Josh Warrington led the hand Saturday night at the First Direct Arena in Leeds when he took on a Mexican for the third time in four skirmishes.
However this time in DAZNhe made his first defense of his second coronation as IBF world champion against tough tennis player Luis Alberto Lopez, not rival Mauricio Lara.
Rhiannon Dixon (6-0) started the match at an extremely early 1:30pm, when she took on Kristine Shergold, 41, who had previously outpaced Delfine Persoon. Then it was the turn of British lightweight prospect Calum French (3-0), when he pitted undefeated Yorkshireman Kurt Jackson (3-0) who could have been better assisted on the night. .
The highly rated third game was Junaid Bostan’s fourth match (3-0) of the year. He arrived on the scene with loads of praise from the Grant Smith gym in Sheffield, with Sunny Edwards and Dalton Smith telling fans to keep an eye out for the 20-year-old superweight. He faces Greece’s Athanasios Glynos (2-1), who will attempt to end Bostan’s 100% knockout.
Leeds fan Hopey Price (8-0) is a super chicken, and he will be looking to use that size advantage to overtake Jonathan Santana (9-3-1) when he and coach Dave Coldwell managed to make the list of the top names in a crowded division in the country. Next up is Dewsbury southpaw, Cory O’Regan (8-0), who takes on his first opponent on an all-time basis, up against former Boxxer Series contender Shaun Cooper (13-4) . Cooper left the competition in the first match, losing to tournament favorites and eventual runner-up Rylan Charlton, by knockout in the third round.
Shannon Courtenay (7-2) is back in action after a fourteen-month absence and will be looking to get back on track after an unsuccessful title fight against Jamie Mitchell last October. She faced Gemma Ruegg (5-5) in Ruegg’s eighth match since April. That was before 22-year-old local Koby McNamara (3-0) took the stage to battle the journeyman (1-12-2) Nabil Ahmed, when he to declare himself as the next superstar from Leeds.
Fresh from an impressive win over Kerman Lejarraga in Bilbao, JJ Metcalf (23-2) returns to the UK to face American Courtney Pennington (16-5-3). According to Eddie Hearn, that was before boxing stopped and the arena turned into a ‘fan park’ where crowds could watch England play France in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
After a minimum of two hours of break (provided no extra time), teamfights will resume with the main card at around 9pm and Felix Cash (15-0) will go head-to-head with Celso Neves (9- 2-2) in a must-win match for the British. The promise of a WBA ‘semi-final’ world title knockout against Ammo Williams awaits Cash, which should provide a clear route to the world title.
The penultimate match of the night was for Ebanie Bridges’ IBF bantamweight world title (8-1). She defended her first title against fellow Australian Shannon O’Connell (23-6-1). The 39-year-old challenger is on an eight-fight streak, including a win over IBF super bantamweight champion Cherneka Johnson. This will be O’Connell’s third world title challenge in her third weight class.
Last but not least, Josh Warrington (31-1-1) will take center stage in front of the Leeds faithful when he takes on Luis Alberto Lopez (26-2). ‘Leeds Warriors’ will be hoping that this game against the Mexican goes better than his previous two, although he will know more about Lopez than he knew about Lara before the shock defeat. This will be Lopez’s second visit to the UK after knocking out Isaac Lowe at York Hall last December.
Fans can expect a quick start, with Warrington known for his volume and pressure, while Lopez knocked out his last three opponents in the second inning and stopped them one by one. of them in the seventh inning. Meanwhile, Warrington defeated Kiko Martinez in the first round of his final bout, when he reclaimed his IBF title and secured only his second knockout win in his last seven games.
Warrington’s newfound power can be a serious weapon if kept at his high output and the main event is sure to be hectic – the atmosphere depends on the outcome of the match. with the England team. The entire pass will go live on DAZN this Saturday from 1:30pm.
Saturday #WarringtonLopezpic.twitter.com/ObPbKLVHR6
– Match Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) December 5, 2022
