By Thomas Gerbasi

Warning - When speaking to a fighter from Texas at the beginning of fight week, don’t bring up the fact that his beloved Dallas Cowboys lost to the Green Bay Packers the day before.

“We’re done with this interview,” Adam Lopez deadpanned before breaking out in a laugh.

Cowboys aside, the super bantamweight contender is in good spirits before he heads to New Jersey to face Danny Roman in Friday’s ShoBox main event, which also serves as a WBA title elimination bout.

It’s the fight the 26-year-old has been seeking for a long time now, his 16-0-1 record not a true reflection of the frustrating weeks and months waiting for that “next level” bout. Not that he’s complaining, as he knows it’s part of the gig.

“It’s boxing,” he said. “It takes a long time. You’re not gonna really become a success overnight, except if you’re like (Vasyl) Lomachenko or somebody like that. But as far as 99% of the boxers out here, this is exactly what you have to go through. It’s tough but you have to go through it. You see lesser guys getting shots, yeah, and it’s kind of disappointing, but at the same time, it’s like, Well, if they’re getting the shot, then I’m most definitely gonna get a shot because I have the talent and I have everything it takes, the dedication and I’m definitely gonna get my shot.”

Regardless of his patient approach, Lopez, an amateur star with over 100 wins and multiple national titles, was expected to take a fast track to glory before his career stalled in 2013, when he only fought once and wondered if he would ever get to where he is today.

“I was trying to go to school, become a cop, do something else, because I didn’t think I was going to fight again,” he said. “I didn’t know what I was going to do. I felt ashamed that I wasn’t fighting anymore when all my friends were fighting and making it big. People asked, ‘What happened to Adam?’ and that was hard to explain. It’s hard to explain why you’re not getting fights and the politics behind you not getting fights and you being on the shelf. That’s more embarrassing and harder to explain.”

Especially for a 22-year-old who had devoted much of his life to a single pursuit.

“It’s very scary because I’ve given my whole childhood up for a sport that you think you can be a self-made man in if you can succeed,” Lopez said. “It’s not a team sport; it’s only on you. You’re the only one that has to come through and you come through all these times and then you’re not fighting, and it’s looking very gloomy. I was 22, and I didn’t know when I was going to fight again or if I ever would fight again.”

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In late-2014, Lopez, who had fought and won three times since his lost 2013 campaign, improving to 9-0, found a light at the end of the tunnel in the form of Vito Mielnicki and GH3 Promotions, and once with his new promoter, business was about to pick up once more.

Lopez’ first fight with GH3 was also the first of four ShoBox appearances, as he faced fellow unbeaten Pablo Cruz in March 2013. Before the biggest bout of his career, Lopez thought about where he came from.

“I have a ritual where I pace through the hallways and think about the fight and how it’s gonna happen,” he said. “And I thought, ‘I don’t want to go back to 2013. I have to change my life forever and win this fight.’ And it definitely has changed my life for the better.”

Lopez has claimed two more unbeaten records from Eliecer Aquino and Mario Munoz, and now he sits at the No. 3 spot in the WBA rankings. Roman is at No. 4 heading into this Friday’s bout, and it’s one of those intriguing matchups that lives up to the ShoBox series name. And while both fighters should be applauded for taking such a dangerous matchup, the bottom line is that while the winner moves into a bout against Nehomar Cermeno, the loser will have a harder road back in today’s boxing world, and Lopez knows it.

“It’s very unlikely that you get second chances in this sport,” he said. “Some guys make a career of losing, but boxing is now a one and done sport. It wasn’t back in the day, like in the 40s. You could lose many times, but if you gave a great fight, they loved you. But nowadays, it’s all about records. I wish it wasn’t about records and more about performances and people wanting to see a good fight, but it’s not that way. It’s a business and you have to win to keep on moving on.”

But that’s okay, because Lopez plans on winning, moving on, and earning a world championship. If he can quiet some doubters along the way, that’s not a bad thing either.

“Most definitely,” he said. “I’ve been through a lot, I’ve had people overlook me and they wouldn’t take a chance on me. I’ve had people desert me, and now I’m gonna be a world champion, so it’s sweeter than ever because I’ve had a lot of people doubting me.”

And hey, a win this Friday could give a little something back to Texas, right?

“That’s one way to look at it,” Lopez laughs.