It was sparring day for Adam Lopez on February 3. A little over a week out from his Saturday bout against Jason Sanchez, his first trip to the ring since June of last year, you might expect the 24-year-old to have a few nerves. Not about fighting, because he’s been doing that much of his life, but maybe getting cut, turning an ankle, that type of thing.

Nah, not a chance.

“I like sparring,” he laughs. “Honestly, those are the best days. I can practice what me and Buddy (McGirt) are working on and put it to work.”

So no gym wars?

“We're in there working and practicing things,” he said, before adding, “sometimes a fight breaks out every now and then.”

Now those are probably the best days for Lopez, whose love of the game is evident when you ask him what he missed over the last eight months on the sidelines.

“Just getting my name out there and putting on a show,” he said. “I love going out there and I know the fans like watching me fight and I just love entertaining them. I have fun in there. I love doing this stuff. I love boxing. I've been doing it for so long and I enjoy it. I love going out there and using my jab and dancing around and making them miss. It's a feeling you can't get nowhere else.”

That enthusiasm for the actual fight and not just the trappings that go along with being a rising star in the sport was why he went from prospect to player in late-2019, when he accepted a fight with Oscar Valdez on a day’s notice and nearly pulled off the upset before a controversial stoppage in the seventh round.

That fight, despite being up a weight class from his current spot at 126 pounds, put him on the radar of fans around the globe, and even though the COVID-19 pandemic was set to slow his progress, he did get in a 10-round win over Luis Coria last June. It was a close fight, but he got the victory and the NABF featherweight title, but he admits he wasn’t a big fan of the new normal in boxing.

“I didn't really enjoy the bubble the first time around,” Lopez said. “I think it's because they had me in the bubble for about a week for the fight. And going in there, there's so many rules and regulations and they tell you when you can eat and when you can't do this and that. And it's just a headache. So this fight, I'm only going in two days before the fight, so I'll spend barely any time in the bubble. I can go in, make weight, fight, and then I'm gone. So I'm kinda looking forward to this time because I'm not gonna be in there too long.”

Given the layoff, Lopez would probably stay a month in the bubble if necessary, but thankfully, that’s not the case. As for the time off, that wasn’t by design.

“I was scheduled to fight on the Loma-Lopez card, and the opponent we had pulled out,” he said. “So then they had me set up for the end of October, and then I ended up catching COVID. I could have got back to training and got ready for the fight, but physically I didn't feel a hundred percent, so I said let's just push it off. I don't want to force it and rush camp and not have a good performance. So then that fight got scratched and it was already the end of the year, so they said we'll get you in early next year. And that was no problem.”

Lopez is back in business a hundred percent heading into the Sanchez fight, and he has been throughout camp, but that wasn’t the case for a few scary days.

“It was tough, but luckily, it didn't hit me too bad,” he said of his battle against the coronavirus. “I'm very healthy as it is, I take a lot of vitamins and my body fought it off pretty well, but I was in bed for about three or four days and I had bad body aches and I couldn't get out of bed. I was feeling it. But after those few days, I was up and I was moving and it wasn't too bad. It felt like a very bad flu, so I think I had a mild case of it.”

With COVID now in the rearview mirror, Lopez can get back to the business of chasing gold at 126 pounds, and with his bout moved into the co-main event slot, he’s got the platform to do it this weekend.

“This fight is definitely a statement fight,” he said. “I gotta start the year off strong. This kid's never been stopped, he's there to fight, and it's definitely a big fight for me. I'm taking it very serious and I'm looking for a knockout this fight. I want to stop Jason Sanchez. I gotta make a statement to let everyone know in the featherweight division that I'm here and I'm coming for a world title.”

So no interest in moving up to 130 pounds just yet to get another crack at Valdez, who challenges Miguel Berchelt for the WBC junior lightweight crown on February 20?

“130 is down the line, but right now I want to get a belt at 126, I want to make some noise down here and eventually move up and challenge the champions up there,” he said. “And I don't think they'll let me fight Valdez again. He got away and that's it; they ain't gonna let me get another piece of him. So we'll see what happens, but I think he's gonna have a tough fight with Berchelt. I'm leaning more towards Berchelt in that fight, but we'll see what Valdez has got left.”

Those are fighting words. Not surprising coming from the son of former world title challenger Hector Lopez, who would have turned 54 on February 1. Lopez posted a photo of his dad on Instagram, writing “Happy birthday pops. Always with me no matter what. Til we meet again.”

I ask him what “Torero” would think of what his son’s doing these days.

“My dad would be very happy right now,” said Lopez. “He'd be very pleased with how I'm doing and how I'm handling my career, how I'm focusing on the business side and the boxing. He'd be very happy and very proud.”