Najee Lopez vs Manuel Gallegos Preview March 13th, 2026
Unbeaten Najee Lopez of Atlanta, Georgia travels to Kissimmee, Florida this Friday, March 13th to take on Manuel Gallegos of Tijuana, Mexico. The 10-round light heavyweight bout can be seen live on Probox as well as on their YouTube channel and on Fubo Sports. Lopez last fought in September when he stopped Kalvin Henderson in the fifth round. Gallegos was last in the ring in December when he halted Cesar Chavez in the second round for just his second win in his last five contests to go with two losses and a draw.
Lopez vs Gallegos Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Manuel Gallegos +595
- Najee Lopez -1100
My Pick
The 26-year-old Lopez owns a perfect record of 15-0 with 12 Ko’s and has boxed just 60 rounds since making his pro debut in 2021. As an amateur he competed at the 2018 National Golden Gloves Tournament and made it all the way to the final where he was edged by Darius Fulghum via a split decision. He also fought at the 2017 USA Eastern Regional Youth Open Final and reached the semifinals of the 2016 USA Youth National Championships Semi-Final where he was beaten on points by current heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson.
In addition, Lopez won the 2015 USA Junior Olympics Final. He’s definitely big enough for the light heavyweight division as he stands 6-feet-2-inches with a reported 80-inch reach. He certainly possesses solid power in his arsenal as his current knockout ratio clocks in at 80 per cent as he’s gone the distance just three times in his 15 pro contests.
Just two of Lopez’s opponents have entered the ring with a losing record but he is yet to face a legitimate contender as his biggest wins have been against the likes of Steven Sumpter, Marcos Escudero, Christopher Brooker, Anthony Stewart, Gilbert Castillo Rivera and Alex Theran. Lopez took a slight step up in class against the veteran Castillo Rivera in January, 2025 and stopped him in the sixth round.
The 28-year-old Gallegos also has good height for the 175-lb division as he’s 6-feet-3-inches tall with an unlisted reach which puts him an taller than Lopez. He makes the ring walk with a record of 22-3-1 with 19 Ko’s and has boxed 97 rounds since making his pro debut in 2014 as a teenager. He is a powerful puncher too as 86.4 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including his last four. However he’s gone 5-3-1 in his last nine fights. The first defeat on Gallegos’ record came at the hands of Oziel Santoyo by way of an eight-round unanimous decision in October, 2020.
He battled to a 10-round draw with Richard Vansiclen in 2023 then took a step up in class that same year when he took on Diego Pacheco for the WBC USA and WBO International Super Middleweight Titles and was stopped by a body punch in the fourth round. Gallegos halted Khalil Coe in the ninth round in 2024 for the WBC USA Light Heavyweight title but was stopped in the sixth round of their rematch six months later to lose the belt. He also has wins over Gabriel Lopez, Marco Reyes, Kevin Newman II and Eliud Rocha.
Prediction…
Gallegos matches Lopez in size and power but he doesn’t really possess the same same set of skills and chin as the young American. While Lopez does need to be wary of his Gallegos’ power he should come out of this contest with another victory and a stoppage is a good possibility.
Lopez’s skills and power should do the trick.
Play Lopez -1100 @ BetOnline.ag
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Manuel Gallegos betting • Najee Lopez betting