenovelas on Televisa.