Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez . The Lost Decade (1993-2004)

A CA Detecive found Ernie in a Ft. Worth TX "Homeless Shelter" and
took him back to LA, CA in 2004 to be enshrined in the CA Boxing H of Fame.

Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez . The Lost Decade.

Many remember Ernie Lopez the older brother of Danny "Lil Red" Lopez.
A real solid fighter in the 60s and early 70s out of L. A.

Ernie came up short in two title shots against Jose Napoles.
He had a very tough life from day one.

Born on a Ute Indian reservation with 7 siblings, his Mom cared for the kids while his Dad drank and was abusive.
The kids were taken away by Social Services and scattered about to different foster homes.
The Mother heartbroken, wound up wandering the streets.

After Ernie’s boxing career Lopez would work odd construction jobs and he would occasionally disappear, hitchhiking across the country for no apparent reason.
He would always turn up eventually.
However one day in 1993 that changed.

Ernie asked his sister (who he was living with) to drop him off at the Bus station.
She probably figured he would be gone for a while, like usual.
No one in his family heard or saw him again for 11 years.

It was not until The California Boxing Hall of Fame decided to enshrine him, that anyone was able to locate him.

That was in 2004.

He was found living in a homeless shelter in Fort Worth Texas.

When someone told him that he had been lost for 11 years, Lopez said "I’m not lost, I’ve been here all along".

He’s back with his Family in L.A. now.
He’s forgetful from all the tough fights but it seems like he’s doing ok.

Looking back, his Sister said that Ernie never really was able to get over his losses to Napoles.
He had put so much of his identity in being a fighter that he had a helluva time getting back on track.

Sometimes losing like that is very tough to deal with emotionally I guess.
Although in the end it turned out ok, it’s still a harrowing experience for the people who cared about Lopez.

Sometimes fight fans don’t realize the toll it takes on guys who climb them steps.
I’m sure there are many, many, more stories similar to this.
His story is incredible.

Ernie ‘Indian Red’ Lopez (September 24, 1945 – October 3, 2009”
Obit:
“Ernie 'Indian Red' Lopez dies at 64; welterweight fought before sellout crowds at the Forum”

Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez, a popular boxer in the 1960s and '70s who twice lost title fights before sellout crowds at the Forum and was found in a Texas homeless shelter just in time to be honored for his accomplishments in the ring, has died. He was 64.

Lopez died Saturday in Pleasant Grove, Utah, from complications of dementia, said one of his sisters, Naomi Adams. He had lived with Adams' family for five years before recently moving into a rest home, she said.

"He never became a champion, but he was very popular with the fans," said Bill Caplan, longtime Los Angeles boxing publicist. "He was aggressive; he didn't worry about getting hit."

Lopez fought for the welterweight title twice against Jose Napoles, losing in the 15th round in 1970 and in the seventh round in 1973. "He was a very good fighter, but Napoles was a great fighter," Kaplan said.

He also had three memorable fights against Hedgemon Lewis, winning twice.

"Lopez was a warrior," actor Ryan O'Neal, who managed Lewis when he fought Lopez, said in 2004. "He was also a gentleman, a decent man. But as a fighter, Lopez would hit the other guy so much he would become exhausted. Because of that, Lopez would always fill an arena, because he would give fans their money's worth. . . . It was his heart that made him win."

By 1974, Lopez was divorced and his career was over. His connections to his family decreased as the years went by.

"It was the losses to Napoles and the divorce that sent Ernie into a tailspin," his brother, former featherweight champion Danny Lopez, said in 2004. "He was a hurt man."

That year, family members saw an item in The Times about Lopez being named to the California Boxing Hall of Fame, and they tried to find him. A Los Angeles police detectivetracked down the former boxer in a Fort Worth homeless shelter.

Don Fraser, president of the California Boxing Hall of Fame and a retired boxing promoter, paid for Lopez's flight to Los Angeles. "Some of the guys got him a suit and a hat," he said. "To him it was really something. I think he was overwhelmed."

Lopez was born in 1945, on a Ute Indian reservation in Fort Duchesne, Utah, one of eight children. He met his former wife, Marcia Park, when they were students at Orem High School in Orem, Utah. They moved to California in the mid-1960s, and he fought most of his career out of Los Angeles' Main Street Gym.

Lopez is survived by his son, Lance, and daughters Cindy, Kami and Tracy, three brothers and two sisters, 22 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Services will be Saturday in Utah.