IBF featherweight champion Luis Alberto Lopez (30-2, 17 KOs) and challenger Angelo Leo (24-1, 11 KOs) weighed in at 125.6 lbs for their 12-round headliner this Saturday, August 10th at the Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The event will be shown live on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.
This will be Venado Lopez’s fourth defense of his IBF 126-lb title, which he won two years ago against Josh Warrington in December 2022. That was a fight that, surprisingly, Lopez barely won despite dominating the British fighter, who roughed him up all night in a clash in Leeds, England.
Complete Card Weights:
Venado Lopez 125.6 vs. Angelo Leo 125.6
Lindolfo Delgado 139.9 vs. Bryan Flores 139.9
Matthew Griego 111.9 vs. Gilberto Mendoza 110.7
Vito Mielnicki Jr. 154 vs. Laszlo Toth 153.3
Albert Gonzalez 126.3 vs. Damian Alcala 126.9
Alan Garcia 136.2 vs. Maickol Lopez Villagrana 136.2
Steven Navarro 116.6 vs. Israel Camacho 115.6
Arnold Khegai 125.8 vs. Belmar Preciado 125.9
If Lopez learned anything from that fight, it’s that he needs to take the judges out of the game by knocking out his opponents when he’s fighting in their backyard. The good news for Lopez is he’s fighting on neutral turf in the U.S., so he won’t have to worry about being given the business by the judges. Moreover, Leo doesn’t specialize in roughhouse tactics, such as using head-butts and hitting below the belt.
Lopez, 30, hasn’t received as much attention for this fight as some of his others, perhaps because Leo was a few years ago by Stephen Fulton by a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision.
#10 IBF Leo has won his last four fights, which put him in a position to challenge Venado Lopez for his title. It’s a tough ask for Leo, 30, because he’s not a big puncher and will have a lot of trouble dealing with Lopez’s punching power. If Angelo Leo can’t keep Lopez off of him, it’s going to be a long night.
Last Updated on 08/09/2024
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