Remembered: Ricardo Lopez stopped Alex Sanchez in round five in 1997

On August 23, 1997, Ricardo Lopez stopped Alex Sanchez in the fifth round at Madison Square Garden. The victory made Lopez the unified minimumweight champion and completed his 20th defence of the WBC title.

Lopez entered the bout as the established champion, while Sanchez held the WBO belt after six successful defences. The fight was the first minimumweight contest staged at Madison Square Garden and the division’s first unification bout. It was also Lopez’s first opportunity to reach 20 title defences, a mark previously achieved only by Larry Holmes and Joe Louis.

Sanchez struggled to deal with Lopez’s accuracy from the opening round. The champion’s high guard protected him from the Puerto Rican’s wider attacks, while his counters landed cleanly. A body hook from Sanchez in the second round was answered by two right hands that sent him to the canvas.

Lopez continued to control the exchanges in the third and fourth rounds. A right uppercut shook Sanchez early in the third, and a left hook hurt him again in the fourth. Sanchez was also penalised one point after twice forcing Lopez’s head down and striking him during the second incident. Lopez then dropped him again, although the knockdown was ruled a slip.

Sanchez came forward in the fifth round, but Lopez repeatedly found him with the left hand. A series of right hands opened the final attack, and another combination put Sanchez down. Referee Arthur Mercante Jr stopped the contest after Sanchez rose and moved unsteadily around the ring.

The win strengthened Lopez’s position in Mexico’s long boxing rivalry with Puerto Rico, although his disciplined style had not brought him the same attention as more flamboyant champions. He had become a professional after a brief amateur career and had held the WBC minimumweight title since 1990, building an unbeaten record in the years that followed. At Madison Square Garden, his precision and composure secured the defining result of his reign.