Najee Lopez vs Lenin Castillo Preview January 24th, 2025
Lenin Castillo of the Dominican Republic, who’s also known as Gilbert Castillo Rivera, will be facing unbeaten Najee Lopez of Atlanta, Georgia this Friday, January 24th. The 10-round light heavyweight tilt from Plant City, Florida can be seen live on ProBox and You Tube. Castillo was last in the ring in October when he dropped a 10-round unanimous decision to Juan Carrillo in a shot at the vacant IBF Latino Light Heavyweight Title. Lopez also fought in October when he stopped Ismael Ocles in the third round.
Lopez vs Castillo Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Lenin Castillo +550
- Najee Lopez -900
My Pick
The 25-year-old Lopez owns a perfect record of 12-0 with 9 Ko’s and has boxed just 47 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 tall but unfortunately has an unlisted reach. Lopez certainly possesses solid power in his arsenal as his current knockout ratio clocks in at 75 per cent as he’s gone the distance just three times in his dozen contests.
Just two of his opponents have entered the ring with a losing record but Lopez 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 and Alex Theran. Lopez is taking a slight step up in class against the veteran Castillo this weekend though.
Castillo’s now 36 years old and makes the ring walk with a mark of 25-6-1 with 19 Ko’s and has 142 rounds of pro experience under his belt since making his debut back in 2010. He measures 6-feet-2-inches tall, the same as Lopez, and has a 76-inch reach. Castillo, who fights out of Miami, Florida, is best known for his shot a Dmitry Bivol’s WBA Light Heavyweight title in 2019 when he dropped a wide unanimous decision.
He enjoyed a fine amateur career and fought at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China as a welterweight. Castillo won the vacant WBO NABO Light Heavyweight Title in 2018 with a ninth-round stoppage over Aaron Mitchell. His other defeats came to Joseph Williams by majority decision in 2017; to Marcus Browne by unanimous decision in August, 2018; to Callum Smith by second-round TKO in 2021; to Albert Ramirez by 10-round unanimous decision in 2023 and to Carrillo in his last outing in October.
Castillo’s draw was an eight-rounder with Travis Peterkin in 2015. Castillo has pretty good power himself as 76 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including 12 of his last 13. However overall, he has seven wins and five losses in his past 12 bouts. His biggest wins as a pro have been against Aaron Mitchell, Alex Theran, Andy Perez, Jose Miguel Torres, Emilio Calletano and Eduardo Mercedes. He also stopped John Cortez in the second round in 2018 to win the WBO Latino Light Heavyweight Title.
Prediction…
Castillo is now 36 years of age and has won just seven of his past dozen fights so his career is definitely on the downswing. However, he still has plenty of power in his punches so Lopez needs to make sure he isn’t careless as he was dropped in his win against Steven Sumpter. He needs to hit and hurt Castillo early and often to test his chin and make him think twice about attacking. Castillo should give it a good shot as he has a solid chin but I think he’ll fall short in defeat.
This won’t be easy, but I’m expecting Lopez to add another win to his record.
Play: Lopez -900 @ BetOnline.ag
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Lenin Castillo betting • Najee Lopez betting