Josh Warrington vs Luis Alberto Lopez round by round results
All the results reported round by round on December 10 as IBF Featherweight World champion Josh Warrington defends his red and gold belt to challenger Luis Alberto Lopez at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, shown live worldwide on DAZN.
Warrington vs Alberto Lopez running order and results below:14:15pm Live on Before the Bell
Fight #1
8×2 Lightweight contest
RHIANNON DIXON vs KRISTINE SHERGOLD
The 27-year-old Anthony Crolla-trained Great Sankey lightweight was dominant for the majority of her maiden eight-round fight, taking the decision 80-73 to move up to 7-0 in the first fight of the night.
Southpaw Dixon proved to be a constant threat for experienced 41-year-old Devonian opponent Shergold, who only seemed to be able to work out how to combat her opponent in the final two rounds.
Shergold was cut above her left eye from an accidental clash of heads in the fifth round. The away fighter rallied late in the contest, urged on by her corner claiming that Dixon was tiring.
Although Dixon was put under a bit of pressure in those last two rounds, she never looked in trouble and still landed some eyecatching shots even when forced on the back foot.
Dixon took control from the first bell and looked a class above Shergold for the opening six rounds.
Her footwork, accuracy and variation of punches were impressive and showed patience in working behind her right jab and picking her moments to unleash with some big left punches, a couple of which landed in the first round.
Her sharp and slick movements led to a big left connector that had Shergold stumbling backwards for several steps in the second round.
Dixon pummelled one powerful thrust into the body of Shergold in the third round and her resilience was admirable although she continued to struggle to find a way of scoring herself.
A whopping lead uppercut from Dixon was a highlight of the sixth, when Shergold also walked on to a left blow to the head as she tried to find a way through.
Fight #2
6×3 International Super-Welterweight contest
JUNAID BOSTAN vs ATHANASIOS GLYNOS
Greek Glynos was on the front foot from the off but it only took Bostan a minute or two to be able to work him out, and by the final minute of the opener he had judged the distance just right, dropped his hands low and started landing for fun. A little head dip to the left and he landed an unbelievably fine uppercut with his left, that looked like it might have staggered the Greek momentarily. It was one of those shots that makes the crowd draw breath!
In the second, Bostan continued to look for that backhand uppercut but missed on at least three occasions. Glynos was trying to load up and counter with his southpaw backhand but was mm away every time.
But in the third Glynos landed that elusive backhand left straight down the pipe but Bostan carried on unperturbed. He then landed a straight backhand right of his own before pivoting away. The action slowed slightly in this segment but Bostan did land a hard chopping left hook that rock the Grrek's chin.
Bostan is so patient and accurate with his shots, very economical, nit missing much at all and only throwing when he wants to land. Big left hook to the body lands well from Bostan. Glynos swipes with his left after a break and misses wildly, so Bostan goads him looking to his left to see where the shot ended up. The confidence of this 20-year-old is off the charts!
Bostan hurts his man with a left hook, the legs went ever so slightly. He piles in and pulls him down to the floor.
In the fifth, Bostan connects with a lovely left uppercut on the inside, Glynos head rocks sidewards and is ready to be taken out here, then a superb single left cross from Bostan, with plenty of snap, floored Glynos for a final time with over two minutes left in the stanza. It landed so perfectly on the chin, that's the accuracy that was highlighted earlier, that it was instantly over.
Fight #3
8×3 International Super-Bantamweight contest
HOPEY PRICE vs JONATHAN SANTANA
A classy performance from Hopey Price sees him move up to 9-0.
Fight #4
6×3 International Lightweight contest
CORY O'REGAN vs ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ
O'Regan with constant pressure, unyielding punches, pinning Rodriguez to the ropes, secures the first stoppage of his career. Howard Foster was right to jump in when he did, O'Regan now 9-0 with one knockout.
Fight #5
8×2 Super-Bantamweight contest
SHANNON COURTENAY vs GEMMA RUEGG
After 14 months out of the ring, Shannon Courtenay banked a challenging and important eight round, winning 77-75 on points, moving up to 8-2 in the process.
The former world champion from Watford was quick on her jab and landed to body and head, but Ruegg was always quick to counter. It looked messy at times, but Courtenay landed some big right hands, which could have put others down, but Ruegg was rugged and teak-tough.
Barry Jones, at ringside, thought the scores were a bit closer than he expected.
Courtenay stated post-fight, "Yeah I felt I won a majority of rounds, to be honest. I just wanted to show I'm a tidy boxer with a tidy performance. I kept my shape well, her head is rock solid! She was the perfect opponent. It was a good fight to come back to. I'm just blessed to be back."
Fight #6
6×3 Super-Bantamweight contest
KOBY MCNAMARA vs NABIL AHMED
Koby McNamara has sold over 500 tickets for his fourth pro fight, so is well supported here.
Southpaw McNamara kept the pressure on through all four rounds and piled in body shots in the fourth which Ahmed responded with wide, lunging hooks which hit thin air as Koby backed up sensibly.
The 22-year-old 'Leeds Pocket Rocket' was sharp with his shots and swift on his feet. It was a perfect performance from him to win 40-37.
Fight #7
10×3 WBA Continental Super-Welterweight
JAMES METCALF vs COURTNEY PENNINGTON
9pm LIVE ON DAZN
Fight #8
8×3 International Middleweight contest
FELIX CASH vs CELSO NEVES
Felix Cash moved up to 16-0 with a hard-fought points win – scored 77-75.
Chief Support
10×2 IBF Bantamweight World Title
EBANIE BRIDGES vs SHANNON O'CONNELL
In the chief support fight of the night, Ebanie Bridges retained her IBF bantamweight world title with an eighth-round stoppage of Shannon O'Connell in a feisty all-Australian clash.
O'Connell had been fully confident of beating her opponent in a build up that saw plenty of words exchanged between the pair and she landed a big right hook in an aggressive first round to let Bridges know she meant business.
But Bridges battled back, dropping O'Connell with a bruising punch to the chin in the third round and, after a couple of more even rounds, the defending champion took control in the seventh with a flurry of hits causing her opponent's left eye to swell.
Bridges then sealed the victory in the following round with a barrage of attacks that led to referee Howard Foster stepping in.
"I'm not usually disrespectful but she's been talking trash all week," said Bridges afterwards. "This is boxing, we're going to get hit hard and I hit her with 10 back.
"I hope Australia is proud of me and you know who the Queen of Australian boxing is now."
Main Event
12×3 IBF Featherweight World Title
JOSH WARRINGTON vs LUIS ALBERTO LOPEZ
Josh Warrington was stunned on home soil as Luis Alberto Lopez snatched his IBF featherweight world title away with a mixed decision victory.
'Leeds Warrior, Warrington, was hoping to stage a successful defence of the title he reclaimed in March against Kiko Martinez.
But Mexican Lopez, 29, edged a close fight to hand 32-year-old Warrington the second defeat of his professional career.
The decision was greeted by boos from the disappointed home fans at Leeds Arena.
Warrington's future is now uncertain, with victory expected to have led to lucrative fights abroad.
"I understand the fight was close in stages," Warrington told BBC Radio 5 Live. "He started off like a train and kept coming forward.
"I kept working inside and could hear him wincing to the body constantly. He made a meal of it when I hit his leg and I was surprised Bob Williams let him have 20 seconds.
"In hindsight I look back and think I could have done more."
This was the first time Warrington had taken to the ring since beating Spain's Kiko Martinez with a seventh-round stoppage nine months ago to win back the belt he had first held between 2018 and January 2021.
Warrington won that contest despite sustaining a broken jaw during the bout and the Englishman had been out of the ring since to recuperate.
His return to the Leeds Arena for a 12th time on Saturday drew a huge and vocal home crowd, who were hoping to see their hero triumph having earlier watched England lose to France in the World Cup quarter-finals. The boxing had been delayed until the outcome of the football.
The atmosphere was electric as Warrington emerged shortly before 23:00 GMT, but straight from the outset Lopez made life difficult for him with his movement and aggression.
It was not a good sign for Warrington after his nose was bloodied in the opening round, while Lopez continued to use his speed to evade Warrington's powerful throws.
The Brit was never able to settle into a comfortable rhythm but there was little between the two over the next few rounds with the fight looking capable of going either way.
Lopez grew in confidence as the rounds ticked away but a strong ninth for Warrington looked like it might be a turning point as he landed some strong shots.
Warrington then unloaded everything he had in the final couple of rounds, hurting Lopez in the eleventh and final round but ultimately it was not enough.
"I'm really happy at the moment," Lopez said after the upset victory. "It has been a long period of preparation, this is my moment. I'm delighted to be world champion."
Josh Warrington vs Luis Alberto Lopez full fight details and predictions
