Mario Lopez comes out of his boxing shell

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., June 25 (UPI) -- U.S. television host Mario Lopez says he was reluctant at first about sharing his passion for boxing with the public by taking part in a documentary.

Lopez, the former teen heartthrob and current host of the syndicated cable series "Extra," is putting his good looks and sunny smile on the line in a project by documentary filmmaker and longtime friend Bert Marcus.

"Boxing is one of the only things I do alone," Lopez told the Los Angeles Times. "I go to church alone, and I go to the (boxing) gym alone."

The Times said Saturday that Lopez, a longtime fight fan and friend of Oscar de la Hoya, took part in a charity exhibition match this week in Beverly Hills against pro middleweight Jimmy Lange. In the audience were various boxing promoters and ex-fighters including Ray Mancini and Jake "Raging Bull" LaMotta.

Lopez, the Times said, was a gamer but he also took at least one solid right hook to the jaw from Lange.