Luis Alberto Lopez vs Michael Conlan Preview May 27th, 2023
IBF Featherweight Champion Luis Alberto Lopez of Mexico defends his title for the first time as he travels to Belfast, Northern Ireland to take on hometown hero Michel Conlan this Saturday, May 27th. The 12-rounder can be seen live in the UK on BT Sport 1 while fans in America can catch it on ESPN+. Lopez was successful the last time he fought in an opponent’s backyard as he beat Josh Warrington by majority decision in Leeds, England in December to win the title. Conlan last fought in December as well when he stopped Karim Guefri in 154 seconds.
Lopez vs Conlan Betting Odds
Here are the winner odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Luis Alberto Lopez -115
- Michael Conlan -115
My Pick
Lopez is 29 years old and carries around a record of 27-2 with 15 Ko’s. He’s boxed 158 rounds since turning pro in 2015 and stands 5-feet-4-inches tall with a wingspan of 66.5 inches. As far as power goes, Lopez isn’t considered a knockout artist but possesses a pretty good knockout ratio of 51.8 per cent and had stopped three straight opponents before going the distance with Warrington. He also has fine boxing skills and a solid chin.
The first pro defeat Lopez suffered came at the hands of Abraham Montoya by way of a 10-round split decision in 2018 to lose his Mexico Pacific Coast Super Featherweight Title. He then dropped a 10-round unanimous decision to Ruben Villa in 2019 for the vacant WBO International Featherweight Crown. Since then he’s won 10 consecutive bouts including victories over Warrington, Isaac Lowe, Gabriel Flores Jr and Andy Vences.
The 31-year-old Conlan carries around a record of 17-1 with 9 Ko’s. He enjoyed a fine amateur career as he participated in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and was a quarter finalist at the 2011 European Championships and 2011 World Amateur Championships. He won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, a silver medal at the 2013 European Championships and reached the final eight of the 2013 World Amateur Championships.
He then won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and both the 2015 European Championships and World Amateur Championships before participating in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Conlan also fought in the World Series of Boxing from 2012 to 2015. As an amateur, Conlan lost to Andrew Selby three times as well as to Jason Moloney, Robeisy Ramirez and Vladimir Nikitin (twice) and beat the likes of Khalid Yafai, Nordine Oubaali (twice), Jose Diaz and Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
Conlan turned pro back in 2017 and has 138 rounds of experience since. He stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 69-inch reach which gives him a four-inch height advantage on Lopez as well as a 2.5-inch edge in reach. Conlan has average power with a current knockout ratio of 47.4 per cent and six of his last nine wins have gone the distance. Since turning pro he’s captured the vacant WBO Inter-Continental, and vacant WBA Inter-Continental Featherweight Titles, the WBA Interim World Featherweight Crown as well as the WBO Inter-Continental Super Bantamweight Crown.
Conlan has fine boxing skills and can also switch to southpaw at times and be just as effective. He was ahead on all three scorecards when he was stopped dramatically and brutally by Leigh Wood for the WBA Featherweight Belt in March, 2022 for his lone career loss in a slugfest. His biggest wins have been against Miguel Marriaga, TJ Doheny, Ionut Baluta, Sofiane Takoucht, Kenny Guzman, David Berna, Jason Cunningham, Ruben Garcia and Diego Alberto Ruiz and he also avenged his controversial amateur defeats to Nikitin.
Prediction……
Lopez has a bit more power than Conlan and arguably a better chin as well, so this could be a tough night for the challenger. It’s debatable who owns the better boxing skills but Conlan has a bit of an advantage by fighting at home. This should be a close, hard-fought battle with a few momentum swings. If Conlan can box like he did against Leigh Wood and remain on his feet then I think he can do just enough to edge Lopez for the belt.
Conlan needs to be the aggressor and let his hands go.
Play: Conlan -115 @ BetOnline.ag
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Luis Alberto Lopez betting • Michael Conlan betting