Ernie Lopez

Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez ( born 1945 in Fort Duchesne, Utah, † October 3, 2009 in Pleasant Grove, Utah ) was an American boxer at welterweight.

Biography

Lopez was born into a family of the tribe of the Ute and was a graduate of Orem High School. The mid-1960s he moved with his wife to California and became known as welterweight boxer particularly through his aggressive boxing style.

In 1970 he fought against Jose Napoles for the WBA and the WBA world champion in the welterweight division, but lost to them in the 15th round. In 1973 he was again a challenger to Napoles and lost this time already in the 7th round. The longtime boxing publicist Bill Kaplan of Los Angeles described the fighting between Lopez and Napoles as follows:

Lopez also had three fights against the U.S. welterweight champion from 1965, Hedgemon Lewis, of which he won two. The actor Ryan O'Neal, who was manager of Lewis, said of Lopez:

When he was divorced from his wife in 1974, he ended his boxing career. In the following years the contacts broke to his family and he eventually lived for several years in a homeless shelter in Fort Worth, Texas.

2004 family members read a search in the Los Angeles Times, because Ernie Lopez should be inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame of California at Los Angeles. After he had been found in the homeless shelter, the president of the Hall of Fame and former boxing promoter Don Fraser paid the ticket. At the ceremony, he met again with his family. His brother Danny Lopez, who himself was from 1976 to 1980 WBC featherweight champion, said this about Ernie Lopez:

After the award, Lopez lived until 2009, first with his sister, before moved into a retirement home in Pleasant Grove, where he died suffering from dementia.