Josh Warrington defends his IBF featherweight title against Luis Alberto Lopez at Leeds Arena on Saturday night and our Chris Oliver brings you his weekend boxing preview.
Boxing betting tips: Warrington v Lopez and more
1pt Luis Alberto Lopez to win by stoppage 23/10 (Paddy Power, Betfair)
1pt Shannon O'Connell to win by decision 11/4 (bet365)
1pt Teofimo Lopez to win in round 5-10 7/2 (Sky Bet)
While most Englishmen will be worried about the French on Saturday night, Josh Warrington will have only Mexico on his mind.
Shortly after the World Cup quarter-final in Qatar, Warrington defends his IBF featherweight title against Luis Alberto Lopez in Leeds and will be hoping lightning doesn't strike twice.
It was a Mexican who inflicted Warrington's sole career defeat when Mauricio Lara caused a huge upset in February last year and Lopez will no doubt be buoyed by his countryman's exploits that night.
Warrington bounced back when reclaiming the IBF belt with a seventh-round stoppage of Kiko Martinez in March this year and, with the carrot of a lucrative unification bout next year being dangled in front of him, he will need to be fully focused if he's to avoid slipping on this potential banana skin.
Punters have sensed how dangerous this bout is for the champion as the pair's respective odds have come much closer together as the fight has drawn closer, with Warrington now available at 5/6 and Lopez a best price of 5/4.
The Mexican has lost two of his 28 outings, but his last defeat was three-and-a-half years ago and he arrives on a nine-fight winning streak that has seen him display marked improvement. He flourished during the Covid-19 era and will be full of confidence ahead of this latest road trip.
After all, going abroad to spring an upset is nothing new to the Mexican. He was very much the 'opponent' when outpointing the well-touted Andy Vences (July 2020) and the previously unbeaten Gabriel Flores Jr (September 2021), before travelling to the UK to inflict a first defeat on Lancashire's Isaac Lowe last December via a seventh-round knockout. He has since bided his time as the mandatory challenger with the IBF and kept busy with two routine stoppage wins this year.
There is no doubt Warrington has much the better CV, with his red-hot form between 2017 and 2019 featuring points victories over top domestic rivals Lee Selby, Carl Frampton and Kid Galahad. However, things started to go wrong for the Yorkshireman in 2020 and all that momentum came to a halt.
He relinquished his world title in the hope of securing a big fight in Las Vegas and opted for what everyone presumed would be just straightforward tune-up against the aforementioned Lara, but the Mexican didn't read the script and battered Warrington for nine one-sided rounds behind closed doors. Warrington's Leeds faithful was back out in force at Headingley for the rematch and, after a fascinating build up, we never got to see the sequel play out as the fight was halted in round two when an accidental clash of heads opened up a huge gash over Lara's eye. While the Martinez win last time was a big step in the right direction, Warrington also picked up a badly damaged hand and a broken jaw to go with the belt he won back that night.
Even in that victory, there were signs of a long, hard career catching up with Warrington and the subsequent nine-month layoff won't have helped a man who thrived on being busy when at his best. All the signs point to Warrington not being the fighter he once was, whereas Lopez is in the form of his life, but have their two trajectories crossed yet?
At his busy and marauding best, Warrington would be fancied to outbox and outwork the visitor to claim a points victory here, as the local man isn't noted for his power and Lopez has shown a good chin in the past (both defeats came by decision). That is the most likely outcome according to the layers at 5/4 and that would certainly come as no surprise, but the miles on the clock and lack of recent action must be a concern for Warrington backers.
Just how Warrington, who is very much a textbook fighter, will handle Lopez's unorthodox style is another intriguing aspect of this contest. Yes, Lopez can be hit and made to miss as he lunges in, but his awkward, and sometimes wild, approach is very hard to read, which can work in his favour. He utilises his fast hands and feet to throw heavy shots from unusual angles and does so with plenty of venom.
Both men like to get on with things and I think their styles will gel for an entertaining contest, with both men having success. Win, lose or draw - I think Warrington is in for a tough night's work and backers of Lopez to win by stoppage can get a big run for their money at 23/10.
Warrington may well be too experienced at this sort of level to nick a decision, but I don't believe he is the fighter he once was and another Mexican thorn in his side could be the last thing he needs at this stage of his career.
Smart prospects Felix Cash and Hopey Price are expected to advertise their potential with victories on the undercard, but they are priced accordingly, and the value may be found in the other world title fight of the night.
Yorkshire isn't the first place you would expect an IBF bantamweight title fight between two Australians to land, but the fans may be thankful it has as Ebanie Bridges versus Shannon O'Connell should be an all-action affair.
Bridges is still very much a novice, and it highlights the lack of depth in the women's game that she was able to win a belt in her ninth professional contest with a hard-fought points win over Maria Roman in March. She is the 'name' in this contest and is a 4/7 chance to retain the title with a victory.
However, that form wasn't advertised very well when Roman was easily outpointed by Ellie Scotney, who was having just her fifth outing, next time out. Conversely, O'Connell's split decision win over the previously unbeaten Cherneka Johnson last year has been boosted by the latter going on to win and defend a world title at super bantamweight since.
O'Connell (23-6-1) may have lost six times and is 39 now, but she is on an eight-fight winning streak and is by far the more seasoned and experienced here. Bridges is hardly a youngster at 36 and I give the challenger a much better chance than her odds of 9/5 would suggest.
With genuine needle between the pair from down under, this should be fun and, as is often the case with women's boxing, it looks likely to go the distance, so the 5/2 available about O'Connell winning by decision looks the way to go.
Sky Sports viewers can see Teofimo Lopez's latest step on the comeback trail against Sandor Martin in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The Brooklyn native caused an upset when dethroning lightweight king Vasyl Lomachenko with a points victory in October 2020, before being on the other end of a surprise when dropping a split decision to George Kambosos Jr 13 months later. Problems outside of the ring and making the weight were blamed, so he returned at super lightweight in August to do a number on Pedro Campa via a seven-round TKO.
Up next is Martin, who sprang a shock of his own when outpointing former multi-weight world champion Mikey Garcia last October. However, that was a shell of the once great Garcia, who looked in poor shape and struggled to pull the trigger.
This is a much more dangerous assignment for Martin, with the Spaniard available to back at 5/1, and a motivated Lopez (1/5) is fancied to get the job done in the second half of the contest at 7/2.
Warrington vs Lopez: Date, start time, TV channel and cost
This 12-round featherweight clash will take place on Saturday, December 10 at the First Direct Arena in Leeds.
The undercard is set to get underway from 6pm and the main event ringwalks are expected to begin at 10:35pm.
It will be broadcast live on DAZN and it can be live-streamed via the UK DAZN app. For new customers, it will cost only £7.99 to become a member and the fight will be available to watch on all mobile devices and tablets.
Warrington vs Lopez: Running order and undercard
- MAIN EVENT: Josh Warrington vs Luis Alberto Lopez – for IBF world featherweight title
- Ebanie Bridges vs Shannon O’Connell – for IBF women’s world bantamweight title
- Felix Cash vs Celso Neves
- James Metcalf vs Courtney Pennington
- Hopey Price vs Sofiane Takoucht
- Shannon Courtenay vs Gemma Ruegg
- Junaid Bostan vs Aljaz Venko
- Calum French vs Kurt Jackson
- Rhiannon Dixon vs Kristine Shergold
- Cory O’Regan vs Jordan Ellison
- Koby McNamara vs Nabil Ahmed
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