José Manuel Lopez, popularly known as Josesito López is an American professional boxer and former world title challenger.
Profile Summary
| Full Name/Nick Names | José Manuel Lopez/Josesito López/Riverside Rocky |
| Gender | Male |
| Date of Birth | July 19, 1984 |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Professional Boxer |
| Net Worth | $1 million |
Who is Josesito López?
Josesito Lopez is a professional boxer who rose to prominence after winning the World Title Challenger. He is best known for his roles in The Big Fight Live (1976), Premier Boxing Champions (2015), and Showtime Championship Boxing (1986).
Josesito Lopez was born on the 19th of July 1984, and brought up in Riverside, California, U.S, with his friends and family. His loved ones know him by his nickname, Riverside Rocky. The boxer stands 5 feet 9 inches tall and is of American descent. He is a naturally gifted athlete who began boxing at the age of eight. When he was in high school, he added cross-country to his schedule and excelled there as well, eventually receiving several university scholarships.
On the other hand, Lopez had his heart set on boxing, and after graduating high school and finishing his over 70-fight amateur career with titles in the Junior Olympics and Junior Golden Gloves. He turned pro at the age of 18 on February 8, 2003, against another highly touted youngster, Allen Litzau. But Lopez was not to be denied, and at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, he made his presence known with a 53-second stoppage of Litzau.
Career Path of Josesito Lopez
On January 28, 2011, López took out undefeated Mike Dallas Jr. by knockout in the seventh round, to win the North American Boxing Federation Light Welterweight Championship. The bout was televised on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights.
López was originally scheduled to fight Kendall Holt in a defense of his title sometime in 2012, but Holt pulled out of the fight. Victor Ortiz was in need of an opponent after his scheduled opponent for June 23, 2012, Andre Berto, failed a drug test which scuttled their rematch for the interim WBC title. Lopez stepped up to face Ortiz and defeated him by technical knockout in the tenth round. During the ninth round, Lopez connected with a punch to Ortiz’s jaw that broke it on impact and rendered him unable to continue. López is now represented by Al Haymon.
After scoring a huge upset against Ortiz, Lopez was given the opportunity to fight for the WBC junior middleweight title against Saul “Canelo” Álvarez. Lopez had just moved up from Junior Welterweight (140) to fight Ortiz and was now being asked to move up a further seven pounds and was not given a chance by too many press row scorers, with most feeling he was out of his depth. This was unfortunately proven to be true. On September 15, 2012, the two combatants squared off in the ring, and from very early on Álvarez’ size and experience began to show through, knocking Lopez down in the second, third, and fourth rounds en route to stopping him in the fifth round after referee Joe Cortez determined he was taking too much punishment.
Is Josesito Lopez Married?
Josesito Lopez is not yet married, though he is in a long-term relationship with his beautiful girlfriend, Tanya Rodriguez. He frequently posts pictures of his girlfriend on social media apps such as Instagram. Lopez and his girlfriend are also seen attending the functions of their close ones together.
Josesito Lopez Net Worth
It has been estimated that Josesito Lopez have an estimated net worth ofaround $1 Million as of February 2023.
Conclusion
Josesito Lopez appeared in the first Premier Boxing Champions on Spike TV broadcast, against Andre Berto, on March 13, 2015. The fight took place at the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, CA and was part of a double main event. Josesito was stopped in the 6th round after the second consecutive knockdown without being given a countdown and the stoppage is considered controversial. The referee was Raul Cantu Jr, who has received negative comments on his performance.
López was scheduled to face veteran journeyman 25-19-1 (16KOs) Héctor Muñoz in an 8 rounder for February 10th, 2018, on the undercard of Garcia vs. Lipinets. The undercard fight was postponed along with the main event for March 10th when Lipinets suffered a hand injury. The fight with Muñoz did not happen for undisclosed reasons.
On January 26, 2019, Lopez challenged Keith Thurman for the WBA welterweight title. Lopez was ranked at #7 by the WBA. Thurman started off the fight strong, dropping Lopez in the second round. Thurman mostly dominated the first part of the fight. Lopez, however, turned the tables in the second part of the fight, hurting and almost finish Thurman in the seventh. Lopez tried to finish the fight early but was unable to. While one of the judges had it a draw, 113-113, the two other judges saw Thurman as the clear winner, scoring the fight 117-109 and 115-111 in favor of the champion.
On 28 September 2019, Lopez fought fellow veteran John Molina Jr. Lopez was ranked #8 by the WBC at welterweight. Lopez proved he has a lot more left in the tank, by dropping his opponent three times en route to a ninth-round knockout. In his next fight, Lopez fought Francisco Santana. Lopez ended the fight early via a tenth round TKO.
