Danny 'Little Red' Lopez ~ Career

[Bill Paxtom]

Thursday ~ September 16, 1971

Olympic Auditorium ~ Los Angeles, California

Television ......... Channel 13 {KCOP-TV}
Attendance ....... 5124

Main Event ........ Ernie Lopez vs. Manuel Fiero

Danny 'Little Red' Lopez - 5-0-0 {5 KO's} ~ 5' 7" ~ 120 lbs. ~ {Age; 19 years, 2 months}
vs.
Rafael 'Polo' Lopez - 9-2-0 {4 KO's} ~ 5' 5" ~ 119 lbs. ~ {Age; 20 years, 6 months}
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Danny Lopez will be taking on his toughest opponent of his young career. Rafael Lopez is a
sturdy boxer-puncher from Mexico, and is a well-schooled Professional.

~ Danny Lopez Scores TKO In 5, But Given A Rough Test ~

Danny came out winging in the Opening Round, and tagged Rafael Lopez with repeated hard-punches
to the head. Rafael hung tough, and battled back hard after each exchange.

Late in the 1st-Round, Danny caught Rafael with a good left-hook to the head, that stunned him. Danny
then bored in, and slammed a barrage on Rafael's head, dropping him just before the Bell. Rafael was
up at the '3-Count' and the Bell rang ending the Round.

In Round 2, Danny went 'balls out', and tried to put the Mexican away. But Danny was throwing wild-punches,
and though he dominated the Round, he could not hurt Rafael.

In Round 3, Danny continued to wail away, but Rafael withstood every punch. By the end of the Round, Danny
was arm-weary, and looked to have punched himself out. Rafael put in a late-charge, and took command over
the last 25-Seconds as he scored with a variety of left-hooks to the head and right-hands to the body that had
Danny covering up and on the defensive.

In Round 4, Danny came out bombing again. But by the {1:20 Mark}, he was gassed. Then Rafael started to punch
back, and he nailed Danny with several solid-blows, forcing Danny to back away to the Ropes. There, Rafael
attacked with a body-barrage that had Danny wincing and bending.

At the start of Round 5, Danny slammed away fast, and opened up a cut over Rafael's left-eye. But Rafael was
not hurt, and started to punch back hard to the body.

Suddenly at the {0:43 Mark}, the Referee - Abe Cohen stopped the bout, and had the Ringside Physician
check out the cut.

The bout was stopped, and Danny Lopez was awarded the TKO 5 victory.

Danny Lopez >
"The cut was bad. I knew that I had him hurt a few times. But he was as tough as they come."

Rafael Lopez >
"He threw everything he had at me, and he couldn't put me away. He was spent. I was coming on, and then
I got cut. I don't feel like I lost. It's one of those things. I would like a rematch."