Josh Warrington defends against Luis Alberto Lopez on Dec.10th in Leeds

By Boxing News - 09/25/2022 - Comments

By Charles Brun: IBF featherweight champion Josh Warrington will be defending against #1 IBF Luis Alberto Lopez on DAZN on December 10th.

Warrington (31-1-1, 8 KOs) and Lopez (26-2, 15 KOs) will headline at the First Direct Arena in Leeds.

This isn’t the type of fight that’ll attract a lot of new subscribers to DAZN in the U.S, as the casual boxing fans don’t know who Warrington is, and of course, they’re not familiar with Luis Lopez.

Lopez isn’t a big puncher, but he’s got technical skills that could give Warrington fits. Fighting Warrington in Leeds could make it tough for Lopez to get a decision, but he’s obviously not going to turn down the opportunity to relieve Josh of his IBF 126-lb strap.

Lopez’s best wins have come against Gabriel Flores Jr, Isaac Lowe, and Andy Vences. His two losses have come against Ruben Villa and Abraham Montoya.  The way Lopez looked against Flores Jr, he’s going to be a massive problem for Warrington.

For Warrington to be defending against the 29-year-old Lopez next suggests that he’s already been well vetted by his promoters at Matchroom and deemed a safe fight for the Leeds native to take.

After Warrington’s bad experience against Lara, it’s reasonable to assume that his promoters are going to keep him away from punchers as much as they can.

Lopez lacks the power in his shots to give Warrington problems the way Lara did, so in other words, he’s perfect for him.

This is not the fight that boxing fans want to see from Warrington, however, as they want him to face Mauricio Lara again to try and avenge his knockout loss in February 2021.

Before Warrington’s loss to Lara, he’s been known for his relentless high-pressure style that enabled him to defeat the following fighters:

  • Carl Frampton
  • Sofiane Takoucht
  • Kiko Martinez
  • Kid Galahad
  • Lee Selby

It was obvious that sooner or later, Warrington would run into a fighter with massive power that would take advantage of his highly aggressive fighting style and would knock him out. That moment came when Warrington fought Mauricio Lara and was cleaned out by the Mexican warrior.

Since losing to Lara, Warrington has added a roughhouse element to his game in which he comes forward with his head lowered, and he clashes heads with his opponents.

We saw the results of that new fighting style with Warrington cutting Lara’s face in their rematch and doing the same to Kiko Martinez.

YouTube video