Adam Lopez was just another solid 126-pounder as of last Thursday, when he was scheduled to fight on the undercard of the Oscar Valdez-Andres Gutierrez fight Saturday at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
On fight night, Lopez was the talk of boxing. The sport can break you but, as in this case, it can also make you.
Lopez has boxing DNA. He’s the son of the late Hector Lopez, who won a silver medal in the 1984 Olympics for Mexico and went to a successful professional career. But the younger Lopez was just beginning to make a name for himself.
He had only 14 pro fights under his belt when he was scheduled to fight Luis Coria in a featherweight bout on the Valdez-Gutierrez card, in which Valdez, another Mexican Olympian and former featherweight champ, was set to make his 130-pound debut in the showcase fight on DAZN.
“I was excited just to fight on the undercard because I knew who (Valdez) was,” Lopez told Boxing Junkie. “We were friends years ago. I was thinking, ‘Wow. I’ll meet him and talk to him.’ We hadn’t seen each other for 10 years.”
Little did Lopez know what was to follow. He weighed in Friday at the 126-pound limit … then all hell broke loose.
Gutierrez became an instantaneous villain by weighing in a whopping 11 pounds over the junior lightweight limit, he was tossed from the card (and reportedly out of his hotel) and promoter Bob Arum asked Lopez whether he’d be willing to replace Gutierrez against Valdez in the main event.
The little-known featherweight – thinking, “This is amazing” – accepted the tough assignment on only 30 hours’ notice. And his life would never be quite the same. Family and friends were beyond excited after the announcement. It seemed everyone wanted an interview with him. How does it feel to be in the main event? Are you ready for this? And, of course, word spread on social media.
“The fight was exactly what I expected,” Lopez said. “The hardest part was the buildup, all the interviews, the photo shoots. Everything. It happened so quickly. Once word got out, it spread. It was such a busy day after the weigh-in. I was kind of tired. As soon as I got to the hotel room, I was knocked out.”
Fighting an established star like Valdez? No big deal.
Lopez, only 23, battled with the poise of a veteran, surprising Valdez and most of those watching with a skill set that has been polished under the tutelage of trainer Buddy McGirt. Lopez was quicker and more mobile than Valdez and seemed to match his ring acumen, which is saying something given Valdez’s reputation.
And Lopez obviously has some power. He dropped jaws by dropping Valdez with a half hook-half uppercut about two minutes into Round 2. Valdez, who got up quickly, was more embarrassed than hurt but it was clear at that moment that Lopez was anything but a pushover.
By the seventh round, the upstart seemed to be in charge – although two of the judges somehow had Valdez ahead on the cards after six – and threatening to score a major upset in a year marked by a number of them.
Then things changed in an instant. Valdez landed a left hook that hurt Lopez and a followup overhand right sent him flying into the ropes for a knockdown. Lopez got up, defended himself fairly well and seemed to be on his way to surviving the round.
But a flurry from Valdez in the final seconds prompted referee Russell Mora to jump between the fighters and stop the fight. There were only 7 seconds left in the round.
Quick stoppage? Lopez thought so but was forgiving.
“The stoppage was definitely a little premature,” he said Monday, still disappointed over his fate in that regard. “I felt like I was getting my senses back, feeling clear headed. My eyes were good. … He sort of threw an arm punch that pushed my head back and the referee jumped in to stop it.
“I can’t be mad at him. There have been a lot of deaths, a lot of bad things happening in the last year alone. He was doing his job, looking out for my health.”
Lopez (13-2, 6 knockouts) had a second loss added to his ledger, which was hard to swallow. It didn’t feel that way, though, not to those who watched the fight and not to Lopez. He demonstrated without question that he belonged in the ring against an elite opponent, one he had no idea he would fight until the last moment.
One person who wasn’t even slightly surprised? McGirt.
“Kid can fight, man,” the veteran trainer said. “He’s a future superstar. He’s the real deal, man. The sky’s the limit for this young man.”
Indeed, sometimes a loss is a victory. Lopez said with his performance that he is going places. That was the plan when he became serious about boxing at 15 years old. And, of course, that was still the plan when he laced up the gloves to face Valdez.
Hector Lopez failed in three attempts to win a world title. The younger Lopez wants to pick up where dad left off, to win a championship or two. Now everyone knows that’s no pipe dream.
“I knew I would perform that way,” Lopez said. “I said during the fighter meetings (with the broadcasters) that I would control the fight with my jab. I’m just proud that I had this experience, that I was an opponent of Oscar Valdez.
“Now people know who I am. Top Rank is ready to move me right. Big things are coming next year.”