Angelo Leo has the skills to claim a world title in front of his hometown fans at the Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, according to ProBox TV analyst Chris Algieri.
Algieri is on the ESPN call tonight in New Mexico, deputising for Tim Bradley, and he has seen Leo first hand but Algieri also knows IBF featherweight champion Luis Alberto Lopez will not go quietly.
Lopez is a road warrior, who won his title in Leeds, England, retained it in Belfast and has since boxed in Corpus Christi and upstate New York.
Lopez is 30-2 (17 KOs) while 30-year-old Leo has lost just one of 25 fights.
Leo is one of several boxers who have appeared on ProBox TV and then graduated into major fights, including Trevor McCumby, who takes on Caleb Plant next month in Las Vegas, and “Hot Rod” Radivoje Kalajdzic, who lost a decision to David Morrell last weekend on the Israil Madrimov-Terence Crawford undercard.
“Angelo Leo, a ProBox TV alum, coming and getting to the big show and fighting for a world title in his hometown,” said Algieri. “He’s saying there are opportunities and he sees flaws in Venado’s style and he can take advantage of, and I’m going to have to agree with him.
“There are things Leo does that could really give Venado trouble. Venado is a fantastic guy, he’s got great intuitive punching, super athletic, but he’s got bad fundamentals in terms of a traditional boxing style. [He] fights with his hands down, has his chin up in the air at times, leaps into punches, uses that athleticism. He’s a shorter guy with a small reach. He has to use his explosiveness an athleticism to get it and Leo is a much more fundamental boxer, better hand position, he’s got a very explosive left hook, especially after moving up in weight. He’s got good boxing skills. He can fight on the inside, he can fight on the outside. Obviously, he’s done his homework, and he sees where there are positions to take advantage of the champ.”
But for all of the assets Leo brings and for his desire to become a two-weight champion having won the WBO junior featherweight title in 2020, he cannot afford to be too confident.
“It’s one thing to see it, it’s another thing to do it,” warned Algieri. “Because Venado Lopez is a very, very difficult guy to deal with.”
