Héctor López Colín (February 1, 1967 – October 24, 2011) was a Mexican

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. He challenged for the WBC

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

title in 1993 and the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

light welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

title twice between 1995 and 1999. At regional level he held the WBC- NABF light welterweight title twice between 1992 and 1993, and the WBO- NABO light welterweight title between 1996 and 1997. As an amateur he represented Mexico at the 1984 Olympics, winning a silver medal in the

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

division.

Amateur career

López, who was born in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, was a Mexican National Amateur Champion. During the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

he won the Bantamweight Silver Medal, at seventeen years old Héctor was the youngest

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

in the whole Olympics.

Olympic results

Below are the results of Hector Lopez, a Mexican bantamweight boxer who competed at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics: *Round of 32: Defeated

Johny Asadoma Johny Asadoma (born January 8, 1966, in Denpasar) is a current vice-governor of the East Nusa Tenggara province and a former Indonesian amateur boxer. After his retirement from boxing, Asadoma joined the Indonesia's academy of police, and became a ...

(Indonesia) KO 3 *Round of 16: Defeated Joe Orewa (Nigeria) on points *Quarterfinal: Defeated Ndaba Dube (Zimbabwe) on points *Semifinal: Defeated Dale Walters (Canada) on points *Final: Lost to

Maurizio Stecca Maurizio Stecca (born 9 March 1963) is a retired Italian boxer, who won the Bantamweight Gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He is the younger brother of former super bantamweight world champion of boxing, Loris Stecca. Professional career ...

(Italy) on points (was awarded silver medal)

Pro career

Héctor began his professional career in 1985 as a

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

but later moved up to

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

and defeated former champion

Juan LaPorte Juan Laporte, also known as Juan La Porte (born November 24, 1959) is a former boxer who was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico. In 1982, La Porte won the vacant WBC featherweight title, forcing undefeated Colombian Mario "Martillo" Miranda to quit ...

. That fight would set up a bout with the undefeated Mexican Miguel Ángel González for the WBC

Championship in 1993. López lost a twelve-round unanimous decision and decided on moving up to

Light Welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

, losing to a young

Kostya Tszyu Konstantin Borisovich "Kostya" Tszyu ( ; rus, Константин Борисович «Костя» Цзю, , kənstɐnʲˈtʲin bɐˈrisəvʲɪtɕ ˈkosʲtʲə ˈdzːʲu; born 19 September 1969) is a Russian-Australian former professional b ...

in 1994. He later challenged Sammy Fuentes and

Randall Bailey Randall Bailey (born September 13, 1974) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2016. He is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBO light welterweight title from 1999 to 2000, and the IBF we ...

for the WBO World

Title but lost both bouts. López retired after beating veteran Jerry Rosenberg by T.K.O. in the third round.

Personal life

Héctor López was born in Mexico City but was raised in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

, United States, and even played

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

at Glendale Hoover High School. He grew up and trained with

Mexican American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexico, Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the Unite ...

Olympic gold medalist

Paul Gonzales Paul Garza Gonzales (born April 18, 1964) is an American former professional boxer, who won the light flyweight gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Amateur career Gonzales was the winner of the Val Barker Trophy for Outstanding Boxer at t ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Hector 1967 births 2011 deaths Boxers from Mexico City Bantamweight boxers Lightweight boxers Light-welterweight boxers Olympic boxers for Mexico Olympic silver medalists for Mexico Boxers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in boxing Mexican male boxers Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics 20th-century Mexican sportsmen