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A
three-time world champion, a
participant in a Ring Magazine fight
of the year (Duran) and a Ring
Magazine upset of the year (Hearns),
a consistently entertaining and
exciting fighter who never took it
easy in the ring and who never let
his opponents coast, a true warrior
beloved by fans and fellow fighters
alike, Iran Barkley may be tough to
turn down when his time
comes....unless he has ruined his
legacy with a bad career finish.
Danny "Little Red" Lopez:
42-6. He was the younger brother of
world welterweight contender Ernie
"Indian Red" Lopez and always
offered pure excitement in the ring.
After knocking out champions Chucho
Castillo, Ruben Olivares, and Sean
O'Grady, Lopez captured the WBC
World Featherweight Title by
decisioning David Kotey in 15
rounds. He went on to make 8
successful title defenses. Following
back-to-back knockout defeats to
Salvador Sanchez, Lopez retired in
1980. That he has not even been
nominated this year bothers me a
lot. He was a Morrison, Garza, Saad
type who would rise from the canvas
and take out his opponent. He fought
in a Fight of the Year against Mike
Ayala and finally lost two wars to
the great Salvador "Chava" Sanchez.
"Little Red," like the rest of the
boxers on this list, was an
extremely popular fighter.
Sean "Bubble Gum" O' Grady:
81- 5 In addition to being a world
champion, O'Grady is also a college
graduate, boxing analyst, television
personality, actor and former teen
idol across the Midwest. Beat Hilmer
Kenty for the WBA Lightweight little
in 1981. Because of problems with
his manager/father, he never
defended the his WBA title and was
eventually stripped of it. He had a
great ko percentage of 86% and had a
total of 86 fights, an amazing
number given his age when he retired
after losing to John "The Heat"
Verderosa in a fight I witnessed in
1983. In 19992 he was inducted into
the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
Earnie "The Acorn" Shavers:
74-14-1. Earnie was not a great
boxer, he was a thunderous puncher.
My brother could he hit! He fought
in the 70's-the golden era of
heavyweights in the 70's when guys
like Frazier, Ali, Henry Cooper,
Holmes, Norton, Jerry Quarry, Jimmy
Ellis, Jimmy Young, Ron Lyle, Tex
Cobb, George Chuvalo, Oscar Bonavena
and Roy "Tiger" Williams were doing
their thing. Shavers had awesome
punching power. The following quotes
express what Ernie Shaver was all
about better than I can. Jimmy
Young: "If I had to be hit by Earnie
Shavers or George Foreman, I would
rather not be hit by either one, but
if I had to be hit by someone, let
it be George Foreman." Tex Cobb: "Earnie
could punch you in the neck with his
right hand and break your ankle."
Muhammad Ali: "Earnie hit me so hard
he shook my kin-folk back in
Africa." His ko percentage was an
astounding 92%!
Johhny "Mi Vida Loca" Tapia:
55-5-2. He has won world titles at
featherweight, junior and
bantamweight during an era of tough
fighters in those weight classes. In
1999 he suffered his first loss,
losing a twelve round decision and
the WBA world title belt to Paulie
Ayala in Ring Magazine's fight of
the year. That year, he also tried
to commit suicide with a drug
overdose, and required
hospitalization. The troubles in his
personal life frequently obscured
his great ring accomplishments
against the very best opposition out
there. There is enough grist in
Johny's personal life for 10
Hollywood movies...and my pick for
an actor to play Johhny is Johhny
Depp. Hopefully, he has retired, but
that is not a certainty.
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