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Luis Alberto “Venado” Lopez (29-2, 16 KOs) will defend his IBF featherweight world title in opposition to Japanese contender Reiya Abe (25-3-1, 10 KOs) on Saturday, March 2 at Turning Stone Resort On line casino in Verona, New York. The battle will air reside on ESPN.
Lopez is all-action each time he steps within the ring, and he began to show heads when he knocked off Prime Rank Boxing prospects like Andy Vences and Gabe Flores Jr. in 2020 and 2021.
Then three fights after beating Flores, he travelled to England and captured the world title by defeating Josh Warrington in his hometown of Leeds in December 2022.
Cementing his highway warrior standing, he defended his crown in Belfast besting hometown hero Michael Conlan by way of TKO 5. In his 2nd title protection, final September, he defeated long-time contender Joet Gonzalez by way of UD 12.
He’s now set to defend in opposition to obligatory challenger Abe. And, whereas he isn’t trying previous him, he does have his eyes on unification fights and an eventual transfer as much as 130 kilos.
No person would confuse Lopez with Willy Pep, as he retains his recreation easy and simple. The bell rings and he’s coming at you. He walks you down and appears to get you out of there. And in current interviews he definitely made it sound like he doesn’t plan on listening to the ultimate bell on this upcoming battle.
Lopez additionally is aware of that Abe might be seeking to transfer greater than slug, so they’re making ready for a fighter that’s going to field.
“We’ve gotten tall southpaws who transfer loads as a result of we’ll must neutralize Reiya Abe’s legs. We’re going to want to chop the ring off loads, so we’re making ready for his type of preventing,” stated Lopez from his California coaching base. “He’s a really slippery fighter. He doesn’t actually prefer to brawl. So, it’s going to be tough to catch him within the early rounds. However we’ve received nice sparring companions”, he stated.
And whereas his preparation is at the moment locked in on Abe for the upcoming battle, he definitely has some long-range plans after this project.
“My long-term aim is to battle the opposite champions and turn out to be a unified champion,” he stated. “Truthfully, I need to unify the titles shortly and set up myself as an important champion after which transfer as much as 130 kilos.”
However earlier than that, it’s go-time with Abe and meaning fireworks from Lopez.
“The followers know I give every thing within the ring. I all the time search for the battle. I all the time attempt to win by knockout. It’s going to be an actual struggle”, he stated. “It’s going to be a bit sophisticated within the early rounds”, he continued. “However everybody is aware of after I step into the ring it’s all the time going to be a struggle.”
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