After winning the title last year, Lopez is hoping to taste glory again next week at Foxwoods Resort Casino, where the national tournament is being held.
Josue Lopez earned the 132-pound national title last year, and he's got his eyes on a repeat this year in Mashantucket, Conn.
Josue Lopez of South Hadley, a University of Massachusetts senior, shoots for his second national championship in intercollegiate boxing next week.
Lopez won the title in the 132-pound division last year at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The 2013 national tournament runs Thursday through Saturday at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. Bouts start at 1 p.m. on April 4, 6 p.m. on April 5. The finals on April 6 start at 7.
The tourney is sponsored by the National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA), which has 39 members across the country, including the four service academies. The United States Coast Guard Academy of New London, Conn., will serve as host school for the boxing tourney.
Lopez will be the man to beat in his division, but he said he does not dwell on his role as defending champion.
“I try not to think about retaining my title. I just focus on becoming a better boxer and better athlete with every practice. I trust in my training and my work ethic to give me the tools to be successful,” Lopez said.
Two weeks ago, he repeated as champion in the East Regional Championships. He is the only member of the UMass team, coached by Rocky Snow, to make it to nationals.
Because boxing has club instead of varsity status in the UMass athletic department, the team trains at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, where Snow serves as a volunteer fitness instructor and boxing coach.
Lopez has been training hard year-round with Snow. They have been together for three years now, and in each of those boxing seasons, Lopez has earned All-American recognition from the NCBA.
Snow said he was thrilled when Lopez repeated as eastern champion.
“After all the training we have been through together, Josh is like a son to me. When he won the easterns at Penn State, I was so proud, I felt like passing out cigars.”
As a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam war, Snow knows about work ethic, and he appreciates Lopez’s diligent attention to training in the ring.
“Nobody has ever drowned from sweat,” Snow said. “And Josh’s work ethic is fantastic, second to none.”
Snow, a former Golden Gloves and professional boxer, said that Lopez wins consistently because he’s always ready to go the three rounds at top speed.
“I’ve seen a lot of fighters who look like Muhammad Ali for one round, but after that, they don’t have it, because they haven’t trained the way they’re supposed to. You’ll never see that with Josh,” Snow said.
“I try to gain as much technique and skill as possible when I have a session with coach Snow, but you have to do the roadwork in your free time, hit the heavy bag and speed bag," Lopez said. "Extra strength and conditioning regimens, dieting and cutting weight properly are a major factor. So is getting mentally focused for your fight.
“Where coach Snow makes the biggest difference is in my corner when we fight because he sees things that I cannot see while I'm performing. His advice and guidance is important, and it’s essential to have trust between a fighter and trainer.”
Lopez also has his eyes on a national title in the Golden Gloves Tournament after winning New England honors in February in Lowell.
“After those two national tournaments, I’m not sure where my boxing career may go, but I am looking for a career after I graduate this May. I am going to apply to the Springfield Police Department and hopefully I can become a police officer, a role where I can combine my academic and athletic success to make a positive difference in the community.”
While maintaining his busy schedule of training for the boxing ring, Lopez also excels in the classroom at UMass. He carries a 3.92 grade point average.
Garry Brown can be reached at geeman1918@yahoo.com