Héctor López (boxer)

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Héctor López boxer
Data
Birth Name Héctor López Colín
Fight name Torero
Weight class Light welterweight (last)
nationality MexicoMexico Mexican
birthday February 1, 1967
place of birth Mexico city
Date of death October 24, 2011
Place of death Mexico city
style Left delivery
size 1.73 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles 49
Victories 41
Knockout victories 23
Defeats 7th
draw 1
Héctor López (boxer)
medal table

Boxing

MexicoMexico Mexico
Olympic games
silver 1984 Bantamweight

Héctor López Colín (born February 1, 1967 in Mexico City , † October 24, 2011 there ) was a Mexican boxer . As an amateur, he won the silver medal in bantamweight at the 1984 Olympic Games and boxed three times in the lightweight and light middleweight division for a world title.

Youth and Olympic Games

Héctor López was born in Mexico, had three brothers and grew up in California . He never got to know his father. He lived in Glendale for twelve years , where he attended Herbert Hoover High School and was later named one of the city's 25 best athletes of all time. As a child, he also began boxing in clubs in Southern California and eventually took part in the National Golden Gloves in 1984. He reached the semifinals, where he, however, in the fight against David Gauvin disqualified was and therefore got off with a bronze medal in the bantamweight.

In the same year he received the proposal to take part with the Mexican team in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles . After he had defeated Edgar Garcia of the Mexican national team by knockout in the first round and he also succeeded in the rematch, he was allowed to start for Mexico. At this point he spoke poorly Spanish .

As the youngest boxer in the Olympic Games, he fought against Johny Asadoma from Indonesia (knockout), Joe Orewa from Nigeria (4: 1), Ndaba Dube from Zimbabwe (5: 0) and Dale Walters from Canada (5: 0) to the final, where he lost to the Italian Maurizio Stecca (1: 4). The silver medal he won was the only boxing medal in these games for Mexico.

Professional career

In January 1985 he played his first professional fight. He won each of his ten fights by June 1986, including against two-time WBC challenger Juan Antonio López. He suffered his first defeat in August 1986 in the final of the ESPN featherweight tournament on points against Georgie Navarro, a later WBC challenger.

In his subsequent 16 fights he remained unbeaten, with him notable wins against WBC challenger Refugio Rojas, the amateur star and three-time World Cup challenger Bernard Taylor, WBO challenger Oscar Bejines and ex-WBC world champion Juan La Porte . In April 1993 he played his first world championship fight for the WBC lightweight title, but lost on points against Miguel Ángel González .

In January 1994 he boxed against the later superstar Kostya Tszyu , to whom he was defeated over ten rounds on points. However, Tszyu described the fight as one of the toughest of his career in a later interview. After a few more wins, including against IBF challenger Rod Sequenan, López fought for the WBO light welterweight title against Sammy Fuentes in June 1995 . In one of the best fights of the decade, however, he lost to the Puerto Rican just on points.

In the following duels he defeated, among others, the later WBO world champion Ener Julio , as well as the world championship challengers John Avila, Israel Cardona and Angel Beltre. He lost to Carlos González in March 1997 on points.

In December 1999 he boxed against Randall Bailey again for the WBO light welterweight title, but lost for the first time in his career early in the ninth round. He ended his career after a subsequent win over Jerry Rosenberg in July 2000.

Away from the ring

In 1988, he kidnapped his ex-girlfriend from her parents' home in Glendale, knocking her father and cousin down in the process. His ex-girlfriend was released unharmed a short time later. After his arrest, López served two and a half years in prison. In 1998, he served a ten-month sentence for driving under the influence of psychoactive substances.

Héctor López never became a US citizen and was deported to Mexico after serving another sentence. He was married and the father of two sons. In 2011 he was found dead in Mexico City , where he was working in boxing with the women's Olympic team. Heart failure due to a drug overdose was believed to be the cause of death.

Success as a professional boxer

  • October 1987: The Forum Tournament Featherweight Champion
  • July 1989: Intercontinental lightweight champion of the WBA
  • September 1992: NABF light welterweight champion (1 title defense)
  • November 1996: NABO light welterweight champion (2 title defenses)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME López, Héctor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES López Colín, Héctor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION mexican boxer
DATE OF BIRTH February 1, 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH Mexico City , Mexico
DATE OF DEATH October 24, 2011
Place of death Mexico City , Mexico