Luis Alberto Lopez- ‘Will Knock Michael Conlan Out’

Coming up later this month Luis Alberto Lopez gets set to make his first IBF world featherweight title defense. And, he’s not lacking for confidence in what he thinks he’ll do to Irish challenger Michael Conlan.

Lopez gave some comments to promoter Top Rank Boxing before getting ready to head to Belfast, Ireland to meet Conlan for his title on May 27th,

🥊 Luis Alberto Lopez vs Michael Conlan
🏆 IBF World Featherweight Title
📅 Saturday, May 27th
🏟️ SSE Arena (Odyssey Arena), Belfast
📢 Top Rank, Queensberry Promotions
📺 BT Sport, ESPN+
🔗 https://t.co/uk0RsVrYJc#LopezConlan @Venadolopez1 @mickconlan11 #BoxingOnly5 #boxing… pic.twitter.com/jYA6EZPWl1

— 🥊Boxing Only🥊 (@BoxingOnly5) March 23, 2023

From the Top Rank release:

“This is going to be a great fight. He’s an Olympian. He knows how to stick and move. It’s going to be a difficult fight. But my preparation has been excellent. This has been the best training camp of my entire career. And as soon as he starts planting his feet a bit, the fight will end very quickly,” Lopez said in the statement.

“It wouldn’t be smart for him to try to brawl with me. So, I expect him to come out and box. But I have the speed and strength to cut the ring and find him. I will knock Michael Conlan out!”

The 20 year old Lopez, 27-2, 15 KOs, from Mexicali, Mexico, captured the IBF 126 lb. title with an impressive “road decision” win over Josh Warrington in the champ’s hometown of Leeds, England last December.

That night Lopez clearly built up an early lead scoring in particular with left hooks and body shots. Warrington was trying to brawl him and potentially wear him down in the late rounds. It didn’t work, as Lopez did enough late to secure a narrow, majority decision win.

As for  Conlan, 18-1, 9 KOs, the 31-year-old Olympic Bronze Medalist from Belfast, was beaten in dramatic fashion in his bid for the WBA featherweight title against England’s Leigh Wood in March 2022. Wood scored a spectacular KO knocking Conlan out of the ring.

The Irish hero has bounced back with wins over Miguel Marriaga and Karim Guerfi and now, he will return to The SSE Arena for the showdown with Lopez.

Lopez-Conlan and undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ in the United States. BT Sport will broadcast the event in the U.K. and Ireland.