Angelo Leo Stuns Luis Alberto Lopez With One-Hitter Quitter

Angelo Leo (25-1, 12 KOs) landed a one-hitter quitter against Luis Alberto Lopez (30-3, 17 KOs) to dramatically win the IBF featherweight title.

The time of stoppage for the bout was 1:16 of round 10. Lopez, making the fourth defence of his title, was getting outworked from the opening round. Although he had his moments of success, it was Leo who won round after round by regularly landing to the body and avoiding the swinging shots of the Mexican. Leo is now a two-division world champion, having previously held the WBO super bantamweight title.

The fight headlined a Top Rank card – presented in association with Legacy Boxing Promotions – at the Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, NM. Fight fans in the United States could catch the action live on ESPN, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes. Those in the United Kingdom were able to do so on Sky Sports while TSN had the action for those in Canada.

Angelo Leo Brutally Stops Luis Alberto Lopez

Fight Recap

The opening round saw Leo boxing off of the backfoot, making Lopez pursue him around the ring. The American was consistently going to the body of his opponent, hitting him with eye-catching shots there and to the head. As the fight progressed, the two were fighting toe-to-toe more and more. This also lead to more frequent holding.

As a result of infighting, Leo began sporting a cut under his right eye from round eight onwards. He was winning rounds thanks to his ability to consistently land to the body of Lopez, in addition to generally outworking him. The reigning champion fought how he normally fights: swinging wild punches with both hands. However, Leo mostly avoided those shots.

In round 10, Leo landed a massive left hook that immediately sent “El Venado” to the canvas. Although the referee issued a count, it was clear that Lopez would not get up in time. That one-hitter quitter sealed the fight and made Leo the new featherweight champion.

ROAD RAGE 😤

THE HOMETOWN KID PUT VENADO TO SLEEP. pic.twitter.com/kLpIYbQ201

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) August 11, 2024

Post-Fight Interview

Angelo Leo

“That left hook we been practicing all camp,” said Leo after the fight. “For four, five months I’ve been practicing it. 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, I think it was the tenth round.”

“I got a give a big thanks to my dad. He’s the one that helped me through this camp, he’s the one that pushed me. He was hard on me, he was a hard nose on me. But, he got me to this point. He made sure my defence was on point because we knew Venado was a big puncher and I had to have a good defence. So, with that, we just practiced on my defence and shooting in between his shots and I was able to catch him.”

“I want to fight all the champions, you know. Whether it be Rafael Espinoza for a unification bout, Naoya Inoue, whoever it may be.”

Luis Alberto Lopez vs. Angelo Leo Undercard Results

Lindolfo Delgado (21-0, 15 KOs) won a split decision against Bryan Flores (26-1-1, 15 KOs) in a 10-round super lightweight fight. While one judge saw Flores winning 96-92, the other two had it 96-92 and 95-93 for Delgado. Flores went down once in round three from a right hook. He also lost a point in round seven for a low blow.

Matthew Griego (15-0, 10 KOs) won a unanimous decision against Gilberto Mendoza (23-19-4, 11 KOs, 1 NC). All judges had the eight-round flyweight clash 80-72. The two had previously fought in June 2022.

Vito Mielnicki Jr. (19-1, 13 KOs) won via second-round technical knockout against Laszlo Toth (32-9-2, 20 KOs). The time of stoppage of this 10-round super welterweight fight was 1:39. Toth went to the canvas after getting hit with a right and left hook in round two. Although he got up, his corner ended the fight, giving Mielnicki the victory.

Albert Gonzalez (10-0, 6 KOs) won via third-round technical knockout against Damian Alcala (8-5, 2 KOs). The time of stoppage for this six-round featherweight contest was 2:51. Alcala went down from a barrage of punches after which the referee put an end to the contest.

Alan García (14-0, 11 KOs) won via third-round technical knockout against Maickol Lopez (16-6, 8 KOs). The time of stoppage for this eight-round lightweight fight was 2:34. Lopez went down from a barrage of punches after which the referee put an end to proceedings.

Steven Navarro (3-0, 2 KOs) won via first-round technical knockout against Israel Camacho (2-12, 0 KOs, 1 NC). The time of stoppage for this six-round super flyweight bout was 2:14. A left hand to the body of Camacho sent him to the canvas. After counting to eight, the referee put an end to proceedings.

Arnold Khegai (22-1-1, 14 KOs) won via eighth-round technical knockout against Belmar Preciado (22-8-1, 15 KOs). The time of stoppage for this 10-round featherweight clash was 3:00. Khegai was victorious after Preciado’s corner put an end to the contest after round eight.