.IBF featherweight champ Luis Alberto Lopez defends his belt against Angelo Leo generally event of a Leading Ranking on ESPN memory card at Tingley Col iseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Saturday (ESPN/ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET). Lopez's last reduction was in May 2019 and also he has actually won 14 consecutive matches because, consisting of excellent triumphes over Josh Warrington in England as well as Michael Conlan in Northern Ireland. However is he the most ideal featherweight in boxing?Vasiliy Lomachenko lately rejected a lucrative battle versus fellow lightweight champ Gervonta "Tank" Davis as well as while he have not declared his retired life, are going to our team see "Hi-Tech" in the band again?Canelo Alvarez are going to make his second band look this year, however not versus the competitor followers have clamored for. Rather Than David Benavidez, Canelo is going to encounter Edgar Berlanga, who is actually never battled at this amount in his short occupation. While Berlanga possesses astonishing power-- he started his profession along with 16 successive first-round KOs-- can easily he find a way to succeed, or a minimum of go the range versus Alvarez?Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua are going to fight for a label for the very first time in pair of years. Joshua will definitely face IBF champ Daniel Dubois in London, as "AJ" is actually preferred to end up being a three-time globe champion (-550 every ESPN BET). And also two-division champ Danny Garcia returns to the ring for just the second time in almost 4 years to tackle WBA middleweight champ Erislandy Lara. Garcia, who succeeded belts at 140 and also 147 pounds, is actually going up in body weight for the chance to become a three-division champion, but may he disturb an older however still strong Lara?Mike Coppinger and also Scar Parkinson answer these concerns as well as even more, trying to differentiate what's genuine and also what is actually not.Real or not: Vasiliy Lomachenko will retire without yet another fightNot actual ... in the meantime. Lomachenko is actually considering retirement, sources told ESPN, aspect of the explanation he decreased a financially rewarding fight with Gervonta Davis in November. There's also a probability that Lomachenko will come back in the first one-half of 2025 to protect his IBF lightweight title.After all, Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) showed up in a fighting state of mind Saturday in Los Angeles: he as well as Shakur Stevenson needed to be actually split at ringside during the course of the Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov card. Lomachenko was seen telling Stevenson, "Permit's go ideal now.If that's any type of sign, Lomachenko will definitely battle once again. Perhaps even against Davis or even Stevenson, the 2 largest fights on the desk for him. But if he certainly never laces up the handwear covers again, Lomachenko's heritage is actually gotten. He's a three-division champ, a first-ballot Hall of Famer and also a pillar of the pound-for-pound listing over the last 10 years.He likewise does not need to overcome for the money. He is actually gained countless dollars in his job as well as still stays in Ukraine, where he's one of the country's very most preferred professional athletes. Whether or not he battles once again, he undoubtedly will not do this a lot longer. He switches 37 in February.-- CoppingerReal or otherwise: Danny Garcia beats Erislandy Lara and also becomes a champ in a 3rd divisionNot true. Garcia has actually upset the chances prior to, consisting of a surprising KO get Amir Khan and also a dominant decision triumph over Lucas Matthysse. The very first win lifted him to the higher echelon of the sport and the second sealed that status.But the Matthysse fight was actually 11 years back, though, and also those two trademark Garcia wins were at 140 pounds (he additionally won a label at 147 pounds as well as went up to 154 for a July 2022 win over Jose Benavidez Jr.) Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs) is actually still seeking a gain that matches that, and also a distressed victory over Lara would accommodate the bill.Garcia failed to resemble the stinging counterpuncher in the majority-decision victory over Benavidez, and he hasn't completed due to the fact that. Now, he'll move up yet another weight lesson (though the Lara battle is actually occurring at a catchweight between 155 as well as 160 extra pounds) and need to contend with band lack of exercise. The Sept. 14 middleweight title battle against Lara will be actually Garcia's second considering that December 2020, when he was transmitted by Errol Spence Jr.The select listed here is actually Lara (30-3-3, 18 KOs), that, also at 41, presents enormous electrical power, albeit versus competitors below Garcia's level. Lara is using a three-fight KO touch.-- CoppingerReal or otherwise: Canelo Alvarez's fight versus Edgar Berlanga doesn't go the distanceCanelo Alvarez, left behind, protects his recognized super middleweight champion versus Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu using Getty ImagesReal. Alvarez, boxing's best celebrity, have not scored a KO victory since he squashed Caleb Plant in a November 2021 battle to gain the recognized tremendously middleweight championship.However, Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) has scored a presentation in his final 3 fights. Versus a fighter in Berlanga, that are going to be battling on the best amount for the very first time, Alvarez ought to incorporate the 40th KO of his renowned career.Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) has been actually hurt in the band in the past, such as in a step-up battle versus Marcelo Coceres, that dropped him in Round 9. As well as his protection isn't exactly seem. Berlanga has electrical power (he started his job along with 16 successive KO succeeds in the preliminary), and also if he decides on to trade along with Canelo, Alvarez ought to take him out.Alvarez promised as much at a pair of news conferences this week to promote the match.-- Coppinger Real or otherwise: No other light champion may beat Luis Alberto LopezNot real. Rafael Espinoza appears a true risk to Lopez after agonizing Sergio Chirinho Sanchez in a four-round succeed in June and also defeating Robeisy Ramirez by a bulk choice to win the WBO title in December. Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) defeated Chirinho in 3 of the four shots, while his breakout succeed with Ramirez was among the greatest fights in 2023. Publisher's Picks1 RelatedAt 6-foot-1, Espinoza-- the tallest globe featherweight champion in past-- would certainly be an obstacle for Lopez. Chirinho prospered to get out of bed from an uppercut coming from Espinoza in Sphere 1, just before he was actually quickly subdued. As a specialist, Chirinho had never been brought down just before Espinoza swept him aside.Espinoza made a shock in beating two-time Olympic gold medallist Ramirez, and also he outlanded him in the final 3 arounds. Although he is certainly not as experienced as Lopez, the volume of blows he has actually thrown in his final pair of fights, along with his elevation and reach advantages, can verify insurmountable for Lopez.Rey Vargas has looked unconvincing in current battles, while our experts still need to view much more coming from Chip Ball before we declare him the branch's No. 1. Sphere (20-0-1, 11 KOs) caught the WBA featherweight headline with a split decision draw Raymond Ford in June. That conquest complied with a questionable draw versus Vargas for the WBC headline in March. But Espinoza would overlook 5-foot-2 Ball.Vargas was actually unsatisfactory versus Ball as well as has certainly not gained in nearly two years, so it is actually hard to show an argument for him in his current form.Lopez (30-2, 17 KOs) is the present ESPN No. 1 at featherweight after quiting Reiya Abe in 8 spheres in a third self defense of the IBF belt in March. Lopez has beat big problems in title matches, like punching in a champ's neighborhood as well as acquiring slice very early (vs. Josh Warrington), and also if he wins on Saturday versus Angelo Leo, he may maybe encounter his biggest challenge yet in a label marriage fight against Espinoza to crown the most effective competitor in the division.-- ParkinsonReal or otherwise: Anthony Joshua will certainly KO Daniel DuboisReal. Like Dubois' revival has actually been just a year after being visited Oleksandr Usyk, recent kind advises his very first IBF heavyweight title protection will end in a KO defeat to Joshua.Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) is in best form, more so than some other heavyweight. Like Dubois (21-2, twenty KOs), Joshua has needed to reconstruct his job, after suffering back-to-back selection losses to Usyk in 2021 and also 2022. Joshua combated carefully, with a consensual decision get Jermaine Franklin in April 2023, yet in his last 3 fights, he rounded off Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin as well as Francis Ngannou.Dubois returned coming from Saudi Arabia to Greater london as IBF interim heavyweight champion after he stopped Filip Hrgovic in Sphere 8. Usyk at that point gave up the IBF waistband, which meant Dubois was actually improved to complete champ, consequently offers Joshua with the opportunity to end up being a three-time world champ at Wembley Coliseum in London.Joshua will make an effort to manipulate what Hrgovic had actually duplicated results along with against Dubois. Hrgovic consistently landed right-hand men on Dubois in the early arounds, as well as Joshua has displayed in current matches exactly how destructive his right-hand men seek he ruined Ngannou in Sphere 2. Joshua landed a right-hand man on the past UFC heavyweight champion's chin to take him out chilly. Joshua will take possession of the possibility if Dubois produces himself similarly available, as he carried out against Hrgovic. Joshua is a bigger puncher than Hrgovic and, although Dubois presented resilience to take in type June, he has been actually ceased two times (by Joe Joyce in 2020 as well as Usyk in 2015) and was actually knocked down 3 attend the preliminary through Kevin Lerena just before recovering to succeed in Cycle 3. But it is actually no stroll in the playground for Joshua, that also needs to value Dubois' electrical power. Dubois made a mess of Hrgovic's face and also can likely carry out a surprise deduction versus Joshua, similar to Andy Ruiz Jr. did in 2019. Yet Joshua, who ruled as champion coming from 2016 to 2019 and after that coming from 2019 to 2021, is actually more likely to win this fight through KO.-- Parkinson.