Some fight fans call Salvador Sanchez the greatest Mexican fighter of them all. Some fight fans suggest Danny Lopez deserves to be ranked as one of the most consistently exciting lower-weight fighters of them all. On the day of February 2nd in 1980, the two legends collided in Phoenix, Arizona.
It proved to be a most memorable fight. And later, a sequel was forthcoming.
Lopez, who was born in Utah and was known as “Little Red,” had been WBC featherweight champion since November of 1976, and against the then largely unknown Sanchez, the 27 year old was making his ninth title defence. At 42-3 and stopped just twice, Lopez had been in great fights with the likes of Bobby Chacon, Ruben Olivares, Sean O’Grady, and Mike Ayala.
Sanchez meanwhile was just 21 years old, and though he was 33-1-1, he had never before fought anyone of Lopez’s pedigree. But as the world would soon find out, Sanchez had skills, talent, indeed brilliance that was uncommon for a man of his youth and veritable inexperience. And so the world saw a great fight on February 2nd of 1980.
Sanchez, who had superb counterpunching ability, a seemingly limitless supply of stamina, and also a rock for a chin, came out and shocked both Lopez and all onlookers. Hitting the champ again and again, Sanchez was in total command. Now, Lopez was known for being a slow starter, one who would always come on later and get the win. But here, his both of his eyes were damaged by round six, and it looked like a bad night all around. Lopez’s fans were feeling uncomfortable.
The action was fast in coming, if largely one-sided. By the later rounds, Lopez had some success in forcing Sanchez to take the back foot. But even here, Lopez was unable to put a dent in his challenger. Sanchez was showcasing amazing boxing ability, while Lopez was showcasing incredible heart and a complete unwillingness to even think about giving in.
The end finally came in the unlucky round, round 13. Two draining right hands to the head from Sanchez staggered Lopez, and this time the third man decided the proud, soon to be ex-champ had taken more than enough. A new featherweight champion had been crowned and, as we would find out over the coming months, a special, special Mexican ring warrior had arrived on the world stage.
Sanchez and Lopez met again in June of the same year (this truly wild when we look at how long a rematch can take these days), and this time Sanchez scored a 14th round stoppage win in another great fight. Sanchez would never lose a fight from here on in, with him instead tragically losing his life via a car smash in August of 1982. At Salvador’s funeral, the ever-classy “Little Red” Lopez was one of the pallbearers.
