As first revealed in April, Luis Alberto Lopez will defend his IBF featherweight title against Angelo Leo on August 10th in the latter’s native Albuquerque.
Lopez (30-2, 17 KO) is arguably the top dog in the ultra-turbulent featherweight division as he heads into his fourth title defense. Since grinding his way past Josh Warrington for the belt in 2022, he’s demolished Michael Conlan, turned aside a surprisingly game Joet Gonzalez, and smashed mandatory challenger Reiya Abe with contemptuous ease.
Leo (24-1, 11 KO), who briefly held the WBO super bantamweight belt, enters the ring on the heels of decent wins over Mike Plania and Eduardo Baez. He’s looked solid since a 2.5-year sit on the sidelines and should make for a vicious fight with Lopez.
“On August 10, I will make it abundantly clear who the king of the featherweight division is,” said “El Venado”, 30. “This will be the fourth defence of my world title, and I’m preparing for a great battle against a former world champion like Angelo Leo.
“It will be a magical night for all the fans in New Mexico. I know he is the local fighter, but you already know what happens when I enter enemy territory. The ‘Road Warrior’ is back, and I will put all the division’s champions on notice.”
“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.”
The co-feature sees undefeated super lightweights Lindolfo Delgado (20-0, 15 KO) and Bryan Flores (26-0-1, 15 KO) meet in a solid prospect eliminator. Delgado’s dragged his feet a bit since what should have been a breakout win over Omar Aguilar in 2022 and Flores has done the same since edging out Shinard Bunch in last year’s ShoBox main event, so it’s nice them square off.
Arnold Khegai (21-1-1, 13 KO), Richard Torrez Jr (10-0, 10 KO), Vito Mielnicki Jr (18-1, 12 KO), and Alan Garcia (13-0, 10 KO) all see action on the undercard. Pretty nice show, all things considered.