By Ted Sares

Watching Danny "Little Red" Lopez come up the aisle in the 70's wearing an Indian headdress in honor of his American Native father who was a Ute (though Danny fought like a Mexican warrior reflecting his mother's heritage) kind of bridged the gap between old school and modern. It also sent chills down my spine. It was the beginning of the interesting walk-ins that  later would be perfected by Roy Jones, Prince Naseem, Ricky Hatton and others. But "little Red" was an old school fighter all the way demonstrating uncommon courage and tenacity inside the ring and humility outside.

Lopez, 42 - 6 with 39 KO's and an amazing ko percentage, was the younger brother of world welterweight contender Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez and always offered pure excitement in the ring. Indian Red was tough in his own right and finished with a fine record of 47-13-1 (23 Ko’s). His story is a poignant one and warrants separate and dignified treatment.

But as for “Little Red,” he was simply one of the greatest "television fighters" of all time. His fights often turned into full-blown melodramas in which he overcame early and severe punishment and adversity to score sudden and spectacular knockouts...not unlike Matthew Saad Muhammad. Heck, if Saad was "Gatti before Gatti," then “Little Red” was "Matthew Saad before Matthew Saad." On the brink of certain defeat, he would rise from the canvas, roar back and take out his opponent in sudden and ferocious fashion. Belying his string bean appearance, he was heavy handed and if he connected, it was all over.

Danny Lopez made work on Friday go by faster knowing you would see him on television on Saturday. Yeah, he was that exciting.

While soft-spoken and humble, he was unrelenting once the bell rang. In an era in which fights were regularly seen free on non-cable television, his name guaranteed monster ratings. After knocking out champions Chucho Castillo, Ruben Olivares, and Sean O'Grady, Lopez captured the WBC World Featherweight Title by beating David Kotey in 15 rounds in front of more than 100,000 screaming Kotey fans in Ghana. A remarkable feat. He went on to make 8 successful title defenses as one of the most popular fighters of the 70's. In 1979, he fought in a Fight of the Year against Mike Ayala beating Ayala by 15th round knockout. Then, following thrilling back-to-back stoppage losses to the great Salvador Sanchez, he retired in 1980.

As Lee Groves states in an article on Everlast.com, "Little Red....was boxing’s ultimate thrill ride, a television fighter’s television fighter whose bouts stirred the passions of red-blooded boxing fans everywhere.

“To me, Lopez was the king of the small screen as he rescued himself from certain defeat time and time again with one mighty swing of his wrecking ball right hand. A few weeks back, one of the installments of "Closet Classics" recounted Lopez’s two-round demolition of Juan Malvarez because I felt it was the one fight that best represented "Little Red’s" legend. The fight lasted 3 minutes 44 seconds and Lopez lost all but the final 10 seconds as he overcame a knockdown in round one and a battering early in round two to emerge victorious by way of one concussive right to the jaw.

“Unlike most big hitters, Lopez was a volume puncher of the highest order because Lopez knew he had to work hard to set up the knockout blow. If he didn’t get it, he was secure in the knowledge that he out punched his opponent enough to win on points. This was no muscle-bound guy who waited endlessly to land one big blow; he was more like a termite that relentlessly bore holes through his opponents’ defenses, and before long their weakened foundations would crumble.

“In a 10-round fight against Genzo Kurosawa, Lopez threw – unofficially -- 1,791 punches. It was that count that eventually led to my part-time gig with CompuBox a few years later. For that, I will always be grateful to Lopez.

“My father Gary also likes boxing, though he’s nowhere near the hardcore junkie I am. But he loves Lopez above all others because "Little Red" gave it all he had during every second of every round, no matter how badly things were going.

"When Danny Lopez fought, you knew what you were going to get," he told me recently. "You were going to get excitement and that’s the way boxing is supposed to be." Lopez was willing to walk through any amount of punishment to get the job done because he had unwavering faith in his ability. More often than not, that faith was justified – all he had to do was look down at his fallen opponents for evidence." ( Lee Groves, “Favorite Guys Part II of II,” [ Available Online].

Now 1,791 punches is simply incredible.

Danny’s legacy is secure. He is a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame and was inducted into the California boxing Hall of Fame in 2005.

However, he was not even nominated in 2006 for the International Boxing Hall of Fame and that is extremely bothersome. Maybe "bothersome" is the wrong word. It is downright shameful that "Little Red" has not been nominated let alone inducted.

The three modern inductees for 2007 are righteous ones; Duran, Ricardo “Finito” Lopez, and Whittaker, but why has an artist been selected. What did he ever do to impact the outcome of a fight?

This time around, they were one "Lopez" short. Danny belongs period!

"Do the Right Thing." Spike Lee