Danny Lopez (boxer) facts for kids

Danny Lopez (born July 6, 1952) is an American former professional boxer. He was the World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight champion from November 1976 to February 1980. People knew him by his nickname, Little Red.

Danny Lopez was famous for hitting very hard. In 2003, The Ring magazine listed him as number 26 among the "100 Greatest Punchers." In 2010, he was honored by being added to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

About Danny Lopez

Danny Lopez has a mixed background. He describes himself as having Native American, Mexican, and European-American family roots. He grew up moving between different foster homes. He came from the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in Fort Duchesne, Utah. Later, he found a stable home in Southern California.

His father was a Mission Indian from Northern California. His grandmother on his mother's side was three-quarters Ute. His grandfather on his mother's side was part Irish. Danny also has a brother, Ernie Lopez, who was a welterweight boxer. Danny is married to Bonnie Lopez, and they have three sons named Bronson, Jeremy, and Dylan.

Danny's Boxing Career

Danny Lopez started his professional boxing career on May 27, 1971. He won his first fight by knocking out Steve Flajole in the first round. He then won his next 20 fights in a row, all by knockout! This was one of the longest knockout streaks ever. Most of these early fights happened in Los Angeles, which made him very popular there. Only one of these 21 fights was outside Los Angeles, in Honolulu. There, he knocked out Ushiwakamaru Harada in three rounds.

On January 17, 1974, Genzo Kurosawa was the first boxer to last all ten rounds against Lopez. Danny won that fight by decision. His next fight was in Mexicali, Mexico, his first fight outside the U.S. He won by knocking out Memo Rodriguez in nine rounds.

Big Fights and Challenges

Many people in Los Angeles wanted to see Danny Lopez fight another rising star, Bobby Chacon. Their exciting fight happened on May 24, 1974. Lopez lost that night when Chacon knocked him out in the ninth round. In his next important fight, he lost again by knockout, this time to Shig Furuyama.

After losing to Octavio Gómez in early 1975, Lopez started winning again. He knocked out Chucho Castillo in two rounds. After two more wins, he faced Rubén Olivares. Lopez was knocked down in the first round but recovered to knock out Olivares in the seventh round.

In 1976, he continued his winning streak. He knocked out Sean O'Grady in four rounds. He also beat Octavio Gómez by knockout in three rounds and Art Hafey by knockout in seven.

Becoming World Champion

Danny Lopez was finally ranked number one by the WBC. He traveled to Ghana to challenge the world Featherweight champion, David Kotei. The fight took place on November 6, 1976, in front of over 100,000 fans who supported Kotei. Lopez won the world championship by beating Kotei over 15 rounds. All communication systems were down in Ghana, so Lopez could not tell his family. They only found out he was world champion when they picked him up at the airport a week later!

In 1977, Lopez won three fights and kept his title. He defended it against José Torres, winning by knockout in round seven.

He fought David Kotei again on February 15, 1978. This fight was on the same night that Leon Spinks beat Muhammad Ali for the world Heavyweight title. Lopez knocked Kotei out in the sixth round of their rematch. He then defended his title against Jose DePaula and Juan Malvares, winning both by knockout. On October 21, he kept his world title against Fel Clemente in Italy.

In 1979, Lopez defended his world title in his home state of Utah for the first time. He fought Roberto Castañón in Salt Lake City on March 10. He won by knockout in the second round. On June 17, 1979, in San Antonio, Lopez fought Mike Ayala. It was a thrilling fight, and Lopez won by knockout in the 15th round. Ring Magazine called it the "Fight of the Year" for 1979. Lopez defended his title one more time that year, knocking out Jose Caba in three rounds.

End of His Reign

Danny Lopez's time as world champion ended on February 2, 1980. He fought Salvador Sánchez in Phoenix. Lopez lost by knockout in the 13th round. They had a rematch on June 21 in Las Vegas. This time, Lopez was knocked out in the 14th round. After this fight, he decided to retire from boxing.

In 1985, he thought about coming back to boxing. He finally did return in 1992 when he was 40 years old. He lost that fight by TKO. His final boxing record was 42 wins and 6 losses, with 39 of his wins coming by knockout.

In June 2010, Danny Lopez and 12 other boxing stars were inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Life After Boxing

After his boxing career, Danny Lopez was honored in many ways. He often attended events to sign autographs for fans. He moved back to Utah for a while, then returned to Los Angeles. There, he worked in construction. Today, he lives in Chino Hills, California.

Danny Lopez also acted in a movie called "Fists of Steel" in 1989.

Honors and Awards

• Inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame – 2005
• Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame – 2010

See also

• Notable boxing families
• Lineal championship
• List of world featherweight boxing champions