Tony Lopez-how Good Was He?

[Boro chris]

Fought Rocky Lockridge,John john molina,J C Chavez, Brian Mitchell and Jorge Paez.

How good was he,what was his style?
Educate this wretched sinner if you would please!

[My2Sense]

Very good and underrated fighter IMO. He wasn't spectacular at any one thing, but he could do a little bit of everything, plus he was tough and had a lot of heart. He was a boxer on the surface, with tricky head movement, but he was always willing to work inside and go to war.

He won his title on a big upset against Lockridge (who was slightly past his prime, but still considered good), in which he was knocked down hard but somehow managed to get up and box his way to a decision. The fight won "Fight of the Year" that year.

Lopez almost always fought in his hometown of Sacramento, where his fight always made big money and drew big crowds. He got away with a few close, controversial decisions there, but he usually came right back and fought the opponent again.

He got a controversial decision in his first fight with Molina, and then took a beating in their second fight and was stopped on cuts. Most people thought a rubber match would be unnecessary, but Lopez "shocked the world" when he bullied his way to a close (but fair) decision over Molina to take back his title. That fight was Lopez's defining moment, and one of the most dramatic fights ever IMO.

Lopez followed that up with another big win against Jorge Paez in what was considered a lighter weight superfight at that time. He finally met his match against Brian Mitchell (another very underrated fighter) who really got the better of him in both their fights, but he scored another big upset win when he went up to Joey Gamache's home turf of Maine and knocked out the unbeaten prospect in another exciting fight. After that fight, Lopez pretty much faded away. By the time he fought Chavez up at 140, he was pretty much shot.

After the Chavez fight, Lopez was also involved in another classic battle with Freddie Pendleton, in which both fighters hit the canvas multiple times before Lopez was finally stopped.

[Matienza]

He lost all 3 fights to John John IMO. Rocky was past it the time Tony got to him. Haven't seen the Mitchell fights, but I've read from many sources that Lopez deserved to lose the first one. A passed it prime JCC put a thorough beating on him. Capturing a title at lightweight over Joey Gamache really isn't anything to get excited over. Very fun fighter to watch, throwback in some sense, good fan following, I'd put him in the C+ class bracket. An upgrade on Gatti basically.

[jont]

Lopez was a very good fighter and he was exciting to watch... always came to fight and was lured into trading. much more than he needed to... if someone hit him Lopez showed anger and always came back punching.. I rooted for him to lose against Lockridge but came to respect Lopez... his fights were exciting and he seemed to be on television a lot I think on NBC... he was better than a C+ fighter as stated in the above post.... Lopez brought excitement to the ring and many people rooted for him to lose along the likes of Paez in my opinion... but he brought the goods .............

[mcvey]

Good game all action fighter without terrific power ,he had a big fan base and the girls liked the "Tiger " ,he often enjoyed home advantage , a fast tricky boxer ,who gave value ,but not a great one ,imo.

[fists of fury]

One of my favourite fighters from the late 80's/ early 90's.

I watched around 8 of his fights, and Lopez always gave value for money, win, lose or draw.
Matienza stated that he was a throwback fighter and I agree. If the money was good, Lopez would fight anyone, anywhere.

Well, maybe not anywhere actually. He fought the vast majority of his fights in Sacramento, where he was immensly (and I mean immensly) popular. Few fighters have received such adulation from his hometown.
One time, Lopez was at a nightclub and this guy comes up to him and asks if he could shake his hand. That's all he wanted. No autograph or anything, just a handshake. Lopez obliged, and the guy was apparantly almost in tears afterward.
The riot that ensued after Molina beat him in the second fight was pretty bad. Cups and chairs flying, people diving for cover. Lopez enjoyed virtually god-like status in Sacramento.

As a fighter Lopez I think was primarily a boxer-puncher, but he liked a brawl very much. He and Juan Molina's styles clashed perfectly - Molina the cute slickster and Lopez the hard-nosed brawler.
He also fought 2 South Africans, Brian Mitchell and Dingaan Thobela, a gifted but erratic boxer from Soweto. He drew and lost to Mitchell, got a gift in the first fight asgainst Thobela, and then promptly got robbed in the rematch.

[Boro chris]

Cheers all!