Results and Recaps from Albuquerque where Angelo Leo Starched ‘Venado’ Lopez

Results and Recaps from Albuquerque where Angelo Leo Starched ‘Venado’ Lopez

Fighting in his hometown for the first time in nine years, Angelo Leo scored a dramatic one-punch knockout of defending IBF world featherweight champion Luis Alberto “Venado” Lopez to become a two-time world title-holder. The end for “Venado” came early in the second minute of the 10^th frame  when Leo brought what had been a competitive fight to a sudden and shocking conclusion, nailing his Mexicali opponent with a left hook to the jaw. Lopez went down flat on his back. The referee tolled the 10-count which was superfluous as Lopez was out cold before he landed.

It was an unexpected “knockout of the year*-type performance from Leo (25-1, 12 KOs),the subject of a recent profile in these pages. The 30-year-old Albuquerque native who briefly held the WBO world title at super bantamweight, has a wealth of opportunities going forward in a division brimming with talent at the top.

A 9/2 favorite at post, Lopez (30-3) was making the fourth defense of the title he won with an upset of Josh Warrington in England and entered the match on a 13-fight winning streak. In his recent days he had expressed an interest in meeting Naoya Inoue down the road, but now it’s back to the drawing board.

Co-Feature

In a spirited super lightweight contest between two former members of the Mexican National Amateur Team, Lindolfo Delgado improved to 21-0 (15) with a 10-round split decision over Bryan Flores (26-1-1). The judges had it 96-92 and 96-93 for Delgado with the dissenter favoring Flores 96-92.

Delgado trains at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy, but Garcia wasn’t there; he was in Las Vegas for Vergil Ortiz Jr. Delgado scored a flash knockdown in round three and received another 10-8 score in round seven when Flores was deducted a point for a low blow. The judges had it 96-92 and 96-93 for Delgado with the dissenter favoring Flores 96-92

Other Bouts

Ever-improving super welterweight Vito Mielnicki Jr (19-1, 12 KOs) scored his 11^th straight win at the expense of Laszlo Toth, taking out the 36-year-old Hungarian in the third round. A sweeping left hook knocked Toth to the canvas. He arose on spaghetti legs and his father/trainer jumped into the ring to prevent his son from taking another punch. His presence dictated a disqualification, perhaps denying Mielnicki a TKO.

It was the Top Rank debut for the 22-year-old Roseland, New Jersey, product who had been training in Houston under Ronnie Shields. Toth falls to 32-9-2.

Twenty-two year old featherweight Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez, another Robert Garcia protege, served notice that he is a fighter to watch with a third-round stoppage of Damian Alcala. Gonzalez (10-0, 6 KOs) had Alcala (8-5) on the canvas twice before the referee waived the fight off at the 2:61 mark of round five. A former U.S. Marine residing in Tijuana. Alcala hadn’t previously been stopped,.

In an 8-round lightweight fight, 21-year-old Alan “Kid Kansas” Garcia, trained by Gloria Alvarado, scored a third-round stoppage of Miami-based Mexican southpaw Maickol Lopez. It was the 11th win by stoppage in 14 starts for Garcia and the fourth straight setback for Lopez (16-6). The official time was 2:34 of round three.

The first of the televised prelims was a 10-round contest between LA-based featherweights. Recent Top Rank signee Arnold Khegai, ranked #1 by the WBO, dominated and stopped Belmar Preciado whose corner stopped the one-sided match after the eighth round. Born in the Ukraine to Korean parents, Khegai improved to 22-1-1 (14). It was the fifth loss in the last six starts for Preciado (22-8-1), a 36-year-old Colombian.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE