The Destroyer’s best laid plans

David Lopez is finally a fighter with a plan.

During his 12-fight winning streak, Lopez (36-12, 23 KO) has simply fought — and beaten — whoever was put in front of him. Each win promised the potential for another step toward a title bout, but it hasn’t exactly played out that way.

Outside of previously undefeated Michael Walker, Lopez has yet to find a fighter to test him since his epic brawl with Fulgencio Zuniga on Jan. 6, 2005.

However, high-profile slots on Telefutura and the Bernard Hopkins versus Joe Calzaghe undercard have helped make “The Destroyer” a known commodity in boxing circles.

“It’s great that people are starting to notice me,” Lopez said through an interpreter. “My hard work and determination has started to pay off.”

In boxing, talent is sometimes only half of the equation. Exposure is just as important.

Now that both sides of that formula have started to strike a balance in the Lopez camp, he finds himself on the cusp of some intriguing possibilities.

Before any of that can materialize, the Nogales, Sonora, native must first get past heavy-hitting Samuel Miller (18-2, 15 KO) tonight at the Desert Diamond Casino, with Telefutura broadcasting the bout nationally.

If that name looks familiar to Lopez fans, it should. Miller and Lopez were originally scheduled to battle on Aug. 1 before a hand injury suffered in training camp sidelined Miller at the last possible second.

Junior middleweight journeyman Billy Lyell took the fight on short notice and pounced to an early lead before a crushing Lopez right hand in the fifth round ended that bout.

Trouble at the club

However, it was a fight that allegedly took place outside the ring a couple days later that grabbed even more attention.

Lopez and a friend were at a dance club in Mexico when a fight broke out. Initial reports said Lopez started the altercation, but he said it was the other way around.

“I was at this dance club and these two guys ran their car into me,” Lopez said. “Words were exchanged and they attacked me.”

Despite the incident, Lopez said his new notoriety hasn’t caused him any other problems. He maintains that his life is exactly the same and the response to his successes in the ring has been overwhelmingly positive.

Tonight’s fight is sure to draw the usual number of enthusiastic Lopez supporters, which is welcome news to “The Destroyer.”

“I love fighting for my hometown fans,” Lopez said. “Their support is what keeps me going.”

Miller is a bit of an enigma. His glossy record is a bit deceptive, as 14 of his 18 victories have taken place in Colombia against weak competition. On the flipside, his two losses came in tightly contested majority decisions. One of those bouts — a thrilling eight-round bout against Darrell Woods — was on the short-list for the most action-packed fights of 2007.

A win against Miller could jump-start an intriguing domino effect for the Lopez camp.

On Oct. 18, Marco Antonio Rubio (another would-be Lopez opponent) faces Enrique Ornelas in a WBC middleweight title eliminator. It is Golden Boy Promotions’ intention to match Lopez with the winner of that bout.

Kelly Pavlik, the current WBC titlist, faces Bernard Hopkins that night in the main event. A Pavlik victory would net him the light heavyweight championship, which might mean his days at middleweight are numbered.

If Pavlik ends up vacating that WBC belt, there is a strong possibility that Lopez (currently No. 3 on the WBC’s list) could find himself with a genuine shot at that title.

“If everything goes to plan, we’d like to hold that title fight in Tucson,” said Golden Boy’s PR director, Ramiro Gonzalez.

Of course, there are a lot of “ifs” in that plan. However, an iffy plan is still better than no plan at all.

On the undercard

Former featherweight champ Kevin Kelley (60-8-2, 39 KO) will serve as the evening’s co-main event, when he battles David Rodela (10-1-3, 6 KO) in an eight-round junior lightweight bout.

During his 20-year career, Kelley has taken on future Hall-of-Famers Erik Morales Marco Antonio Barrera and owns impressive wins over Derrick Gainer and Humberto Soto.

But the fight that Kelley is most famous for is his four-round war with “Prince” Naseem Hamed in 1997 on HBO — named “Fight of the Year” by Ring magazine.

Kelley was the first fighter to knock down the flashy British star, but Hamed outlasted the New York native in a fight that featured five separate knockdowns.

“Back in those days, fighters in our weight class weren’t put on HBO,” Kelley said. “We gave the world a show and opened up a lot of doors for people.”

The 41-year-old Kelley possesses the energy of a man half his age and a passion for the sport that few can match.

“I love this sport with all my heart,” Kelley said. “This is what I do and who I am.”

Southern Arizona fight fans were supposed to get a look at 154-pound prospect Austin “No Doubt” Trout (14-0, 10 KO), but he pulled out just hours before last night’s 5 p.m. weigh-in.

Twins Jermell (5-0, 4 KO) and Jermall (1-0, 1 KO) Charlo will be featured. Both boxers just turned 18. Jermell fights at welterweight, while Jermall fights at junior middleweight.

Tucson’s own Eric Woods (3-0, 2 KO) and Robert Sockwell (2-1, 2 KO) will take center stage in four-round bouts.

Wrapping things up, Houston’s Hylon Williams (4-0, 1 KO) will step up to a six-round bout against a lightweight to be named.

Ticket prices range from $40 to $125. Tickets can be purchased as any Ticketmaster location, by calling 520-321-1000, by contacting the Desert Diamond Casino Box

Office, or by visiting www.desertdiamondcasino.com. Doors open at 4 p.m., with fights starting at 4:30.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747