Lopez Forgoes Glitter to Gain Box Office Gold : Pro boxing: He stays in Sacramento again to defend title against Paez today.

In America today, you can still be a hometown sports hero. You don’t have to go to New York, Las Vegas or Beverly Hills to be perfumed, packaged and presented by some public relations firm.

A good example is Tony Lopez, a Mexican-American kid from Sacramento.

This afternoon, in the 17,000-seat Arco Arena, Lopez will defend his International Boxing Federation junior-lightweight championship against Jorge Paez of Mexicali, Mexico, in an NBC fight that will surpass all others in California in gross receipts. As of Friday noon, more than 13,000 tickets had been sold and $568,000 was in the bank.

The California box office record is the 1973 Muhammad Ali-Ken Norton fight at the Forum. California Athletic Commission records show it grossed $476,000.

This is happening, the promoter says, because Lopez and his father-manager, Sal Lopez, decided early to develop a hometown following instead of heading for the lights of Las Vegas.

Don Chargin, who has promoted boxing in Los Angeles and Sacramento for nearly 40 years, says that if he has learned one thing about pro boxing in that time, it’s the importance of developing a following. Of Lopez’s 39 fights, 31 have been in Sacramento. The others were in either nearby Stateline, Nev., or Reno.

Said Chargin: “A New York sportswriter called me the other day and one of the things he asked me was, ‘When are you going to bring Tony to the East Coast?’ I told him: ‘I got a better idea, why don’t you come to Sacramento and see him?’ Then I asked him why in the world Tony Lopez should fight in New York when he can make a quarter-million dollars fighting in his hometown?”

Lopez, who has a 37-2 record, should make more than that this afternoon. He will fight for a $250,000 purse, plus 35% of gross receipts over $500,000. Paez (35-2-3) will earn $135,000.

Fighting at home has enriched Lopez beyond what his purses have brought him. He has become a highly sought motivational speaker in the area and it isn’t unusual to see him on Sacramento television commercials.

Lopez has defended his IBF title three times and lost once. Paez, the IBF featherweight champion, has defended his title successfully eight times but today will be moving up in weight, from 126 pounds to 130.

Paez, who also performs as a clown in his family’s Mexicali circus, will enter the ring, as usual, in a wacky haircut and outrageous costume.

Lopez, meanwhile, says he is comforted in battle by familiar faces and voices.

“In my last few fights, before the introductions, I’ve looked out at the ringside seats and seen the same faces that were at my first fights in Sacramento, in 1983 and 1984,” he said. “The same people, they’re still supporting me.

“Now that I’m in the big money, I should go somewhere else to fight? That’s kind of cold.”

Lopez, 27, turned pro in 1983 and had 16 of his first 17 fights here. He won his IBF title here in 1988, getting a decision over Rocky Lockridge. He defended it successfully against John John Molina in Sacramento, then lost it to him in the second of their three fights. He took back the championship from Molina on a decision in Reno last May.

Lopez is a reformed fast food addict, he says.

After the first title fight with Molina, Lopez went on a hamburger binge and soared to 160 pounds between fights.

Molina then stopped him in 10 rounds in the rematch. After that, Lopez, properly contrite, had a long talk with his trainer, Will Edgington.

“I’d been on Tony pretty hard for letting his weight go so high between fights, and he pretty much ignored me,” Edgington said.

“But after he lost to Molina, he came to me and said: ‘I learned my lesson.’ Since then, he’s been right at 140-142 between fights, which is fine.”

Said Lopez: “I eat that stuff once in a while now, but not all the time, like I used to.”

If Lopez beats Paez today--Lopez is favored--his people see both major fights and major money in his future.

A challenge to undisputed lightweight champion Pernell Whitaker could be a seven-digit payday for Lopez, but he need not risk losing to Whitaker.

“I see three fights out there that could earn Tony a total of $1.5 million, without having to fight Whitaker,” Edgington said.

Said Sal Lopez: “If Tony beats Paez, I’d like to talk about a unification fight with Brian Mitchell (the World Boxing Assn. junior-lightweight champion from South Africa), but if someone showed us a lot of money to fight Whitaker, we’d have to listen, sure.”

The opponent Lopez dreams of fighting is Julio Cesar Chavez, the double junior-welterweight champion from Mexico whom some call boxing’s greatest performer.

“In his heart, that’s what he wants out there, Chavez,” Edgington said.

Asked specifically about Chavez, however, Lopez only winked and grinned.