Luis Alberto Lopez Out To Prove He’s The World’s Best Featherweight Against Angelo Leo
Luis Alberto Lopez will make the fourth defense of his IBF featherweight world title against Angelo Leo on Saturday when he has the chance to prove he’s the top dog of the division.
Lopez (30-2-0 17 KO) and Leo (24-1-0 11 KO) will headline the show at Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque where both fighters will have ambitions of taking the belt home. It may lack the glamor and star power of Saturday’s Terence Crawford-led Riyadh Season card in Los Angeles, but this is still a fight with plenty of intrigue.
Lopez has been the IBF featherweight champion since December 2022 when he traveled to Leeds, England, and defeated Josh Warrington via majority decision, returning to his hometown of Mexicali with an early Christmas present.
The Mexican has successfully defended the title three times, which first up included a trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland to knock out Michael Conlan in the third round. After easing to a points win over Joet Gonzalez in September 2023, Lopez’s most recent defense came in March when he stopped Reiya Abe in the eighth.
On a 13-fight win streak since his only professional defeat to Ruben Villa back in May 2019, Lopez has put together a strong case to be considered the best 126lbs fighter on the planet. He will be able to further strengthen that case against Leo on Saturday when he fights in another challenger’s backyard.
Albuquerque native Leo is a former WBO super-bantamweight champion, who lost the title in his first defense in January 2021 after getting widely outpointed by Stephen Fulton. Since that setback, Leo has adjusted well to featherweight, claiming three straight wins including two by stoppage while collecting the WBA Continental North American title.
“We know that Angelo Leo is a good fighter who comes forward throwing lots of punches. He doesn’t stop in there,” Lopez said. “So I think we’re going to need a lot of stamina, and we’re going to need to throw a lot of punches. We’re going to be smart but also aggressive.
“It’s going to be a good fight. It will be a good test for both of us. I don’t plan on letting go of my title. It’s going to be a great clash.”
Leo has taken a similar stance and is also expecting a competitive fight, saying: “I know Lopez is one of the top champions in my division, and a win over him would be huge for me and my city. I’m in the prime of my career and can’t wait to show the world the fighter I’ve become since winning my first world title in 2020.”
For Lopez, it’s his latest opportunity to prove that he is the best among the best in the division. Three of the four belts are held by Mexicans; Rafael Espinoza and Rey Vargas are the WBO and WBC champions respectively, while England’s Nick Ball is the WBA champion.
However, the only way to truly stake a claim as the division’s king is for Lopez to fight his fellow champions – and he knows it.
“Making the fourth defense of my title is a great achievement for me,” he said. “I never imagined it, but here we are. And we’re looking forward to big challenges because big fights are coming. Perhaps unifications.”
It provides even higher stakes to Saturday’s showdown with Leo; as is the nature of boxing, victory will open more doors to bigger and more lucrative bouts for Lopez, whereas defeat scuppers those plans, at least temporarily.
Lopez even suggested a mega-name that he could surely only land if he continues his winning streak. “Maybe Naoya Inoue?”
The undisputed super-bantamweight champion could be making a step up to featherweight in the near future, and all the division’s world title holders will want to be front of the line for a shot at the Japanese superstar and the paycheck that would come with it.
To to be in prime position, Lopez will need to beat Leo, making Saturday’s fight definitely worth tuning in for.
