Luis Alberto Lopez anticipates Naoya Inoue as Angelo Leo approaches

The well-oiled machine that is hard-charging locomotive Luis Alberto Lopez looks to keep on chugging Saturday night by defending his IBF featherweight title for a fourth time against Angelo Leo.

Lopez (30-2, 17 KOs) will once again hit the road to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and face the former junior featherweight titleholder Leo (24-1, 11 KOs) in his rival’s hometown while headlining an ESPN card from the Tingley Coliseum.

“It’s going to be exciting – we are two fighters who love to come forward and throw punches,” Lopez told BoxingScene through a Spanish translator. “Hopefully I will finish the fight soon, but it will be exciting for as long as it lasts.

“Each opponent has their style, and you have to respect each one. We’re working to get better and we’re going to be very ready for this fight. You can’t underestimate him. He’s a former world champion. It’s not going to be an easy fight.”

Lopez, a 30-year-old, nine-year pro from Mexico, has enjoyed a breakthrough since scoring a majority decision win against Josh Warrington in Leeds, England, in 2022. Lopez has already had title defenses against Michael Conlan in Belfast, Ireland, as well as Joet Gonzalez and, most recently, in March, Reiya Abe.

“El Venado” is hoping title unification bouts and a matchup against “The Monster” will materialize after a successful night against Leo.

“I can’t leave the 126-pound division until I get the big title unification fights, and until Naoya Inoue moves up,” said Lopez. “Those are the plans that we have, and hopefully Top Rank makes that fight [against Inoue]. I know I would have to have one of the best training camps of my life to prepare intelligently. But I feel confident in my conditioning, speed and power. I have no problem going to Japan. I’ll go wherever I need to. The most important thing is to make the fight. Where it happens is the least of my concerns.

“It’s incredible to beat someone in their town. If I could choose, I would love to fight in Los Angeles, San Diego, Arizona, places close to my people. Oh well, it hasn’t happened. Work is work. But the victory is worth double when you beat them in their own hometown … the most important thing is winning. Nothing else matters. It’s just a matter of time.”

Patience and further wins will pay off for Lopez.

Before the undisputed junior featherweight champion Inoue moves up to 126 pounds, Lopez could first see fights with Top Rank cohorts in WBO titleholder Rafael Espinoza or Robeisy Ramirez.

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.