Luis Alberto Lopez found himself on the wrong end of what could easily become the “Knockout of the Year” on Saturday night.
And he lost his title for that too.
Angelo Leo completely stunned Lopez with a one-punch knockout in the 10th round of their fight at the Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Saturday. Leo, after largely dodging a solid head shot from Lopez, responded perfectly with a clean left hook that landed right in the center of Lopez’s head. That sent the now-former IBF featherweight champion right to the canvas and ended the fight immediately.
Just look:
Leo entered the night on a four-fight winning streak and now has a near-perfect record of 25-1. He claimed the WBA Continental Featherweight title with a knockout win over Mike Plania in January, and then defended it with a unanimous decision victory over Eduardo Baez in April.
Lopez came into Saturday’s fight with a career record of 30-2 with 17 KOs. He first claimed the IBF featherweight title in December 2022 with a majority decision win over Josh Warrington. He successfully defended that belt three times and had won 13 consecutive fights dating back to 2019 before his loss.
While there have been plenty of notable knockouts so far this year and there is still plenty of time for more, Leo’s was as clean and looked as natural as could be. He landed his punch perfectly and Lopez could do nothing to stop him.