November 2000
CBZ Masthead

Pound for Pound Best?  

There's Only One Right Answer 

by Steve Coughlin

Every time you see a fight, the talking heads on the broadcast team feels the need to play promoter themselves.  If a fighter other than a heavyweight shows themselves to be a cut above their opponents in their division, the inevitable comparisons will be made.

"So & so is a great fighter, perhaps the best pound for pound in the business... "

While there are MANY fighters who have been crowned or have crowned themselves the Pound -for - Pound king, there is only one choice for those honors for the last decade.  That's right, DECADE !

Roy Jones Jr. ?  PLEASE !  When he fights someone with a pulse AND takes a few chances while in there with that person then you can START to use the phrase.

Prince Naseem Hamed ?  Not a bad choice and one I may even argue for.  Freakish power AND blinding hand speed combined with a Warriors mentality make him VERY worthy for consideration.

Felix Trinidad ?  Not too shabby either.  Can he fight tougher opposition or could he be more dangerous ?  I think not.

Shane Mosley ?  Maybe, but not until he defeats a few more marquee fighters first.

The ONLY person, in my humble opinion folks, who may lay claim to the Pound for Pound title may be Mexico's greatest fighter ever - The GREAT Ricardo Lopez.

Finito, as he is know to die-hard fight fans, has one of the most impressive records complied by a champion.  He is currently 49 - 0 - 1, 36 KO's.  The one "draw"  was against the rugged ( and at the time fellow champion ) Rosendo Alvarez, the WBA's undefeated Strawweight King.

It was a rough fight from the beginning, with the great Lopez getting dropped for the first time in his brilliant career.  When Ricardo Lopez got up, Alvarez KNEW he was in trouble.
After an accidental head butt, the fight had to be stopped.  When it was time to announce the decision, I KNEW that it was taking far too long.  What happened is that the WBA's judge needed "help" compiling his scorecard.  After what must have seemed like an eternity, the fix was in and the fight was a split decision draw.  ANYONE with an ounce of objectivity KNEW that Lopez, in spite of suffering his first knockdown, had won the bout.  But boxing being, well, boxing, I hardly think anyone was surprised that the WBA's judge's (Alvarez's) scorecard had been
" adjusted " to ensure that the WBA didn't lose a " friendly"  champion.

Unlike MANY other fighters, Ricardo DEMANDED that the rematch take place within 8 months. Alvarez may well have been his toughest test, but Lopez was determined to show the world
that he was the TRUE WORLD Champion.  And boy, did he ever !  Over 12 hard fought rounds, Ricardo won the title he really won months earlier.  In the rematch, he controlled Alvarez and pounded him for the full 12.  Alvarez had his moments, as a good champion will, but Lopez left no doubt who the Straw King really was.

In his very next fight, he moved up a division and took on arguably the best champion the Jr. Flyweight division had to offer - the talented Will Grigsby.  Once again, another tough champion found out just how great Finito is.  Lopez dominated the bigger, stronger and established champion for the full 12.  Grigsby didn't even look like the same person after Ricardo was finished with him he was so badly beaten.

On December 2, on the undercard of the Trinidad - Vargas fight, you'll  get to see what may well be the GREAT Ricardo's final performance.  And it's fitting that he's fighting on the undercard too. You see, the morons who run the TV networks felt that he was "just too small" to justify main-event status.  So he was used to make an average card a great one by making him a supporting bout on the card.  Casual fans, or boxing's lemmings as I like
to call them, most likely wouldn't know Lopez if he were standing in front of them.  And that's their loss.

So take an objective look at his record below and tell me he isn't at least worthy of consideration for the pound for pound title ...  I know he's my Pound - for - Pound choice !

From the cheap seats,

Steve Coughlin


        The Career Record of Ricardo Lopez
                 50 fights   49 - 0, 1,  (36 KO)


                                             - 1985 -

 (Jan-18, Cuernavaca) Rogelio Hernandez ko 3
 (Feb-6, Cuernavaca) Antonio Arciniega ko 2
 (Feb-18, Cuernavaca) Sebastiano Reyes ko 2
 (Mar-8, Cuernavaca) Javier Dominguez ko 3
 (Jun-27, San Luis Potosi) Manuel Martinez ko 2
 (Aug-2, Naucalpan) Narciso Panchi kot 5

                                             - 1986 -

 (Mar-24-1986, Netzahualcoyotl) Reyes Mendez ko 1
 (May-1-1986, Zacatecas) Santiago Huizar ko 2
 (Jul-28-1986, Netzahualcoyotl) Herminio Ramirez 10
 (Oct-6-1986, Netzahualcoyotl) Jorge Flores ko 2
 (Dec-8-1986, Tlalneptlantla) Herminio Ramirez 10

                                             - 1987 -

 (Apr-18, Mexico City) Eduardo Ramirez 10
 (Jul-31, Acapulco) Alex Morado kot 1
 (Aug-15, Mexico City) Javier Alonso 10

                                             - 1988 -

 (Jul-30, Zacapu) Fermin Rivero ko 3
 (Aug-27, Naucalpan) Evaristo Morales kot 5
 (Nov-12, Mexico City) Ismael Benitez 10

                                             - 1989 -

 (Jan-27, Mazatlan) Ubaldo Gonzalez kot 5
 (May-6, Mexico City) Javier Juarez 10
 (May-30, Guasave) Jorge Torres ko 8
 (Jul-8-, Leon) Abel Andres ko 2
 (Aug-4-, Tulancingo) Raymundo Mendoza ko 5
 (Aug-26, Mexico City) Jose Luis Zepeda kot 7
 (Nov-7, Mexico City) Rey Hernandez kot 12

                                             - 1990 -

 (Mar-15, Dallas) Jorge Rivera kot 8
 (Jun-29, Mexico City) Francisco Montiel 10
 (Oct-25, Tokyo) Hideyuki Ohashi ko 5 (W.B.C., Strawweight)

                                             - 1991 -

 (May-19, Shizuoka) Kimio Hirano kot 8 (W.B.C., Strawweight)
 (Dec-22, Inchon) Kyung-Yun Lee 12 (W.B.C., Strawweight)

                                             - 1992 -

 (Mar-16, Mexico City) Pretty Boy Lucas 12 (W.B.C., Strawweight)
 (Aug-22, Ciudad Madero) Singprusert Kittikasem ko 5 (W.B.C., Strawweight)
 (Oct-11, Tokyo) Rocky Lim ko 2 (W.B.C., Strawweight)

                                             - 1993 -

 (Jan-31, Pohang) Kwang-Soo Oh kot 9 (W.B.C., Strawweight)
 (Jul-3, Nuevo Laredo) Saman Sorjaturong kot 2 (W.B.C., Strawweight)
 (Sep-13, Bangkok) Toto Pow Phongsawang kot 11 (W.B.C., Strawweight)
 (Dec-18, Stateline) Manny Melchor ko 11 (W.B.C., Strawweight)

                                             - 1994 -

 (May-7, Las Vegas) Kermin Guardia 12 (W.B.C., Strawweight)
 (Sep-17, Las Vegas) Yodsingh Au Suwwanasilp kot 1 (W.B.C., Strawweight)
 (Nov-12, Mexico City) Javier Varguez kot 8 (W.B.C., Strawweight)
 (Dec-10, Monterrey) Yamil Caraballo ko 1 (W.B.C., Strawweight)

                                             - 1995 -

 (Apr-1, Stateline) Andy Tabanas kot 12 (W.B.C., Strawweight)

                                             - 1996 -

 (Mar-16, Las Vegas) Ala Villamor ko 8 (W.B.C., Strawweight)
 (Jun-29, Indio) Kittichai Preecha ko 3 (W.B.C., Strawweight)
 (Nov-9, Las Vegas) Morgan Ndumo kot 6 (W.B.C., Strawweight)
 (Dec-7, Palm Springs) Myung-Sup Park kot 1 (W.B.C., Strawweight)

                                             - 1997 -

 (Mar-29, Las Vegas) Mongkol LG-Gym 12 (W.B.C., Strawweight)
 (Aug-23, New York) Alex Sanchez kot 5 (World, Strawweight)

                                             - 1998 -

 (Mar-7, Mexico City) Rosendo Alvarez 7 (World, Strawweight)   DRAW 
 (Nov-13, Las Vegas) Rosendo Alvarez 12 (World, Strawweight)


                                             - 1999 -

+ (Oct-2-1999, Las Vegas) Will Grigsby 12 (I.B.F., Juniorflyweight)