Angelo Leo upset Luis Alberto Lopez on August 10 at Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Battling it out in front of his hometown crowd, the former super bantamweight champion landed a world title in his second weight class. The contest served as the main event live on ESPN.
Mexico’s Lopez was making his fourth IBF featherweight championship defense, but didn’t succeed to retain the belt. The local favorite claimed the win by knockout, dropping his opponent with a big left hook in the 10th round.
With the victory, Angelo Leo improved to 25-1, 12 KOs and became a new IBF 126-pound champion. Earlier in his career the 30-year-old held the WBO belt at 122 lbs.
“This means the world to me, fighting back in my hometown,” Leo said. “I’ve been yearning for this moment. Like I said, what better way to do it than with a world title shot and with a knockout?”
“That left hook, we’ve been practicing in camp for four, five months. Not in the gym, but in my room in front of the mirror. I just kept throwing that left hook. And it paid off in the 10th round.”
“I want to fight all the champions, whether it be Rafael Espinoza for a unification bout. Naoya Inoue, whoever it may be.”
30-year-old Luis Alberto Lopez of Mexicali, Baja California lost the title, dropped to 30-3, 17 KOs, and got his 13-fight winning streak snapped.