Yaqui López

Álvaro López (born May 21, 1951, in Zacatecas, Mexico), known as Yaqui López is a former Mexican boxer and current member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame (not to be confused with the International Boxing Hall of Fame).^[1][2][3] A native of Zacatecas, López is considered by many as one of the greatest Light Heavyweights to never become world champion.^[4][5]

Yaqui Lopez
Born	Álvaro López (1951-05-21) May 21, 1951 (age 74) Zacatecas, Mexico
Nationality	Mexican
Other names	Yaqui
Statistics
Weight(s)	Heavyweight Cruiserweight Light Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 3 in (192 cm)
Reach	77 in (197 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	76
Wins	61
Wins by KO	39
Losses	15

Early life

López was born in Zacatecas, Mexico.

A young López had dreams of becoming a Matador. During his first bull fight when López was in his teens, a bull drove its horns into his ankle and shattered it. Due to his injury, López decided not to purse a bull fighting career.^{[citation needed]}

Amateur career

López ended his amateur boxing 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.

Professional career

In April 1972, Álvaro won his pro debut against Herman Hampton at the Civic Auditorium in Stockton, California.^[6] The two would rematch in Carson City, Nevada less than two months later, with Álvaro stopping the bout early by knockout in the 2nd round.

WBC Light Heavyweight Championship

On October 9, 1976, López lost a unanimous decision to world champion John Conteh. The fight was held in Denmark.^[7]

WBA Light Heavyweight Championship

Álvaro met Víctor Galíndez in two installments for the WBA Light Heavyweight Championship. The fights were held in Italy. Some boxing writers thought that Álvaro won the fights, though the decision victories went to the champion, Galíndez.^[8]

He was one of the few boxers of his time to challenge James Scott at the Rahway State Prison.^[9]

1980 Fight of the Year

López would later fight in Ring Magazine's 1980 Fight of the Year against WBC Light Heavyweight Champion, Matthew Saad Muhammad. López dominated the first half of the fight, but all three score cards very close up until the fourteenth round. López eventually ran out of energy to continue fighting and was stopped.^[10]

WBC Cruiserweight Championship

In Álvaro's last world title attempt, he would lose to the much younger WBC Cruiserweight Champion, Carlos De León.^[11] López would then wait almost a year before fighting Bash Ali. Following the match, he retired from boxing.^[12]

Legacy

Lopez is a member of both the California Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.^[13][14] He has his own gym named after him, Yaqui Lopez's Fat City Boxing.^[15]

Professional boxing record

61 Wins (39 knockouts, 22 decisions), 15 Losses (6 knockouts, 9 decisions)
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	61-15	Bash Ali	SD	12	12-09-1984	Stockton, California, United States
Loss	61-14	Carlos De Leon	TKO	4 (12)	21-09-1983	San Jose, California, United States	For WBC cruiserweight title
Win	61-13	Eddie Gonzales	UD	10	07-05-1983	Stateline, Nevada, United States
Win	60-13	Mike Jameson	UD	10	19-02-1983	Incline Village, Nevada, United States
Win	59-13	James Williams	UD	10	27-11-1982	Incline Village, Nevada, United States
Win	58-13	Roger Braxton	UD	10	09-09-1982	Stateline, Nevada, United States
Win	57-13	Ken Arlt	UD	10	31-07-1982	Incline Village, Nevada, United States
Win	56-13	David Smith	UD	12	01-06-1982	Sacramento, California, United States	Won California cruiserweight title
Win	55-13	Alvin Dominey	TKO	6 (10)	05-05-1982	Stockton, California, United States
Loss	54-13	Johnny Davis	UD	10	14-01-1982	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	54-12	Tony Mundine	TKO	3 (12)	27-11-1981	Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Loss	53-12	ST Gordon	TKO	7 (12)	24-07-1981	Reno, Nevada, United States	For WBC-NABF cruiserweight title
Win	53-11	Willie Taylor	KO	7 (10)	27-05-1981	Stockton, California, United States
Win	52-11	George O'Mara	TKO	10 (10)	18-03-1981	San Carlos, California, United States
Win	51-11	Grover Robinson	KO	4 (10)	14-02-1981	Incline Village, Nevada, United States
Win	50-11	Carl Ivy	KO	3 (10)	29-11-1980	Incline Village, Nevada, United States
Loss	49-11	Michael Spinks	TKO	7 (10)	18-10-1980	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Loss	49-10	Matthew Muhammad	TKO	14 (15)	13-07-1980	McAfee, New Jersey, United States	For WBC light heavyweight title
Win	49-9	Bobby Lloyd	KO	8 (10)	20-05-1980	Fresno, California, United States
Win	48-9	Pete McIntyre	KO	8 (12)	16-04-1980	Fresno, California, United States
Loss	47-9	James Scott	UD	10	01-12-1979	Woodbridge, New Jersey, United States
Win	47-8	Bash Ali	UD	10	04-10-1979	Redwood City, California, United States
Win	46-8	Andros Ernie Barr	KO	4 (10)	12-09-1979	Stockton, California, United States
Win	45-8	Ivy Brown	KO	3 (10)	27-02-1979	Sacramento, California, United States
Win	44-8	Wilbert Albers	KO	3 (10)	18-01-1979	Stockton, California, United States
Loss	43-8	Matthew Muhammad	TKO	11 (12)	24-10-1978	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	For WBC-NABF light heavyweight title
Win	43-7	Jesse Burnett	UD	15	02-07-1978	Stockton, California, United States
Loss	42-7	Victor Galindez	UD	15	06-05-1978	Viareggio, Toscana, Italy	For WBA light heavyweight title
Win	42-6	Mike Rossman	TKO	6 (10)	02-03-1978	New York City, United States
Win	41-6	Fabian Falconette	TKO	2 (10)	12-01-1978	Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	40-6	Clarence Geigger	KO	4 (10)	15-12-1977	Stockton, California, United States
Win	39-6	Chuck Warfield	KO	4 (10)	27-10-1977	Stockton, California, United States
Loss	38-6	Victor Galindez	UD	15	17-09-1977	Rome, Lazio, Italy	For WBA light heavyweight title
Win	38-5	Benny Barra	KO	5 (10)	27-07-1977	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	37-5	Manuel Fierro	KO	3 (10)	20-07-1977	Stockton, California, United States
Win	36-5	Bobby Lloyd	KO	5 (10)	17-06-1977	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Loss	35-5	Lonnie Bennett	TKO	3 (10)	22-04-1977	Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Win	35-4	Larry Castaneda	KO	8 (10)	07-03-1977	Stockton, California, United States
Win	34-4	Danny Brewer	TKO	6 (10)	17-02-1977	Stateline, Nevada, United States
Win	33-4	Pete McIntyre	KO	6 (10)	08-12-1976	Stockton, California, United States
Win	32-4	Clarence Geigger	TKO	5 (10)	18-11-1976	Stateline, Nevada, United States
Loss	31-4	John Conteh	UD	15	09-10-1976	Copenhagen, Denmark	For WBC light heavyweight title
Win	31-3	Larry Castaneda	KO	9 (10)	17-07-1976	Stockton, California, United States
Win	30-3	Karl Zurheide	TKO	6 (10)	30-06-1976	Stockton, California, United States
Win	29-3	David Smith	UD	10	03-05-1976	Stockton, California, United States
Win	28-3	Terry Lee	UD	10	12-02-1976	Portland, Oregon, United States
Win	27-3	Jesse Burnett	SD	12	24-09-1975	Stockton, California, United States	Won California light heavyweight title
Loss	26-3	Jesse Burnett	MD	12	31-07-1975	Stockton, California, United States	Lost California light heavyweight title
Win	26-2	Gary Summerhays	UD	10	03-07-1975	Gardnerville, Nevada, United States
Win	25-2	Mike Quarry	UD	10	14-05-1975	Stockton, California, United States
Win	24-2	Lee Mitchell	KO	6 (10)	08-04-1975	Sacramento, California, United States
Win	23-2	Terry Lee	TKO	9 (12)	04-03-1975	Sacramento, California, United States	Retained California light heavyweight title
Win	22-2	Hildo Silva	UD	10	13-11-1974	Stockton, California, United States
Win	21-2	Bobby Rascon	KO	6 (10)	11-10-1974	Portland, Oregon, United States
Win	20-2	Joe Cokes	MD	12	07-07-1974	Gardnerville, Nevada, United States
Win	19-2	Hildo Silva	UD	12	10-05-1974	Stockton, California, United States	Won California light heavyweight title
Win	18-2	Willie Warren	UD	10	06-03-1974	Reno, Nevada, United States
Win	17-2	Andy Kendall	RTD	4 (10)	14-02-1974	Portland, Oregon, United States
Win	16-2	Al Bolden	UD	10	06-12-1973	Portland, Oregon, United States
Win	15-2	Alfonso Gonzalez	KO	2 (10)	01-11-1973	Portland, Oregon, United States
Win	14-2	Charlie Brooks	KO	5 (10)	20-09-1973	Stockton, California, United States
Win	13-2	Herman Hampton	KO	4 (10)	22-08-1973	Tacoma, Washington, United States
Win	12-2	Ron Wilson	TKO	6 (10)	03-08-1973	Reno, Nevada, United States
Win	11-2	Dave Rogers	TKO	5 (10)	06-07-1973	Gardnerville, Nevada, United States
Win	10-2	Ron Wilson	UD	10	09-06-1973	Santa Rosa, California, United States
Win	9-2	Hildo Silva	UD	10	21-04-1973	Santa Rosa, California, United States
Loss	8-2	Al Bolden	UD	10	15-03-1973	Seattle, Washington, United States
Win	8-1	Polo Ramirez	KO	7 (8)	08-02-1973	Stockton, California, United States
Win	7-1	Van Sahib	KO	1 (10)	11-12-1972	Eugene, Oregon, United States
Win	6-1	Herman Hampton	KO	7 (8)	29-11-1972	Stockton, California, United States
Win	5-1	Mark Hearn	TKO	2 (6)	06-11-1972	Eugene, Oregon, United States
Win	4-1	Henry Tavake	UD	6	24-10-1972	San Carlos, California, United States
Loss	3-1	Jesse Burnett	SD	8	01-07-1972	Stockton, California, United States
Win	3-0	Cisco Solorio	TKO	6 (8)	16-06-1972	Stockton, California, United States
Win	2-0	Herman Hampton	KO	2 (8)	02-06-1972	Carson City, Nevada, United States
Win	1-0	Herman Hampton	UD	6	24-04-1972	Stockton, California, United States