Danny 'Little Red' Lopez ~ Career

[Bill Paxtom]

Thursday ~ April 24, 1975

~ 'Little Red' Lopez Scores 2nd Round Knockout ~

~ Lopez Regains Lethal Power And Stops 'Chucho' Castillo In Two ~

Danny Lopez scored a short and dramatic Knockout over former World Bantamweight Champion
Jesus 'Chucho' Castillo in Round 2.

The action was rough-and-wild after the Opening Bell, as both fighters went toe-to-toe at
Center-Ring to a thrilled crowd at the Olympic Auditorium.

Castillo seemed to have a slight-edge in the exchanges, but at the {1:50 Mark}, Lopez leaned
in hard, and 'accidentally' head-butted Castillo square on the forehead.

'Chucho' was hurt and turned slightly. Lopez then unleashed with a series of lefts-and-rights,
and Castillo took a knee at the {2:02 Mark}, where he took a 'Mandatory 8-Count' from Referee
John Thomas.

The former Bantamweight Champion was able to use his experience to scamper away from the
hard-pressing Lopez over the last 50-Seconds of the Round to escape.

In Round 2, Danny came out fast, and went right after 'Chucho'. After tagging Castillo with a
'jarring' left-right to the head, Danny came back with a pin-point straight right-hand to the chin,
and 'Chucho' went down at the {0:36 Mark}.

Castillo was up at the '4-Count', and was ready to continue. Lopez then moved in, and raked over
his out-matched opponent with a non-stop attack of lefts-and-rights.

'Chucho' did his best to stay up, but he was in survival-mode as he was driven all over the Ring
for the next 2-Minutes by the hard-charging Lopez.

Late in the Round, Lopez hammered Castillo to the front-Ropes, and staggered him with a jolting
right-hand to the head. Then Lopez rained in a series of 'lefts-and-rights', and dropped Castillo at the
{2:52 Mark}.

Castillo was up at the '7-Count' but was too dazed to continue. Referee - John Thomas waved
the bout over at the {3:00 Mark}, just as the Bell sounded ending Round 2.

~ After Bout Comments ~

Danny Lopez >
I needed to win, and in a big way. I had to show everybody that I'm not through, despite
my '3' losses. I had to win, and be impressive. Another loss, and I think I would have quit.

I went after him {Jesus 'Chucho' Castillo} fast just like I said. Once I hurt him, it was just
a matter of time in setting him up, and delivering a few solid combinations. He was badly
hurt and defenseless at the end of Round 2.

Jesus 'Chucho' Castillo>
I was doing well in the 1st-Round, and was beating Danny to the punch. Then he leaned in
hard, and head-butted me in the forehead. It hurt real bad, and I was groggy. I had to take
a knee to get my senses back.

I never recovered from the head-butt. With Danny, you have to get in close to hit him. He's
really tall and has long arms, and you can't fight him from the outside where he has the range.
When I was in close, I was doing a number on him, and then he head-butted me.