Luis Alberto Lopez vs Reiya Abe Preview March 2nd, 2024
IBF Featherweight Champion Luis Alberto Lopez of Mexico defends his title for the third time as he travels to Verona, New York to take on Reiya Abe of Japan this Saturday, March 2nd. The 12-rounder can be seen live in America on ESPN + while fans in the UK and Ireland can catch it on Sky Sports Action. Lopez was successful the last time out when he beat Joet Gonzalez by unanimous decision in September. He stopped Michael Conlan in the fifth round in Belfast, Northern Ireland in May in his first defence after winning the title via a majority decision over Josh Warrington in Leeds, England in December, 2022. Abe last fought in April when he beat former world champion Kiko Martinez by a wide 12-round unanimous decision.
Lopez vs Abe Betting Odds
Here are the winner odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Reiya Abe +500
- Luis Alberto Lopez -800
My Pick
Lopez is 30 years old and carries around a record of 29-2 with 16 Ko’s. He’s boxed 175 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 decent knockout ratio of 55.2 per cent and has stopped four of his last six opponents with Josh Warrington and Joet Gonzalez going the distance with him. Lopez also has fine boxing skills and a solid chin.
The first pro defeat he 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 12 consecutive bouts including victories over Gonzalez, Warrington, Isaac Lowe, Gabriel Flores Jr, Andy Vences and Michael Conlan.
Abe is a 30-year-old southpaw who enters the ring with a mark of 25-3-1 with 10 Ko’s and is a former All Japan Rookie of 2014. He’s got 180 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in 2013. His first defeat came in his second pro outing when Kobi Kobayashi beat him by four-round unanimous decision in 2013 while his second loss was to Shingo Kusano via a six-round majority decision in 2015. He then dropped a 10-round unanimous decision to Ryo Sagawa for the vacant Japanese Featherweight Title in 2019.
His lone draw was also in 2019 when he battled Taiki Minomoto in a 10-round affair. Abe has held the Japanese and WBO Asia Pacific Featherweight Titles as a pro but hasn’t really faced any world-class contenders other than Kiko Martinez. As far as power goes, Abe doesn’t really possess heavy hands as 40 per cent of his victories have come by way of stoppage. He measures just over 5-feet-7-inches tall with an unlisted reach which gives him a 3.5-inch edge in height over the champion.
Prediction……
Lopez has displayed pretty good power recently and both he and Abe have good chins as they’ve never been stopped. It’s debatable who owns the better boxing skills but Abe has the size advantage, meaning Lopez will once again need to work his way inside without eating leather. This should be a close, hard-fought battle for a few rounds but Lopez’s aggressive style should be enough allow him to to hold onto his crown.
Lopez is more aggressive and likes to let his hands go.
Play: Lopez -800 @ BetOnline.ag
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Luis Alberto Lopez betting • Reiya Abe betting