Ricardo 'Finito' López: The Strawweight King Who Retired Unbeaten at 51-0-1
Ricardo López won the WBC strawweight title in Tokyo in 1990, made a record run of defences, and avenged his only draw against Rosendo Álvarez. He won a light flyweight title and retired unbeaten.
Ricardo "Finito" López fought as a professional for almost seventeen years and never lost. He held the WBC strawweight title from 1990 to 1998, added a light flyweight belt after that, and retired with a record of 51 wins, no defeats and one draw. That draw, a cut-shortened night against Rosendo Álvarez in Mexico City, was later avenged.
From Cuernavaca to the Gyms of Tacubaya
Ricardo López Nava was born on July 25, 1966, in Cuernavaca, the capital of the state of Morelos, south of Mexico City. A WBC profile says he grew up in Tacubaya, an old neighbourhood on the west side of the capital, and started boxing at the age of seven at the Lupita gym, where Arturo "Cuyo" Hernández trained him.
His amateur career went well. He won four Mexican Golden Gloves titles in a row between 1981 and 1984. Accounts of his amateur record differ: Wikipedia says some sources give him one loss in 38 bouts and others list him as unbeaten. Either way, he was ready for the paid ranks before he turned nineteen.
He made his professional debut on January 18, 1985, in Cuernavaca and stopped Rogelio Hernández in three rounds. Over the next five years he fought regularly on the Mexican circuit and built an unbeaten record at a weight that had only recently been given world titles. The strawweight division, also called minimumweight or mini flyweight, has a limit of 105 pounds and was the newest class in the sport when López came through.
Tokyo, October 1990: Taking the WBC Belt From Ohashi
His first world title shot came abroad. On October 25, 1990, at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, he fought the WBC champion Hideyuki Ohashi in front of Ohashi's home crowd. López stopped him in the fifth round. The WBC's account says the finish came inside the first two minutes of that round.
That one win made him a world champion at 24, and he would not lose the belt in the ring.
Eight Years at 105 Pounds
Guinness World Records lists López as the holder of the record for the most consecutive minimumweight world title defences: 21 with the WBC belt, beginning on May 19, 1991, and running to March 7, 1998. Boxing News and the WBC also give the figure of 21. The Cleto Reyes glove company's biography says 22, so the count depends on the source.
He defended the title across the Pacific Rim. Boxing News lists South Korea, Thailand, Japan and Mexico among the places he fought, and the WBC notes that six of his defences took place in Asia. In December 1991 he beat Kyung-Yun Lee on points in Seoul. In December 1993 he knocked out Manny Melchor in the eleventh round at Stateline, Nevada. In May 1994 he outpointed Kermin Guardia, who came into the fight unbeaten.
In August 1997 he went to Madison Square Garden and stopped Alex Sánchez in the fifth round, adding the WBO version of the title. According to Wikipedia, he was later stripped of that belt after he said he wanted to give it to his father.
Plaza México, March 1998: The Draw Against Álvarez
The fight that came closest to ending his unbeaten record took place at home. On March 7, 1998, López met the WBA champion Rosendo Álvarez of Nicaragua at the Plaza de Toros México, the large bullring in Mexico City. Álvarez was also unbeaten, and both men's belts were on the line.
In the second round Álvarez dropped López with a right hand. Rosendo Álvarez's Wikipedia entry and the WBC both describe it as the only knockdown of López's professional career. Later an accidental clash of heads opened a bad cut by one of López's eyes. The sources disagree on the details: the WBC places the cut over the left eye and Boxing News over the right, and Wikipedia says the clash and stoppage came in the seventh round while Boxing News says the fight was stopped in the eighth. All the sources agree on the result. Referee Arthur Mercante Sr. stopped the fight, it was ruled a technical draw, and Boxing News reports that the scorecards at that point were split.
The draw is the only fight in 52 professional bouts that López did not win.
Las Vegas Rematch: A Split Decision and a Missed Weight
They fought again on November 13, 1998, at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. The rematch was decided at the scales. Álvarez came in three and a quarter pounds over the limit and lost his WBA title on the scale. The bout went ahead, but only López could win the vacant WBA belt.
The fight went the full twelve rounds, and López won a split decision. It was Álvarez's first professional defeat. The WBC later called it one of the toughest fights López may ever have had. With the WBA title added to the WBC belt, the eight-year reign at 105 pounds ended with López on top. His next fight would be in a heavier division.
A Second Division: The IBF Light Flyweight Title
López moved up to light flyweight, a division with a 108-pound limit, and won a world title in his first fight there. On October 2, 1999, in Las Vegas, he beat Will Grigsby on a unanimous decision to win the IBF junior flyweight title.
He made two defences of that belt. The last was on September 29, 2001, at Madison Square Garden, where he knocked out the South African Zolani Petelo in the eighth round. It was his final professional fight.
Retirement and the Record He Left
He announced his retirement in Mexico City in 2002. Wikipedia dates the announcement to November 27, 2002, while Boxing News says he made it in front of home fans on the twelfth anniversary of his first world title fight, which would mean late October. His record was 51 wins, 38 of them by knockout, no losses and the one draw.
Wikipedia notes that López went 26 straight world title fights without a defeat, the same number as Joe Louis and Floyd Mayweather Jr. It also lists him among the few world champions who retired undefeated, and says BoxRec ranks him as the best minimumweight of all time.
He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2007. Boxing News quotes his reaction: "My induction confirms to me that I took the right decisions in my career." After retiring he worked as a boxing commentator for the Mexican broadcaster Televisa, and the WBC says he also works as a motivational speaker. His son, Alonso López, later boxed professionally as well.
Sources
- Ricardo López (boxer), Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Rosendo Álvarez, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- On this day: Mexican great Ricardo Lopez was born in 1966, Boxing News, accessed October 2026
- Ricardo "Finito" López profile, World Boxing Council (wbcboxing.com), accessed October 2026
- Most consecutive boxing world minimumweight title defences, Guinness World Records, accessed October 2026
- Ricardo Lopez, Cleto Reyes, accessed October 2026
