On Saturday, March 2, Luis Alberto Lopez will square off against Reiya Abe at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. The two will fight in the co-feature on the bill that features Otabek Kholmatov vs. Raymond Ford at the top.
Luis Alberto Lopez (29-2, 16 KOs) of Mexico will make his third defense of the IBF featherweight title. The 30-year-old champion is certain that he will defeat Japan’s 30-year-old southpaw Reiya Abe (25-3-1, 10 KOs) via knockout. Lopez also stated that he was hoping to advance to junior lightweight and unify the belts at 126 pounds after a recent training camp in Santa Fe Springs, California.
“I decided to do my camp here in Los Angeles so I can be a little closer to my family. I also like it because of the altitude I get to experience when I go to the mountains. There are a lot of good spots to run out here. I feel great out here. We’ve gotten tall southpaws who move a lot because we’ll need to neutralize Reiya Abe’s legs. We’re going to need to cut the ring off a lot, so we’re preparing for his style of fighting,” said Lopez in media reports.
“He’s a very slippery fighter. He doesn’t really like to brawl. So, it’s going to be difficult to catch him in the early rounds. But we’ve got great sparring partners. You can tell by the black eye one of them left me. I think we’re doing a great job, and I expect to win this fight by knockout. My long-term goal is to fight the other champions and become a unified champion. I welcome a fight with whomever is next in line. Honestly, I want to unify the titles quickly and establish myself as a great champion and then move up to 130 pounds,” he added.
“The fans know that I give everything in the ring. I always look for the fight. I always look to win by knockout. They know that I come here to fight. So, it’s going to be a real war. It’s going to be a bit complicated in the early rounds, but everyone knows that when I step in the ring, it’s always going to be a war,” he continued.
