How was Ricardo Lopez able to be great in his mid 30s?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by BoxingDialogue, Jan 19, 2020.



  1. BoxingDialogue

    BoxingDialogue Well-Known Member Full Member

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    At the lowest weight class, where speed is everything.
     
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  2. roughdiamond

    roughdiamond Ridin' the rails... Full Member

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    He didn't face the highest level of competition. In fact, his competition level was pretty weak.

    Very consistent and well schooled, of course. Didn't skip training yadayada. Had the tools over everyone he fought.
     
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  3. Mike Gould

    Mike Gould Member Full Member

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    Technique!!! Well schooled and well disciplined fighter who was also able to be dominant years after his prime because the division was weak. How many adult male 105lber's are there in the world? The ones that are athletic usually become jockies. Well paid, safer and much longer career than a pro boxer.
     
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  4. Rope-a-Dope

    Rope-a-Dope Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I assume you mean pounds not kilos? "two hundred (kilos)" would be like 450 lbs.
     
  5. Devon Dog

    Devon Dog Member Full Member

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    He was one of my favorite fighters maybe not the best but certainly the most technical.
     
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  6. ChrisJS

    ChrisJS Boxing Addict Full Member

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    He lived very clean and took the sport very seriously. He was a gym rat as all Nacho Beristain pupils had to. He’s also very skilled. Add all of this to a largely weak level of competition and then only fighting very rarely the last few years and it all makes sense.
     
  7. Momus

    Momus Boxing Addict Full Member

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    He was clearly a few years past his best by the time of the Alvarez fights. He was lucky to escape with a draw in the first fight, and had to dig deep to win the second. His wins after that were superficially good but carefully selected; Sor Vorapin was more faded than Lopez (despite being a lot younger), and Grigsby and Petelo had built almost their entire rep on beating Sor Vorapin.

    Technically sound fighters like Lopez can often draw their careers out over a longer period than fighters relying on overwhelming atttributes.
     
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