Ricardo López Nava (born July 25, 1966) is a Mexican former
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
who competed from 1985 to 2001. He was a
two-weight world champion, having held the
WBC mini flyweight title from 1990 to 1998, defending it against a record-breaking 21 opponents; the
WBA and
WBO mini flyweight titles between 1997 and 1998; and the
IBF junior flyweight
Light flyweight, also known as junior flyweight or super strawweight, is a weight class in boxing.
Professional boxing
The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds (49 kilograms). When New York legalized boxing in 1920, ...
title from 1999 until his retirement in 2001. He is one of just fifteen
world boxing champions to retire without a loss. He is the father of undefeated former boxer
Alonso López.
Amateur career
López would win four consecutive Guantes de Oro de México Championships from 1981 to 1984. He turned pro without having ever lost an amateur bout and is now known as one of the best amateur boxers to ever step in the ring.
Professional career
On January 18, 1985, Ricardo made his professional debut at the age of 18 by scoring a third-round knockout of Rogelio Hernandez. He accumulated a record of 26–0 before receiving his first shot at a world title.
WBC mini flyweight champion
On October 10, 1990, López defeated
WBC and
lineal mini flyweight champion
Hideyuki Ohashi
is a Japanese former professional boxer and two-time minimumweight world champion.
Professional career
Ohashi dropped out of college to begin a professional boxing career, and made his debut in February, 1985, with the Yonekura Boxing Gym. ...
of Japan via fifth-round
knockout to win his first world title. In 1991, he defeated Korean former champion
Kyung-Yung Lee (20–1) via Unanimous Decision. In 1992, he defended his title against
Pretty Boy Lucas (22–2–2) of the Philippines via Unanimous Decision and Rocky Lin (14–0) of Taiwan via TKO. López started 1993 with a stoppage victory over amateur standout
Kwang-Soo Oh and followed it with a knockout over future two-time champion
Saman Sorjaturong
Saman Sorjaturong (born Saman Sriprated on 2 August 1968 in Amphoe Khlong Lan, Kamphaeng Phet province) is a Thai former world boxing champion.
Early life
He was born in a peasant family in Kamphaeng Phet province, upper central Thailand, with ...
of Thailand. Sorjaturong was knocked down once in the first round and twice in the second round before the referee stopped the bout.
Later that year, he knocked out
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
former champion Manny Melchor in the eleventh round. In his tenth title defense, López defeated future champion Kermin Guardia (21–0) by
unanimous decision
A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...
. He knocked out Surachai Saengmorakot (10–0) in the first round of his next bout. In 1995, he defeated Andy Tabanas (30–2) of the Philippines via twelfth-round knockout. In his next bout, he defeated another Filipino boxer and founder of the famous "Ala Gym"
Ala Villamor (29–1–1) by knockout. In early 1997, there had been a plan in the works for López to move up in weight to challenge junior flyweight champion
Michael Carbajal
Michael Carbajal (born September 17, 1967) is an American five-time world boxing champion of Mexican descent. His nickname was "Little Hands Of Stone," after his favorite boxer,"Hands Of Stone" Roberto Durán.
Amateur career
Carbajal had an amat ...
, however, the plan was upended when Carbajal lost his title in an upset loss. López would go on to defend his title against Mongkol Charoen (20–1).
WBO and WBA mini flyweight champion
In his 20th world title bout, López unified his WBC title by defeating
WBO mini flyweight champion Alex Sánchez (25–1) of Puerto Rico via fifth-round knockout. After López won the WBO title, he said he wanted to give his championship belt to his father, who is a boxing fan. His statement to Mexican newspapers prompted the organization to take away López' title and sanction a match between
Eric Jamili and
Mickey Cantwell to fill the vacancy. "It was enough for us," said the WBO president,
Francisco Valcarcel, of López' intention. "That's a public resignation." Dwight Manley, López' agent, said López should have had a hearing before the WBO took away his title. "He got no letter, he got no telephone call," Manley said.
On March 7, 1998, López fought undefeated
WBA mini flyweight champion Rosendo Álvarez to a
technical draw after referee
Arthur Mercante Sr. stopped the contest following an accidental clash of heads in the seventh round. In the rematch, Álvarez came in over the mini flyweight limit and was subsequently stripped of his title. Due to the weight disparity, the fight was in jeopardy. However, López chose to proceed with the contest against the heavier Álvarez with only López eligible to claim the now vacant WBA title. López defeated Álvarez by
split decision to claim his third mini flyweight title. After the fight, he vacated his titles in order to move up in weight.
IBF junior flyweight champion
In his first bout at
junior flyweight
Light flyweight, also known as junior flyweight or super strawweight, is a weight class in boxing.
Professional boxing
The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds (49 kilograms). When New York legalized boxing in 1920, ...
, López defeated
IBF champion Will Grigsby of the U.S. by Unanimous Decision. He defended his title against former champion
Ratanapol Sor Vorapin by knocked out in the 3rd Round. On
September 29, 2001, López knocked out
Zolani Petelo, who had recently vacated his
IBF mini flyweight title, the only mini flyweight title that López had not claimed before moving up in weight. He officially announced his retirement from boxing at a press conference on November 27, 2002, in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
.
Retirement
Ricardo López was the third champion in history to retire undefeated and the first to do so as both an amateur and professional fighter. He also shares with
Joe Louis and
Floyd Mayweather Jr. the record for most consecutive title bouts without a loss (twenty-six). This streak began with his knockout of Hideyuki Ohashi to win the WBC mini flyweight title in 1990 and ended with his knockout of Zolani Petelo to defend his IBF junior flyweight title in 2001. Ricardo only had one draw, which came against Rosendo Álvarez in 1998 in López's 48th bout and was avenged in the rematch eight months later. His final record was 51 wins (38 knockouts), 0 losses and 1 draw.
Life after boxing
López now works as a boxing broadcaster for the Mexican
Televisa
Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content.
In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...
network.
Honors
López was inducted into the
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...
and World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2007.
Ricardo "El Finito" López was voted as the greatest Strawweight and Light Flyweight Champion ever by the Houston Boxing Hall Of Fame in 2014, while
BoxRec rates him the best Minimumweight of all time.
The Houston Boxing Hall Of Fame is a voting body composed entirely of current and former fighters.
Professional boxing record
See also
*
List of minimumweight boxing champions
*
List of WBC world champions
*
List of WBO world champions
This is a list of WBO world champions, showing every world champion certified by the World Boxing Organization (WBO). The WBO is one of the four major governing bodies in professional boxing, and has awarded world championships in 17 different w ...
*
List of WBA world champions
*
List of IBF world champions
*
List of Mexican boxing world champions
In Mexico, boxing is considered a major sport, having produced over 200 world champions in professional boxing. Mexico ranks first worldwide between countries with most boxing world champions and is the second country to have world champions accre ...
*
List of people from Morelos, Mexico
The following are people who were born, raised, or who gained significant prominence for living in the Mexican state of Morelos:
''This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by exp ...
References
External links
*
*
Ricardo López - CBZ Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Ricardo
Mexican male boxers
Boxers from Morelos
Sportspeople from Cuernavaca
International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees
World Boxing Council champions
World Boxing Organization champions
World Boxing Association champions
International Boxing Federation champions
Light-flyweight boxers
World light-flyweight boxing champions
Mini-flyweight boxers
World mini-flyweight boxing champions
Undefeated world boxing champions
Boxers at the 1991 Pan American Games
1966 births
Living people
Pan American Games competitors for Mexico
20th-century Mexican people
21st-century Mexican people