Once a child alongside Andre Ward, David Lopez is now all grown up

Once a wide-eyed child walking Hall of Famer Andre Ward to the ring, David Lopez, now 20 years old, is making strides with his own professional career. The junior welterweight will fight Pedro Pinillo on Friday at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta – a bout he boldly proclaimed he’ll win by knockout.

A decade ago at the Oracle Arena, Lopez (5-0, 4 KOs), of Oakland, California, accompanied Ward to the ring for some of his hometown defenses. Reflecting on those memories, Lopez said, “I remember a lot of people in the arena. Seeing how confident ‘Dre was in the dressing room, warming up, hitting the pads – he just had a lot of aura. It was watching greatness.”

Lopez has won four of his five fights via first-round knockouts. Only one opponent has taken him through all four rounds, and only one fighter on a single judge’s scorecard has taken so much as a round off him.

“I expect another knockout if I am being honest,” Lopez said of Saturday’s contest.

As he prepares to face Colombia’s 23-year-old Pinillo (5-7, 5 KOs), Lopez explained his thought process on fight day: “Everything I have done in boxing is running through my head the day of the fight. I am reflecting on everything and embracing the moment.”

Lopez, the prized protégé of his father, Kris “Lightning” Lopez – a well-known gym owner and trainer in the Oakland area – has been proclaimed as a great amateur. Though Kris has trained many professional fighters, David is the one many in the community have eagerly awaited to see progress. It’s a journey that has brought father and son closer together.

“I would say we got closer in the gym,” David said. “He is more particular about things; we look at things in greater detail. Training is a little harder, and on top of that, we have to be on the same page. I would say as things got more intense, we have gotten closer.”

Despite being a multi-time national champion amateur, Lopez is also a model and thrives in front of a crowd, saying: “I am a great entertainer. The fans don’t get bored watching me. … It’s about putting on a show for the fans.

“Everything is self-expression for me. After my fight, I am doing Druski dances that are going viral. They can call me cocky if they want, but at the end of the day, I am an entertainer, and my goal is to please the fans who are paying their hard-earned money to come see me fight.”

Lucas Ketelle is a proud member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and author of “Inside The Ropes of Boxing” (available on Amazon). Contact him on X @LukieBoxing.