Ernie Lopez
| Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez | |
|---|---|
Photograph of Ernie Lopez, March 1, 2004, by Jennifer Long, Los Angeles Times.
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| Statistics | |
| Real name | Ernie Lopez |
| Nickname(s) | Indian Red |
| Rated at | Welterweight |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Nationality |
 American
|
| Born | 1945 Fort Duchesne, Utah U.S.A. |
| Died | October 3, 2009 Pleasant Grove, Utah U.S.A. |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 62 |
| Wins | 51 |
| Wins by KO | 6 |
| Losses | 10 |
| Draws | 1 |
Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez (September 24, 1945 – October 3, 2009), was an American professional boxer. He twice fought for the world welterweight boxing title, losing title bouts to José Nápoles in 1970 and 1973. He was a missing person from 1992 to 2004 and was the subject of extensive press coverage in early 2004 when, after being selected for induction into the California Boxing Hall of Fame, he was found at a homeless shelter in Fort Worth, Texas.
Lopez was born on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in Fort Duchesne, Utah. His mother was a Ute Indian, and his father was a Juaneño.
Lopez attended Orem High School in Orem, Utah, where he chose boxing over football. He married as a teenager and moved to Pasadena, California, where he boxed out of the Pasadena YMCA. He later recalled that he learned to box from his father and added, "But sometimes I learned when I watched my father hit my mother."
Lopez became a popular boxer in Los Angeles during the late 1960s and early 1970s, fighting out of the Los Angeles Main Street Gym for much of his career. His brother, Danny "Little Red" Lopez, also went into boxing and became the world featherweight champion. Both of the Lopez brothers were managed by Howie Steindler.
Lopez was given the nickname "Indian Red" because of his flaming red hair and Native American heritage. In 1968, when Lopez became the first Native American boxer to be ranked as the No. 1 contender in any weight class, Pulitzer Prize winning sports writer Jim Murray wrote:
"I don't know how he is as a prize fighter, but Ernie (Indian Red) Lopez certainly is disappointing as an Indian. I mean, he doesn't look like something John Wayne would chase down the street shouting something about 'damned redskin.' 'Damned redhead,' maybe. But, Lordy, the skin is even freckled! Now, whoever heard of a red-headed, freckle-skinned Indian? ... 'What was your Indian name?' I asked Indian Red? 'Ernie,' he told me."
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Wikipedia