4. Humberto “Chiquita” González vs Ricardo “Finito” López
Two of the greatest light-division boxers of all time, they never crossed paths. López was the undefeated world champion who fought in minimumweight for most of his career, while González dominated the light flyweight division. By the time Finito jumped to that division to claim the world title, González had retired.
The weight difference was small enough to make the fight possible in say, 1993. López had shown a lot of interest in fighting González, but was turned down because he was not a big draw in terms of sales. So Gonzalez’s management wasn’t interested in what they considered a low-income, high-risk fight.
Don’t get me wrong, González was a great champion and I doubt he ducked López out of fear. It just wasn’t convenient for him or his team.
Both men have been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
My father Toby Vigil Mexican lightweight, California State Champion, was a popular fan favorite at the famous Hollywood Legion Stadium. Known for his movie star good looks and flashy boxing style, Vigil had some epic fights during his career. Toby fought both popular Mexican fighters, Baby Arizmendi and Rodolfo Babyface Casanova. Matched against the popular Mexican Champion Casanova., the bout was held at the Stadium Nacional, in Mexico City. In 1938. The fight was a classic battle held in enemy territory with a boisterous, vociferous crowd. Casanova relentlessly pursued my father post to post attempting to land the big right hand he was known for, all the while eating punishing left/right combinations leaving Casanova’s face a bloody mess with both eyes swollen shut. At the end of ten rounds the referee awarded my dad a hard fought unanimous decision over the Mexican Champion. In 1941 at the Hollywood Legion Stadium, he fought Baby Arizmendi losing a closely contested decision. He said Arizmendi was a very fierce opponent, in which he had to use his left hand overtime, having broke his right hand on Arizmendi’s head in the first round.