Leo flattens Lopez with Knockout of the Year candidate, claims featherweight gold

Lindolfo Delgado dueled his way past Bryan Flores in the co-feature

Angelo Leo claimed both the IBF featherweight title and a spot at the top of 2024’s Knockouts of the Year with a shocking one-punch knockout of Luis Alberto Lopez.

Leo (24-1, 11 KO), fighting in his native Albuquerque, came out with a clear and effective gameplan: work the jab, punish Lopez’s (30-3, 17 KO) wild swings, force his way inside with body shots, and tie up before Lopez can answer back. Despite this, Lopez kept things competitive throughout with his trademark awkward flurries, finding particular success with the rear uppercut as Leo dipped his way inside. Rounds often came down to who could seize the initiative first, resulting in constant momentum swings that left the fight up for grabs as the championship rounds approached.

Partway through the 10th, Lopez fired a jab and dropped his right hand in the process, allowing Leo to come back with an absolutely perfect left hook that instantly turned “Venado’s” lights out. Lopez’s head slammed into the mat, 100% out cold, and barely managed to regain a fraction of consciousness by the time the count hit 10.

The 30-year-old Leo, who missed out on nearly two and a half years of his fighting prime, is now officially a two-division champion. He came in with the right plan, continued to execute despite Lopez’s best efforts, and wound up flattening one of the more notoriously durable featherweights in the game.

As for Lopez, his lackadaisical approach to defense finally caught up with him. His power and singular style weren’t enough to bail him out, leaving his technical shortcomings at the forefront. He’s got some rebuilding to do; he’ll never be a conventional boxer and shouldn’t try to be one, as it doesn’t play to his strengths, but he absolutely needs to tighten things up now that he can no longer trust his chin.

As an aside, I want to point out referee Ernie Sharif’s poor performance. Sharif was inconsistent in calling a number of low blows and rabbit punches and lacked any sort of authority, offering little more than stern warnings and the occasional chastisement. He wasn’t equipped for this sort of rough-and-tumble fight.

Lindolfo Delgado out-slugs Bryan Flores in battle of unbeatens

2016 Olympian Lindolfo Delgado kept his spotless record intact with a hard-fought split decision over the very game Bryan Flores.

Delgado (21-0, 15 KO) got off to a somewhat slow start, but caught the super-aggressive Flores (26-1-1, 15 KO) coming in with a chopping right for a flash knockdown in the third. Rather than capitalize on his advantage, he elected to remain in cruise control, allowing Flores to seize the reins with constant activity and eye-catching power shots.

Delgado woke up some in the sixth, showing off audibly harder punches, and got a fortunate break in the seventh when Flores, fresh off a warning for a low blow, got docked a point when a left hand bounced off Delgado’s elbow and into his groin.

The action was steady, albeit not terribly engrossing, but soon picked up considerably. The pair spent the last few rounds trading at point-blank range, Flores leaning on mauling clinch work and Delgado on powerful combinations. Flores seemed to run out of steam in the ninth, only to come out reinvigorated and put on a highly competitive final round.

Despite that surge, Delgado’s late efforts were enough to get him very justifiable 96-92 and 95-93 scorecards. The third, a 96-92 for Flores from Chris Tellez, was borderline indefensible.

Delgado doesn’t seem like a threat to the division elite, but if he can start more quickly and ratchet up his output, he’s got the tools to give anyone a tough out. As for Flores, I hope to see more of him on future Top Rank cards.