Angelo Leo vs Ra’eese Aleem Preview May 9th, 2026
IBF Featherweight Champion and former WBO Super Bantamweight Champion Angelo Leo of Albuquerque, New Mexico defends his title for the second time when he meets Ra’eese Aleem of Muskegon, Michigan this Saturday, May 9th. The 12-rounder from Atlanta, Georgia can be seen live on DAZN in most nations. Leo beat former WBO Bantamweight Champion Tomoki Kameda by majority decision in the challenger’s hometown of Osaka, Japan in his last outing a year ago. Leo won the belt with a spectacular 10th-round knockout of Luis Alberto Lopez in August, 2024. Aleem last stepped in the ring in November when he beat Mikito Nakano via a 12-round unanimous decision in Tokyo, Japan.
Leo vs Kameda Betting Odds
Here are the winner odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Ra’eese Aleem +160
- Angelo Leo -200
My Pick
The 31-year-old Leo, who fights out of Las Vegas, Nevada, climbs into the ring with an impressive mark of 26-1 with 12 Ko’s. He’s not really a big hitter regardless of his knockout over Lopez, but still has respectable power as 46.2 per cent of his victories have been by stoppage. He’s stopped three of his last five opponents but has gone the distance in nine of his last 13 contests. Leo made his pro debut in 2012 after a pretty good amateur career and has boxed 177 rounds since. As a youngster he fought in several national Golden Gloves tournaments. He measures 5-feet-6-inches tall with a 68.5-inch reach..
Leo started his pro career rather slowly with just two of his first 10 opponents having winning records. Since then, he’s also beaten the likes of Eduardo Baez, Mike Plania, Nicolas Polanco, Basilio Nieves, Jonathan Aguilar, Glenn Poras, Erik Ruiz and Mark John Yap. He also stopped Cesar Juarez in the 11th round in December, 2019 to capture the vacant WBO NABO Super Bantamweight Crown. Leo was then matched with Tramaine Williams for the vacant WBO Super Bantamweight Title and took it by a unanimous decision.
Leo was scheduled to meet Stephen Fulton WBO Super Bantamweight Belt, but Fulton pulled out of the August, 2020 fight due to a positive Covid 19 test and was replaced by Williams. Leo then met Fulton in his first defence in January, 2021 and dropped a wide unanimous decision. He’s fought six times since then with a 10-round majority decision over Aaron Alameda, a ninth-round stoppage of Polanco, a first-round stoppage of Plania, a 10-round unanimous win over Eduardo Baez and the wins over Lopez and Kameda for the world title. His fight against Polanco in November, 2023 was his first in two-and-a-half years and this will now be his sixth bout in the past 30 months.
As for Aleem, he’s now 35 years of age and makes the ring walk with a fine record of 23-1 with 12 Ko’s. He has 146 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in 2011. Before that he enjoyed a fine amateur career which saw him reach the 2007 and 2011 National Golden Gloves quarterfinals as well as the 2009 and 2010 semifinals. Aleem also stands 5-feet-6-inches tall with a 68.5-inch reach, the same as the champion. The lone defeat in Aleem’s pro career came at the hands of Sam Goodman by 12-round split decision in 2023 down in Australia.
When it comes to power goes, Aleem has slightly above average pop in his punches as 52.2 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage but he’s gone the distance in his last six outings after stopping his seven previous opponents. He won the WBA interim Super Bantamweight Title in January, 2021 when he stopped Vic Pasillas in the 11th round and captured the vacant WBO NABO Super Bantamweight Belt 10 months later with a 10-round majority decision over Eduardo Baez. He beat Mike Plania via a 10-round unanimous decision after dropping him in the second round to defend his WBO NABO Super Bantamweight Crown and also has wins over Derrick Wilson, Adam Lopez and Marcus Bates.
Prediction……
Leo’s knockout over Lopez was spectacular but likely a once-in-a-lifetime punch. Both Leo and Aleem have good chins as they’ve never been stopped and it’s debatable who owns the better boxing skills. This should be a close, hard-fought battle and it’s likely to go the distance. If Leo can replicate his performance against Lopez then he should win this fight but Aleem has the experience and skills to pull off a mild upset. Leo has been inactive for a year and I just have a feeling that Aleem will give him more than he can handle and just edge this fight on the scorecards.
Aleem has the experience and skill to take the belt in a mild upset.
Play: Aleem +160 @ BetOnline.ag
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Angelo Leo betting • R'aeese Aleem betting