Pro boxer Joe Louie Lopez of Fresno relishes training time with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Sr.

It had been a busy month for Joe Louie Lopez.

The Fresno boxer was in Southern California training with former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in advance of Chavez’s Jr. fight on July 18. Chavez Jr. came away with a unanimous decision win over Marco Reyes.

When Chavez’s trainer, Robert Garcia, asked Lopez to come and spar and train, the middleweight couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., witnessed the sparring session and the old pro offered some advice to Lopez.

Lopez is 5-0-0 since turning pro in 2013 at the age of 29. Now 31, Lopez is eager to see how his pro career shapes out. He is a former Fresno City College football player.

Question: You got to meet with Chavez Sr. What was the experience like over there and what words of wisdom did he and his son share with you?

Answer: First of all, to be able to spar right in front of a legend like the grand champion Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. is an experience itself let alone sparring his son, Julio Jr. Chavez Sr. is a man of few words but he did tell me that I was extremely fast for my weight class, and that it will get me very far as long as I continue to grow in the sport. He let me know that I look like I have the ability to one day be a middleweight champion, but like anything else I can’t take that for granted, and need to work tirelessly. That’s what a champion does. That just adds to my motivation … to know a legend can see that in me. Chavez Jr. was impressed with my ability to pick up the sport in such little time. After our first sparring session, he asked how many fights I had pro and amateur. When I told him 8-0 as an amateur, 5-0 as a professional, he was surprised. He actually thought I was seasoned because of how calm I was in the ring. He gave me more encouragement, telling me that I didn’t need amateur experience; it’s overrated. He was never an amateur and has had a pretty successful career so far. He also told me to keep doing what I’m doing because I’ve come along well so far.

You started boxing pretty late, whereas other boxers started young. Why didn’t you start at an early age?

I’ve always loved watching boxing and wanted to get into the sport, but as a child I didn’t know where to find a boxing gym. Back then, there was probably only two gyms in Fresno and I had no idea where they were. Also I was pretty satisfied with playing football, since it was and always will be my first love

How determined are you to get where you want to be, and that is becoming a champion?

I wouldn’t say determined; I would say obsessed. I think about becoming world middleweight champion night and day. Everything I do every day, throughout the week, is centered on making it and preparing to go to the level I want to be at. The way I eat, when and where I train, how long I sleep — it’s all centered on one goal and that’s the level Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Saul ‘Canel’ Alvarez are at. I want to be there. Nothing less. I also have to say my team prepares the same way. From my head trainer and his second in command, my manager, my public relations manager, my training partners, they all want it as bad I do. That’s what it takes: Everyone moving in one direction.

If someone told you 10 years ago that you’re going to be pro boxer, what would you have said?

I wouldn’t have believed them. I didn’t believe it when it actually started happening. My coach (Bryan Williams) believed it because he knows talent. It took him some time to get me to see in myself what he seen in me. I know myself and I know how driven I am, but accomplishing what I have in just five years is remarkable, especially in a sport like boxing which is based on skill first. It takes men over 10 years to get where I am now. I am blessed and thankful for what God has given me. I realize I have a responsibility to live up to what I have been given, to myself, my family, my team, my supporters, and to Fresno.

This story was originally published July 22, 2015 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Pro boxer Joe Louie Lopez of Fresno relishes training time with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Sr.."