LOPEZ LOOKS SHARP IN HOMECOMING, DECISIONS AVILA.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Daily News Staff Writer

It couldn't have been a more rewarding homecoming for Hector Lopez.

Fighting in the United States for the first time after a one-year suspension for marijuana use, Lopez picked apart John Avila to win a one-sided, 12-round, junior-welterweight decision before 3,349 spectators Saturday at the Forum.

Lopez, who grew up in Glendale but recently moved to Palmdale, never gave Avila a chance to build momentum.

From the opening bell, Lopez, true to form, danced and threw punches incessantly - mostly quick left jabs and straight rights - and Avila, a slower, flat-footed fighter, couldn't cope.

Avila, also of Palmdale, began bleeding from the nose in the first round and was cut on the bridge of the nose in the fourth. He bled profusely and seemed to have difficulty breathing throughout the fight.

Avila (23-3-1, with 12 knockouts) had his moments. In the third, the most competitive round, he landed at least a half-dozen good punches and mustered a few decent flurries in the later rounds. However, he was never able to hurt or slow down Lopez (33-5-1, 17 KOs), who won by scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 120-108.

``When I'm right, and I think I'm right right now, I can fight with anyone,'' said Lopez, seeking a third world-title fight at 29.

The loss was a bitter disappointment for Avila, who was fighting for the fourth time since taking 15 months off after a ninth-round knockout loss to Oscar De La Hoya in 1994.

``I don't want to make excuses,'' Avila said, ``but, about my nose, it definitely distracted me. . . . I'm ready to keep fighting.''

The fight was for Avila's lightly regarded North American Boxing Organization title.

Lopez, who weighed 138-1/2, has won five straight fights - the previous four in Australia - since he lost a 10-round decision to Alfonso Sanchez in Tijuana in December. Before that bout, he lost a close decision to World Boxing Organization champion Sammy Fuentes in June of last year, after which he tested positive for marijuana.

Avila weighed 140.

In a preliminary bout, unbeaten Arnulfo ``Chico'' Castillo (24-0, 16 KOs) stopped Jorge ``Cocas'' Ramirez (66-11-3, 53 KOs) with a right-left combination at 2:22 of the fourth round in a scheduled 12-round junior lightweight bout.