Luis Alberto Lopez is scheduled to defend his 126-pound title against Michael Conlan in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Conlan’s hometown.
LUIS ALBERTO LOPEZ (27-2, 15 KOS)
VS. MICHAEL CONLAN (18-1, 9 KOS)
- When: Saturday, May 27
- Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: SSE Arena, Belfast, Ireland
- TV/Stream: ESPN+ (BT Sport 1 in U.K.)
- Division: Featherweight (126-pound limit)
- At stake: No major titles
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: Even (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Anthony Cacace vs. Damian Wrzesinski, junior lightweights; Nick Ball vs. Ludumo Lamati, featherweights; Pierce O’Leary vs. Alin Florin Ciorceri, junior welterweights
- Prediction: Lopez SD
- Background: Lopez is coming off a break-through victory, withstanding a late rally by Josh Warrington to win a majority decision and his first major title last December in England. The 29-year-old Mexican, a skillful boxer-puncher, has won 10 consecutive fights (seven by knockout) since he was outpointed by Ruben Villa in May 2019. Conlan, a 31-year-old Irishman, bounced back from his knockout loss to Leigh Wood in March of last year by outpointing Miguel Marriaga in August and stopping Karim Guerfi in the first round in December. The 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and a participant in the 2016 Games is a polished boxer but has yet to establish himself as a top-tier champion.
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