Bay Area prospect David Lopez has never lacked confidence in the ring

If there’s one factor David Lopez isn’t missing to this point in his boxing profession, it’s confidence.

The 20-year-old from Oakland, Calif. has gone previous the primary spherical simply as soon as in his 4 professional fights, and is already stepping as much as the six-round stage this Friday when he faces Anthony Mora in a junior welterweight bout on the Additional time Elite Enviornment in Atlanta, Ga as a part of an Additional time Boxing broadcast on DAZN.

That confidence has been evident to most since he was 12 years previous, when present Corridor of Famer Andre Ward was coaching on the Bay Space gymnasium owned by his father, Lightning’s Boxing Membership. Lopez noticed this Olympic gold medalist who had already unified the tremendous middleweight title, and was considerably taller and heavier than him, and thought to himself, “I may take him.”

“I’m at all times aggressive, I used to be born aggressive. So I noticed Dre, he’s an enormous famous person, one thing in my head was telling me I may beat up anyone ten occasions my dimension. I felt the necessity to name him out and attempt to show myself and present him I’m actually about it,” mentioned the 6-foot Lopez (4-0, 3 knockouts), who’s of Filipino and Black heritage.

“Dre has at all times proven me what his coaching camps have been like. He allowed me to stroll him into his fights so I bought to see firsthand what it takes to be an ideal skilled fighter. I recognize Dre for that,” mentioned Lopez.

The 2 ended up sparring twice, with Lopez being pissed off by his lack of ability to land a major punch on the boxing star who would find yourself retiring undefeated at 32-0. In the long run, Ward was impressed that he remarked to a reporter that Lopez was “the very best fighter on this planet underneath 13.”

Ask his father/coach Kris Lopez, he’ll inform you that he’s identified his son had boxing potential because the age of 5. The elder Lopez, who himself was an novice boxer and had one professional battle in 2007, had uncovered his son to boxing from a younger age, each by way of his personal coaching and watching Manny Pacquiao fights.

David Lopez, whose nickname is “Dynamite,” says that his earliest reminiscences of boxing are of being woken up early within the morning by the sound of his father hitting the velocity bag. It’s round this time that the youthful Lopez would start proving himself within the ring towards youngsters round his neighborhood who have been greater than himself.

“We seen that he had poise. He would wait and they’d throw huge nasty malicious punches. He would simply take it to them with straight, quick punches,” mentioned Kris Lopez, a Filipino-American whose household immigrated from Bacolor, Pampanga, Philippines within the Nineteen Forties to settle in West Oakland’s Acorn Tasks.

“I attribute that to him watching me and watching Manny Pacquiao. That was simply the imaginative and prescient that he had, he would act it out like youngsters do. Youngsters wish to be superheroes so that they placed on the cape.”

If evidently boxing got here pure to David Lopez, it could be as a result of it’s in his blood.

His nice grandfather, Elmario “Massive” Santos, was a professional boxer within the Philippines again within the Nineteen Twenties, whereas his older brother Daniel Lopez had 14 novice bouts, together with a win over Fernando Vargas Jr. in 2015. His cousin Nante Manangan has owned the Southside Boxing Membership in Maui, Hawaii for over 30 years, and even hosted Mike Tyson’s coaching camp for his 2002 battle towards Lennox Lewis there.

It didn’t take lengthy for David Lopez to fall in love with the game himself.

“I might say after my first battle. After seeing the way it was, having to earn a victory, coaching laborious, having a coaching camp, waking up and operating, the entire course of, I used to be appreciative of it. It made me really feel achieved, seeing how that tough work paid off,” mentioned Lopez, who transformed southpaw due to Pacquiao.

Picture from Additional time Boxing

Lopez had a short however achieved novice profession with a file of 34-4 – virtually all of which have been in event fights – successful the Desert Showdown World Novice Boxing Championships and competing at a number of nationwide tournaments, together with the Junior Olympics nationals.

“When folks say you solely had a little bit little bit of novice fights, properly it didn’t actually matter as a result of I used to be combating the very best competitors,” mentioned Lopez, who was rated no. 1 in his division by USA Boxing and has novice wins over present prospects like Justin Viloria, Floyd “Cashflow” Diaz and Akeem Cheatem.

Lopez determined to chop his novice profession when the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of a nationwide event he was going to take part in.

Lopez turned professional at age 17 on October 30, 2021 – on the undercard of a Mayweather Promotions card at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas – and completed his opponent in simply 66 seconds. Lopez wouldn’t battle once more for 16 months, which led him to separate with Mayweather Promotions and signal with New York-based promoter Lou DiBella.

Lopez fought 3 times in 2023, and hopes to remain simply as busy in 2024. Kris Lopez says they’re ready to ascertain consistency in his battle schedule, after which they’d start contemplating stepping up competitors. He says there’s no rush as a consequence of Lopez’s age, and needs to proceed creating his son’s skillset.

“He’s extremely smart within the ring, he’s affected person, he units it up, he’s always considering. He’s bought devastating one punch energy in each arms. He’s knocking guys out with 16 ounce gloves and headgear on along with the blokes he knocked out within the fights,” mentioned Kris Lopez of his son’s key attributes.

“The opposite half is his protection, in all 4 of his fights he’s solely gotten hit clear as soon as.”

This battle, which will likely be a supporting bout beneath the junior welterweight major occasion between Kurt Scoby and Dakota Linger, will likely be Lopez’s second straight on the OTX platform, which gives Lopez with loads of publicity by way of social media to ascertain his model.

His opponent Mora (3-1-1, 2 KOs) seems on paper to be a slight enhance in professional competitors. The 35-year-old from New Britain, Conn. turned professional in 2021 and has misplaced simply as soon as, a 3rd spherical stoppage to a 7-1 boxer named Wilson Mascarenhas.

Identical to he does in his profession, Lopez says he’s going to let the battle develop naturally and capitalize on what comes his manner.

“I’m anticipating the very best out of [Mora]. We watched some tape on him, he’s a sturdy man, likes to throw loads of physique pictures. For this camp we tried to spar with loads of shorter guys as a result of he’s quick. We’re simply gonna go in there, persist with our sport plan and work behind my jab,” mentioned Lopez.

“We don’t pressure something, we let it occur organically.”

Ryan Songalia has written for ESPN, the New York Every day Information, Rappler and The Guardian, and is a part of the Craig Newmark Graduate Faculty of Journalism Class of 2020. He will be reached at [email protected].