Yaqui López
Encyclopedia
Álvaro López is a former Mexican
boxer
and current member of the Boxing Hall of Fame. A native of Zacatecas, Zacatecas
, López was very popular among Mexicans and is considered by many as one the greatest Light Heavyweight
s to never become world champion.
, Mexico
. He was raised for 14 years underneath the seats in an adobe garage of a famous Bullring in Zacatecas.
A Young López had dreams of becoming a Matador, but those dreams were shattered when in his teens, he got a shot at fighting a bull. After about four or five passes, the bull drove his horn into his ankle which shattered it. With that shattered ankle came shattered dreams of becoming a bullfighter.
were at the event and asked his trainer Jack Cruz, if Álvaro was Native American. Cruz lied and told them that López was of Yaqui heritage.
.
. Many thought López had pulled off the upset, but the fight was held in Denmark
.
in two installment for the WBC
Light Heavyweight
Championship. Unfortunately for López the fights were also held in this champions home, Italy
. Both bouts went the distance and Álvaro was robbed again in the eyes of most boxing writers.
He was one of the very few boxers of his time to challenge James Scott
at the Rahway State Prison.
1980 Fight of the Year against WBC
Light Heavyweight
Champion, Matthew Saad Muhammad
. The first half of the fight was dominated by López, with all three score cards very close up until the fourteenth round. When Álvaro ran out of gas and was stopped.
Cruiserweight Champion, Carlos De León
. López would then wait almost a year and fight Bash Ali, before retiring from boxing.
, Mike Rossman
, Mike Quarry
, Tony Mundine
, Jesse Burnett
, James Scott
, S. T. Gordon
, Matthew Saad Muhammad
, Carlos De León
, Michael Spinks
, and John Conteh
.
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and current member of the Boxing Hall of Fame. A native of Zacatecas, Zacatecas
Zacatecas, Zacatecas
Zacatecas is a city and municipality in Mexico and the capital of the state of Zacatecas. It is located in the north central part of the country. The city had its start as a Spanish mining camp in the mid 16th century. Prior to this, the area's rich deposits in silver and other minerals were known...
, López was very popular among Mexicans and is considered by many as one the greatest Light Heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
s to never become world champion.
Early life
The fascinating story of López starts with his birth under a bull ring in the Plaza de Toros San Pedro in Zacatecas, ZacatecasZacatecas, Zacatecas
Zacatecas is a city and municipality in Mexico and the capital of the state of Zacatecas. It is located in the north central part of the country. The city had its start as a Spanish mining camp in the mid 16th century. Prior to this, the area's rich deposits in silver and other minerals were known...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. He was raised for 14 years underneath the seats in an adobe garage of a famous Bullring in Zacatecas.
A Young López had dreams of becoming a Matador, but those dreams were shattered when in his teens, he got a shot at fighting a bull. After about four or five passes, the bull drove his horn into his ankle which shattered it. With that shattered ankle came shattered dreams of becoming a bullfighter.
Amateur career
López ended his amateur career with a record of 13-3. At the Diamond Belt Championship in Eureka, California, he knocked out the defending champion to win the title. A lot of Native AmericansIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
were at the event and asked his trainer Jack Cruz, if Álvaro was Native American. Cruz lied and told them that López was of Yaqui heritage.
Professional career
In April of 1972, Álvaro faced the veteran Herman Hampton to win his pro debut. The bout was held at the Civic Auditorium in Stockton, CaliforniaStockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
.
WBC Light Heavyweight Championship
On October 9, 1976, López lost a very disputed decision to world champion John ContehJohn Conteh
John Conteh is a British former boxer who was world light-heavyweight boxing champion.Conteh is one of Britain's most successful boxing champions. At his peak in the mid to late 1970s he was considered good enough that he was touted as a possible opponent of Muhammad Ali...
. Many thought López had pulled off the upset, but the fight was held in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
WBA Light Heavyweight Championship
Álvaro met Víctor GalíndezVíctor Galíndez
Víctor Emilio Galíndez was an Argentine boxer who was the third Latin American to win the world Light Heavyweight championship, after Puerto Rico's José Torres and Venezuela's Vicente Rondon.Galíndez was born in Vedia in the Leandro N...
in two installment for the WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Light Heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
Championship. Unfortunately for López the fights were also held in this champions home, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Both bouts went the distance and Álvaro was robbed again in the eyes of most boxing writers.
He was one of the very few boxers of his time to challenge James Scott
James Scott (boxer)
James Scott is an American former boxer and former prison inmate. He is best known for having become a contender in the World Boxing Association's light heavyweight division while incarcerated at Rahway State Prison in Avenel, New Jersey....
at the Rahway State Prison.
1980 Fight of the Year
López would later fight in the Ring Magazine'sThe Ring (magazine)
The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
1980 Fight of the Year against WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Light Heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
Champion, Matthew Saad Muhammad
Matthew Saad Muhammad
Matthew Saad Muhammad is a former boxer who was the world's light heavyweight champion.Saad Muhammad's mother died when he was an infant, and he and his elder brother were sent to live with an aunt. When he was five, his aunt could not afford to look after both of them and she instructed Saad...
. The first half of the fight was dominated by López, with all three score cards very close up until the fourteenth round. When Álvaro ran out of gas and was stopped.
WBC Cruiserweight Championship
In Álvaro's last world title attempt, he would lose to the much younger WBCWorld Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Cruiserweight Champion, Carlos De León
Carlos De Leon
Carlos De León, also known as "Sugar" De Leon, is a Puerto Rican former boxer who made history by becoming the first Cruiserweight to win the world title twice. Subsequently, he kept breaking his own record for the most times as Cruiserweight champion by regaining it twice more.- Career :De León,...
. López would then wait almost a year and fight Bash Ali, before retiring from boxing.
Legacy
Lopez is a member of both California Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame. He has his own gym named after him, Yaqui Lopez's Fat City Boxing.www.yaquilopezsfatcityboxing.com During Álvaro's career he faced Víctor GalíndezVíctor Galíndez
Víctor Emilio Galíndez was an Argentine boxer who was the third Latin American to win the world Light Heavyweight championship, after Puerto Rico's José Torres and Venezuela's Vicente Rondon.Galíndez was born in Vedia in the Leandro N...
, Mike Rossman
Mike Rossman
Mike Rossman is an American former world champion boxer. He is of Jewish/Italian origin, which led to his monikers "The Kosher Butcher" and "The Jewish Bomber." He finished his professional boxing career in 1983 with a record of 44–7–3, with 27 knockouts.-Life and career:Rossman was born in...
, Mike Quarry
Mike Quarry
Mike Quarry born in Bakersfield, California, was a light heavyweight boxer. He had a record of 63-13-6 including 17 knockouts during his career, which began in 1969 and ended in 1982....
, Tony Mundine
Tony Mundine (boxer)
Anthony "Tony" William Mundine OAM is one of Australia's boxing legends and one of the greatest Indigenous fighters. He held the Australian middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight titles and Commonwealth middleweight and Light heavyweight titles and is the only Australian...
, Jesse Burnett
Jesse Burnett
Jesse Burnett of Los Angeles, California, was a light heavyweight and cruiserweight boxer. His professional record was 23-18-2 with 11 Knockouts...
, James Scott
James Scott (boxer)
James Scott is an American former boxer and former prison inmate. He is best known for having become a contender in the World Boxing Association's light heavyweight division while incarcerated at Rahway State Prison in Avenel, New Jersey....
, S. T. Gordon
S. T. Gordon
ST Gordon was an American professional boxer who won the World Boxing Council cruiserweight title in 1982.-Professional career:...
, Matthew Saad Muhammad
Matthew Saad Muhammad
Matthew Saad Muhammad is a former boxer who was the world's light heavyweight champion.Saad Muhammad's mother died when he was an infant, and he and his elder brother were sent to live with an aunt. When he was five, his aunt could not afford to look after both of them and she instructed Saad...
, Carlos De León
Carlos De Leon
Carlos De León, also known as "Sugar" De Leon, is a Puerto Rican former boxer who made history by becoming the first Cruiserweight to win the world title twice. Subsequently, he kept breaking his own record for the most times as Cruiserweight champion by regaining it twice more.- Career :De León,...
, Michael Spinks
Michael Spinks
Michael Spinks is a retired American boxer who was a world champion in the light-heavyweight and heavyweight divisions...
, and John Conteh
John Conteh
John Conteh is a British former boxer who was world light-heavyweight boxing champion.Conteh is one of Britain's most successful boxing champions. At his peak in the mid to late 1970s he was considered good enough that he was touted as a possible opponent of Muhammad Ali...
.