Former IBF featherweight world champion Luis Alberto Lopez was on the wrong side of one of the upsets of the year last month, but the belt was the least of the Mexican’s concerns during the aftermath. Seven weeks after the brutal defeat, Lopez’s team have spoken out in disgust.
‘El Venado’ upset the odds when he outpointed Josh Warrington on away soil in Leeds to pick up the featherweight strap in December 2022, but since then he has proven himself to be a worthy champion.
Lopez knocked out Michael Conlan in a first defence of his world title and would make a third defence in ten months when he stopped Reiya Abe back in March – a unanimous decision victory against Joet Gonzalez taking place in between.
Last month, Lopez headlined a card in New Mexico against former WBO super-bantamweight title-holder Angelo Leo and the fact that Leo had just eleven stoppages in 26 fights meant Lopez entered the contest as a heavy favourite – many believing Leo lacked the knockout power to be successful at 126lbs.
However, those assumptions were proved to be false when Leo landed a prodigious left-hook onto the chin of the champion and sent ‘Venado’ crashing into the canvas, unable to get back to his feet and beat the referee’s count, resulting in a contender for the both the upset and knockout of the year.
LOOK AT THIS BRUTAL KO BY ANGELO LEO ONE MORE TIME 🤯 pic.twitter.com/aPy9PW697g
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) August 11, 2024
Shortly afterwards it was confirmed that Lopez has suffered a bleed on the brain as a consequence of the almighty blow, possibly ending the career of the 31-year-old but causing a significant time away from the ring as a minimum.
Boxing Social is now on WhatsApp! Join our channel by clicking here and getting all the latest boxing news direct to your phone.
Speaking with Boxing Scene, Lopez’s co-manager Hector Fernandez de Cordova labelled Ernie Sharif, the referee of the clash with Leo, as a ‘butcher’, before revealing that the New Mexico Athletic Commission were reluctant to aid Lopez and his team with hospital treatment.
“It was one of the worst referees I’ve seen in my life in boxing,”
“A guy like that does not deserve to be in the ring at a world title level – or even with amateurs. He’s a butcher. As a referee, you need to protect fighters from each other and from themselves.”
“The commission was trying to convince me not to take him to the hospital,”
“They were like, ‘You don’t need to.’ But I was thinking, ‘If you guys don’t want to pay for it, it’s OK. I’ll pay for it. But we’re talking about my fighter’s health.’ He didn’t even know the fight was over.”
Fernandez went on to reveal his belief that the injury was caused by a punch to the back of the head from Leo rather than a trademark left-hook.
Whilst Lopez’s career is up in the air, Angelo Leo may well be poised for the opportunity of a lifetime, once again proving the drastic impact that a singular punch can have on the life of a boxer.
Boxing Social is now on WhatsApp! Join our channel by clicking here and getting all the latest boxing news direct to your phone.