Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Columnist Dean Juipe: Ricardo Lopez deserves recognition

DEAN JUIPEis a Las Vegas SUN sportswriter. His office phone number is 259-4084. He can be reached on the Internet at [email protected]

Ricardo Lopez was 15 years old when he lost for the only time in 41 amateur fights.

Fifteen years and 46 professional fights later, Lopez still has only that one, distant loss. He's 46-0 with 35 knockouts in a pro career that has him earmarked for legendary status.

If he has a drawback, it's his weight. At 105 pounds he's small when it comes to physical stature and shorted when it comes to public acclaim.

"What I always try to do is satisfy the public with my technical ability," Lopez said during a conference call to promote his March 7 fight in Mexico City with fellow world champion Rosendo Alvarez. "I never change my style. I'm a technical boxer. I'm aggressive when I need to be aggressive and I deal with the fight as I need to, gauging my opponent with each round."

The man really is remarkable. He has been the WBC's minimum-weight champion since 1990 and has successfully defended that title 20 times, winning all but four of those fights by knockout. (Included in that winning streak are six wins in Las Vegas since 1994.)

Although his division is habitually underpublicized in this country, Lopez is always up for a challenge and has continually fought the best available opponent. In his most recent fight, Aug. 23 in New York City, he defeated WBO champion Alex Sanchez in five rounds, and his next opponent, Alvarez, is the reigning WBA champion with a 24-0 record.

"He's a brawler," Lopez said of Sanchez, although, in fact, Lopez is more of a brawler than he lets on. "I don't take him for granted and I don't take it for granted that I'll never lose."

While he's relatively well paid and clearly a national hero in his native Mexico, it has been felt for many years that maybe Lopez needs to move up a division to truly capitalize. At 108 pounds he would tap into a new wave of fighters, some of whom -- Michael Carbajal still comes to mind -- could be enticed into a big-money showdown.

"I have spoken to (promoter) Don King about moving up in weight," Lopez said. "That's a strong consideration because I feel 108 is where I'd be at my absolute best."

Yet here he is at 30 years old still campaigning at 105 and serving as an undercard performer on a March 7 pay-per-view card that headlines Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Miguel Angel Gonzalez for the vacant WBC junior welterweight title. But to hear him tell it, he's satisfied and content with his role.

"People are very excited," he said of the atmosphere in Mexico City. "I'm happy to be on a card with Chavez. I feel he's the best fighter Mexico ever had."

Some would say the same of Lopez.

Marketing Mosley

Las Vegas fight fans may have mixed emotions or be outright indifferent toward IBF lightweight champion Shane Mosley. But, more likely than not, they don't know what to think of a young man with a beautiful 26-0 record that includes 24 knockouts against an assortment of quality opponents.

Mosley, for all his successes, has never fought in Las Vegas. But now that he's an established champion -- with a publicist -- the lure of a bout in the boxing capital is gaining appeal.

"Being from the West Coast, a fight in Vegas would be like one in my hometown," Mosley said this week from his home in Pomona, Calif. "It's being talked about. There was some discussion with the MGM."

For a fight of any consequence here, Mosley would need a talented, name, opponent. And that fighter might well be former world champion Gabe Ruelas.

"He would be perfect," Mosley said. "He's well known and people recognize him. I'd say a fight with Ruelas would be fantastic."

Such a bout has been discussed for April and is aided by the fact Ruelas' manager, Dan Goossen, has said his man is no longer interested in fighting for minimal stakes.

Because of Mosley's rising stature, the stakes are significant for whoever gets in the ring with him.

"My career's going well and I feel I'm steadily improving," Mosley said. "I'm an all-around fighter and I punch with authority, and now I'm trying different styles like fighting southpaw.

"I've had my little bumpy roads here and there, but my career started with high expectations and I'm still going uphill."

A three-time national amateur champion and a 1992 U.S. Olympic team member, Mosley hasn't been as protected as some up-and-coming fighters. For instance, his first pro fight in 1993 came against a former California state champion and the opposition was periodically upgraded until Mosley reached then-IBF champion Phillip Holiday. They fought last August, with Holiday making his sixth title defense, and Mosley won by unanimous decision.

He has defended that title twice, defeating Manuel Gomez in November and Demetrio Ceballos Feb. 8 in Uncasville, Conn. They were KO victims Nos. 23 and 24, the latter going out in the eighth round under Mosley's steady punishment.

"I think I've proven myself already," he said. "I know some people saw my fight with Holiday and wondered why I didn't get a knockout, but I didn't feel as strong as I know I should and I took some precautions."

Nonetheless, American TV networks have taken notice and Mosley's last two fights were nationally televised.

"The more I get on these big networks, the more people will know about me," he said of his upwardly mobile career, one that could eventually lead to Las Vegas.

Tropicana card

Consecutive losses to Junior Jones as well as an injured hand have Marco Antonio Barrera back to square one as he headlines Saturday's Forum Boxing card at the Tropicana. For better or worse, he's in with a man he easily defeated in 1992, Angel Rosario.

Before being matched with Jones, Barrera was a rising star with a perfect record. Now he's 43-2 and looking at a comeback at the age of 24.

In an effort to get him started on that path, he's matched with the 21-16-1 Rosario. On Dec. 5, 1992, in Mexico City, Barrera got Rosario out in the fifth round in what was Barrera's 22nd professional fight.

If Barrera's career has stalled, Rosario's has completely faltered. He'll come into Saturday's fight with only nine knockouts to his credit and it's unlikely Barrera will be No. 10 if he has anything left at all.

They're scheduled for 10 rounds at 122 pounds.

In the primary undercard bout, Javier Jauregui, 38-7-1, takes on Agapito Sanchez, 22-6-1.

First bell is 7 p.m.

* AROUND THE RING: The Nevada State Athletic Commission figures to have a busy meeting today, as 19 items are on the agenda including setting penalties for heavyweight boxer Lionel Butler, who tested positive for marijuana following an Oct. 28 fight at The Orleans. Also, arbitration officers will be assigned to hear disputes between no less than five fighters and their managers. Most prominent in that group are USBA cruiserweight champion Arthur Williams, WBC middleweight champion Keith Holmes and IBF 130-pound contender Robert Garcia. "Some promoters are trying to take boxing back to the mob days," complained Las Vegan Sterling McPherson, who says he has Garcia under contract although Garcia recently signed with promoter Dino Duva. "I'm going to ask the state of Nevada to stand up and fight. This is a major test for the Nevada commission. They can look the other way or they can set the right example." McPherson will ask the commission-assigned arbitrator to suspend Garcia, which would prevent him from fighting for Duva as scheduled March 13. ... No sooner had former heavyweight champ Oliver McCall been announced as a participant on Saturday's card in Miami and rumors were out that he would withdraw. Those rumors proved true this week when McCall was deleted from a lame card that also includes heavyweight quasi-contender Ray Mercer. ... Bam Promotions has altered its announced plans for Feb. 27 at The Orleans and will now use light heavyweights Montell Griffin and Rocky Gannon in separate, co-main events. ... A just-released book on boxing, "This Bloody Mary Is The Last Thing I Own," has several references to Las Vegas and may be of some interest to fight fans here. Printed by The Ecco Press, the book chronicles the sport in recent years through the eyes of a British journalist, Jonathan Rendall.

archive