IBF featherweight world champ Luis Alberto “El Venado” Lopez is getting ready to make the very first defense of his crown.
The 29-year-old will deal with Michael “Mick” Conlan Saturday, May 27, at The SSE Arena in Conlan’s home town of Belfast.
Lopez-Conlan and undercard bouts will stream live and solely on ESPN+ in the United States. BT Sport will relay the occasion in the UK and Ireland.
Lopez (27-2, 15 KOs), from Mexicali, Mexico, browsed rough surface to end up being a world champ. Despite losing early in his profession to Abraham Montoya and Ruben Villa, he restored his momentum with success over unbeaten standouts Gabriel Flores Jr. and Isaac Lowe.
After 2 stay-busy wins, Lopez got his chance at the title, beating Josh Warrington in opponent area in Leeds, England. Now under the tutelage of Kay Koroma, he is preparing in Las Vegas to make his very first title defense.
Conlan (18-1, 9 KOs), a 31-year-old Olympic bronze medalist from Belfast, made a not successful quote for the WBA featherweight title against Leigh Wood in March 2022 however got better later on that year with wins over Miguel Marriaga and Karim Guerfi. Less than 6 months after his first-round knockout against Guerfi, he will return to The SSE Arena for the 3rd straight time.
Following a current training session, this is what Lopez needed to state:
“I’m thrilled to have actually provided both my nation and my household a world champ. It’s not every day that you get a brand-new world champ in my home town of Mexicali, Mexico. It had actually been 27 years because my city last had a world champ. So, I’m happy to have actually had the ability to do that.”
“We’re making a strong surface to camp. We’re dealing with Kay Koroma at DLX Boxing in Las Vegas. We’re making huge modifications. We understand I have speed. We understand I have power. But now we’re dealing with taking a seat more on my punches and on utilizing my range.”
“This is going to be a fantastic fight. He’s an Olympian. He understands how to stick and move. It’s going to be a hard fight. But my preparation has actually been exceptional. This has actually been the very best training school of my whole profession. And as quickly as he begins planting his feet a bit, the fight will end really rapidly.”
“It wouldn’t be wise for him to attempt to brawl with me. So, I anticipate him to come out and box. But I have the speed and strength to cut the ring and discover him. I will knock Michael Conlan out!”
Promoted by Top Rank and Conlan Boxing, in association with Queensberry Promotions, tickets are on sale now by means of www.Ticketmaster.ie.
