Esther Lopez was born and raised in Albuquerque’s south valley and graduated from Rio Grande High School in 1981. Right out of high school she married and had a family. As the kids grew and she had time for herself she began hitting the gym. This opened a few doors and her husband opened M&L Boxing in their garage. They had several young fighters and began travelling with the team to tournaments. Esther’s love for boxing grew even more. She figured why not become an official and help the young fighter’s out. Her love for the sport of boxing grew. As time went on, Esther Lopez not only travelled with the team but then began travelling to judge national tournaments. She became the New Mexico LBC Secretary and later went onto be the Chief of Officials for two terms.
Esther Lopez’s sights didn’t end there. Her love for the sport grew more and she wanted to judge the real boxing matches. Esther researched and figured out training in the professional ranks is what she needed. She trained for two years in 1998 and finally the “good ole” boys decided she could become a judge with the local New Mexico Athletic Commission. What Esther learned was this was a male dominant sport and a woman would have to claw, work extra hard and put in her time to prove her worth in this “boxing world.”
Ms. Lopez’ determination and perseverance has paid off. She is now a member of the WBC (“World Boxing Council”) and the NABF (“Northern American Boxing Federation”). She obtained the training necessary to take it to the next level. Today Ms. Lopez is travelling the world judging world title fights and has travelled to places such as Mexico, Canada, China and throughout the United States.
In her normal daily life Esther Lopez is a mother of 5, grandmother of 14 granddaughters and has been a paralegal for 30+ years. Ms. Lopez currently works at Rothstein Donatelli LLP and in the areas of civil rights and criminal law.
Overall Esther Lopez is a woman in the profession to be recognized.