Six degrees of separation is a theory that everyone in the world is separated by no more than six social connections.
In other words, you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows Queen Elizabeth. Or so the concept goes.
We’re borrowing the six degrees concept – well, sort of loosely – to connect fighters from the past to their more contemporary counterparts in our new occasional feature, “Degrees of Separation.”
Example: Let’s connect Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Super easy; we did it in two steps. Senior fought Grover Wiley, who fought Junior.
In this installment of the Boxing Junkie feature, we decided to stay with the family theme.
Featherweight prospect Adam Lopez gave a gutsy performance against Louie Coria on Thursday in an empty MGM Grand ballroom in Las Vegas, winning a majority decision and taking another step in a promising career.
Dad would be proud. Hector Lopez, who died at 44 in 2011, won a silver medal for Mexico in the 1984 Olympics and went on to have a solid pro career. He failed in three attempts to win a world title but was always competitive.
Could we link Adam with Hector, who last fought in 2000? Turns out we could even though 24-year-old Adam has had only 16 fights.
It took us 12 steps but we did it.
Check it out:
Hector Lopez fought …
John Avila, who fought …
Oscar De La Hoya, who fought …
Manny Pacquiao, who fought …
Jessie Vargas, who fought …
Mikey Garcia, who fought …
Roman Martinez, who fought …
Vasiliy Lomachenko, who fought …
Gary Russell Jr., who fought …
Kiko Martinez, who fought …
Scott Quigg, who fought …
Oscar Valdez, who fought …
Adam Lopez
Could you do it in fewer steps? Let us know via Twitter or Facebook. Or you can contact me on Twitter. And please follow us!
Read more:
Degrees of separation: Connecting John L. Sullivan to Deontay Wilder
Degrees of Separation: Linking Filipino greats Flash Elorde, Manny Pacquiao
Degrees of Separation: Linking Japanese greats Fighting Harada and Naoya Inoue
Degrees of Separation: Linking Tyson Fury to first U.K.-born heavyweight champ
Degrees of Separation: Connecting Canelo Alvarez with Mexican legends
Degrees of Separation: Linking the Mayweathers
Degrees of Separation: Linking Manny Pacquiao to Pancho Villa