Ricardo López Nava (born July 25, 1966) is a Mexican former professional boxer 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 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."Finito" Lopez Re-born . The Boxing Truth (January 30, 2010). Retrieved on January 26, 2012.¡Finito López Jr. derrotó a Cruz en Ciudad México! . Notifight.com. Retrieved on January 26, 2012.

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, while other sources say he was undefeated.

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 25, 1990, López defeated WBC and lineal mini flyweight champion Hideyuki Ohashi 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 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. 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, 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. This fight was part of undercard featured Julio César Chávez 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 to claim his third mini flyweight title.JORGE ARCE KO6 ROSENDO ALVAREZ. Fightwriter.com (April 10, 2006). Retrieved on January 26, 2012. 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.

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 and Floyd Mayweather Jr. 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 network.Rodolfo Castr, José (February 2, 2009) Finito López: no todo es salvajismo en el boxeo . notifight.com

Honors López was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2007.Ricardo Lopez. Cyber Boxing Zone. Retrieved on March 16, 2014.

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

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes52WinZolani PeteloKO8 (12), Sep 29, 200151Win50–0–1Ratanapol Sor VorapinTKO3 (12), Dec 2, 200050Win49–0–1Will GrigsbyUD12Oct 2, 199949Win48–0–1Rosendo ÁlvarezSD12Nov 13, 199848Draw47–0–1Rosendo ÁlvarezTD8 (12)Mar 7, 199847Win47–0Alex SánchezTKO5 (12), Aug 23, 1997 46Win46–0Mongkol CharoenUD12Mar 29, 199745Win45–0Myung-Sup ParkTKO1 (12), Dec 7, 199644Win44–0Morgan NdumoTKO6 (12), Nov 9, 199643Win43–0Kitichai PreechaTKO3 (12), Jun 29, 199642Win42–0Edito “Ala” VillamorTKO8 (12), Mar 16, 199641Win41–0Andy TabanasTKO12 (12), Apr 1, 199540Win40–0Yamil CaraballoTKO1 (12), Dec 10, 199439Win39–0Javier VarguezTKO8 (12), Nov 12, 199438Win38–0Surachai SaengmorakotTKO1 (12), Sep 17, 199437Win37–0Kermin GuardiaUD12May 7, 199436Win36–0Manny MelchorKO11 (12), Dec 18, 199335Win35–0Toto PongsawangTKO11 (12), Sep 19, 199334Win34–0Saman SorjaturongTKO2 (12), Jul 3, 199333Win33–0Kwang-Soo OhTKO9 (12)Jan 31, 199332Win32–0Rocky LinTKO2 (12)Oct 11, 199231Win31–0Singprasert KittikasemTKO5 (12)Aug 22, 199230Win30–0Pretty Boy LucasUD12Mar 16, 199229Win29–0Kyung-Yun LeeUD12Dec 21, 199128Win28–0Kimio HiranoTKO8 (12)May 19, 199127Win27–0Hideyuki OhashiTKO5 (12)Oct 25, 199026Win26–0Francisco MontielUD10 (10)Jun 29, 199025Win25–0Jorge RiveraKO8 (12)Mar 15, 199024Win24–0Rey HernandezKO12 (12)Nov 7, 198923Win23–0Jose Luis ZepedaTKO7 (10)Aug 26, 198922Win22–0Raymundo Ricardo MendozaKO5Aug 4, 198921Win21–0Abel AndresKO2Jul 8, 198920Win20–0Jorge TorresKO8May 30, 198919Win19–0Javier JuarezUD10 (10)May 6, 198918Win18–0Ubaldo GonzalezTKO6Jan 27, 198917Win17–0Ismael BenitezUD10 (10)Nov 12, 198816Win16–0Evaristo MoralesKO5Aug 27, 198815Win15–0Fermin RiveraKO3Jul 30, 198814Win14–0Javier AlonsoUD10 (10)Aug 18, 198713Win13–0Alex MolladoKO1Jul 31, 198712Win12–0Eduardo RamirezUD10 (10)Apr 18, 198711Win11–0Herminio RamirezUD10 (10)Dec 8, 198610Win10–0Jorge FloresKO2Oct 6, 19869Win9–0Herminio RamirezUD10 (10)Jul 28, 19868Win8–0Santiago HuizarKO2May 1, 19867Win7–0Reyes MendezKO1Mar 24, 19866Win6–0Narciso PanchiKO5Aug 2, 19855Win5–0Manuel MartinezKO2Jun 27, 19854Win4–0Javier DominguezKO3Mar 8, 19853Win3–0Sebastian ReyesKO2Feb 18, 19852Win2–0Antonio ArciniegaKO2Feb 6, 19851Win1–0Rogelio HernandezKO3 (4)Jan 18, 1985

Titles in boxing Major world titles WBA mini flyweight champion (105 lbs) WBC mini flyweight champion (105 lbs) WBO mini flyweight champion (105 lbs) IBF light flyweight champion (108 lbs)

Regional/International titles WBC Continental Americas minimumweight champion (105 lbs)

See also List of minimumweight boxing champions List of WBC world champions List of WBO world champions List of WBA world champions List of IBF world champions List of Mexican boxing world champions List of people from Morelos

References

External links

Ricardo López - CBZ Profile