Venado Lopez: “If we have to brawl, we can brawl!”
For Venado Lopez, fighting on enemy territory feels like home.
Lopez will make the fourth defence of his IBF featherweight world title against former world champion Angelo Leo on Saturday, Aug. 10, at Tingley Coliseum in Leo’s hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In the 10-round junior welterweight co-feature, Lindolfo Delgado (20-0, 15 KOs) and Bryan Flores (26-0-1, 15 KOs) will collide in an all-Mexican showdown.
Venado-Leo and Delgado-Flores will be broadcast LIVE on ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Legacy Boxing Promotions, tickets are on sale via Etix.com.
Lopez (30-2, 17 KOs) captured the IBF belt by vanquishing Josh Warrington in his hometown of Leeds, England, in December 2022.
He defended his crown by traveling to Belfast less than six months later to defeat hometown hero Michael Conlan via fifth-round stoppage.
The fighting pride of Mexicali, Mexico, then earned a unanimous decision over Joet Gonzalez last September before dispatching mandatory challenger Reiya Abe in eight in March.
Leo (24-1, 11 KOs) won the WBO junior featherweight world title with a unanimous points win over then-unbeaten Tramaine Williams in Aug. 2020.
He lost the title against eventual unified champ Stephen Fulton the following January and has gone 4-0 with two knockouts since.
Following a recent training session at DLX Boxing in Las Vegas, this is what Lopez had to say:
“We’ve been training hard as we get ready to finish camp. This has been one of my best training camps, and we will finish strong.
“Like all Mexicans, I do my job in the ring, and I like to throw punches. I don’t mind getting hit in order to hit. We work to be able to do all of that in the ring. If we have to move around, we’ll do that. If we have to brawl, we can brawl. If the fight ends early, we can end it early. I do my job. I prepare for that. And I’m happy that people like my work.
“We know that Angelo Leo is a good fighter who comes forward throwing lots of punches. He doesn’t stop in there. So, I think we’re going to need a lot of stamina, and we’re going to need to throw a lot of punches. We’re going to be smart but also aggressive. It’s going to be a good fight. It will be a good test for both of us. I don’t plan on letting go of my title. It’s going to be a great clash.
“Making the fourth defence of my title is a great achievement for me. I never imagined it, but here we are. And we’re looking forward to big challenges because big fights are coming. Perhaps unifications. Maybe Naoya Inoue? Definitely something big.”
