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 fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

who competed from 1985 to 2001. He was a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC

mini flyweight Mini flyweight, also known as paperweight, minimumweight, strawweight, or super atomweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, boxers in the minimumweight division may weigh no more than . This is a relatively new ...

title from 1990 to 1998, defending it against a record-breaking 21 opponents; the WBA and

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

mini flyweight titles between 1997 and 1998; and the IBF junior flyweight 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. His record has been reported as 37–1.

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

champion Hideyuki Ohashi of Japan via fifth-round

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

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 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 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 A technical draw is a term used in boxing when a fight has to be stopped because a fighter is unable to continue from an accidental injury (usually cuts) or foul. Draws occur when the bout goes to the scorecards, and the officials cannot determin ...

after referee Arthur Mercante Sr. stopped the contest following an accidental clash of heads in the seventh round. This fight was part of undercard featured

Julio César Chávez Julio César Chávez González (; born July 12, 1962), also known as Julio César Chávez Sr., is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005. A multiple-time world champion in three weight divisions, Chávez was liste ...

vs. Miguel Ángel González for the vacant WBC super lightweight title. 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 A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor. A split de ...

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, 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 in the eighth round, 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 is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Retirement

Ricardo López was the seventh male boxing champion to retire undefeated. With 26 successful title fights, he also shares the record for most consecutive title bouts without a loss with

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...

and

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (né Sinclair; born February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed between 1996 and 2017. He list of undefeated boxing world champions, retired with an undefeated record a ...

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 in his 48th bout against Rosendo Álvarez in 1998 and was then avenged in their 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, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...

network.

Honors

López was inducted into the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

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 BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopedia of boxing. The objective of the site is to document every profess ...

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

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

* WBA minimumweight champion (105 lbs) * WBC minimumweight champion (105 lbs) * WBO minimumweight champion (105 lbs) * IBF light flyweight champion (108 lbs)

Regional/International titles

* WBC Continental Americas

minimumweight Mini flyweight, also known as paperweight, minimumweight, strawweight, or super atomweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, boxers in the minimumweight division may weigh no more than . This is a relatively new ...

champion (105 lbs)

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 21st-century Mexican sportsmen 20th-century Mexican sportsmen