Dsalita IBF featherweight champion Luis Alberto Lopez’s second fight of 2024 is on the table, as Salvador Rodriguez reports that “Venado” is in “advanced” talks to face Angelo Leo somewhere in the States on August 10th.
Leo (24-1, 11 KO) outclassed late replacement Tramaine Williams for the WBO super bantamweight title in 2020, only to lose it to original opponent Stephen Fulton five months later. He subsequently got off to a solid featherweight start by edging out Aaron Alameda, but lost out on any momentum by spending the next 29 months on the sidelines.
To his credit, he’s made up for lost time, racking up three wins in the span of five months. His last two bouts have seen him flatten Mike Plania with a body shot and beat Eduardo Baez by decision less than two weeks ago.
He’s got the style to make a terrific scrap with Lopez (30-2, 17 KO), who quite literally walked through mandatory challenger Reiya Abe in March.
It should be noted that WBO champion Rafael Espinoza is expected to return in June. Assuming Top Rank doesn’t want to stage a rematch with Robeisy Ramirez, the timing would work out perfectly for an end-of-year unification.
