Ricardo Lopez vs Rosendo Alvarez

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This was the second title unification fight in the history of the 105-pound division. The first took place on August 23, 1997, when Lopez knocked out Alex Sanchez in five rounds to unify the WBC and WBO titles. After he defeated Sanchez, Lopez said he wanted to give his WBO championship belt to his father. The statement prompted the WBO to take away Lopez's title and sanction a match between Eric Jamili and Mickey Cantwell to fill the vacancy. "It was enough for us," said the WBO president, Francisco Valcarcel, of Lopez's intention. "That's a public resignation." Dwight Manley, Lopez's agent, said Lopez should have had a hearing before the WBO took away his title. "He got no letter, he got no telephone call," Manley said. Michael Katz of the New York Daily News said Alvarez "seemed to be robbed" and called Lopez "overrated." The draw against Alvarez was the only blemish on the record of Lopez, who retired in 2001 with a record of 51-0-1.