Josh Warrington says he is interested in a rematch with Luis Alberto Lopez after seeing him knock out Michael Conlan in the fifth round last Saturday at their contest in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Lopez probably won’t be excited to fight Warrington again after being repeatedly fouled by him last December in a fight he won by a majority in 12 rounds at Leeds. He was angry afterwards Warrington’s dirty tactics.
The results were surprisingly close, with the judges giving Lopez 115-113, 115-113 and 114-114 decisions. Lopez was not pleased that the referee did not take control of Warrington’s fouls as he was headbutted, hit in the leg and nailed by numerous rabbit strikes during the fight. None of this resulted in Warrington being punished.
“He even hit me in the legs. I don’t think the referee will do his job defending the players tonight,said Lopez after the Warrington fight.
Is Warrington chasing the lead?
Until last Saturday, Warrington (31-2-1, 8 KOs) had been silent since losing the 126-pound IBF belt to Lopez last December in Leeds, England. But after seeing Lopez (28-2, 16 KOs) annihilate Conlan in his hometown, he came out of the woodwork saying he wanted to get back to strong Mexican talent.
Of course, Warrington is likely just chasing a raise, drawing attention to his stalled career before accepting an offer to fight Leigh Wood for his newly won WBA featherweight title in September at Nottingham’s City Grounds.
Damn I want to do it again with Lopez… 😤
I hope Mick is okay 👍
— Josh Warrington (@J_Warrington) May 27, 2023
“It would be nice if they could get a fight that isn’t in the other guy’s hometown for a change. Whether that means fighting in Mexico or somewhere in the United States, in a heavily Latino area in Las Vegas or Southern California,” said Dan Rafael. Great fight weekend on where Luis Alberto Lopez is headed from here in his next fight after defeating Michael Conlan in his hometown of Belfast last Saturday.
Lopez has options for his next fight
“They (Top Rank) have other heroes they work with. They are the promoters of Robeisy Ramirez,” said Rafael. “I think a logical fight that would be interesting would be the loss he took.
“Luis Alberto Lopez has two losses under his belt. One of them was very early in his career in 2018 in Mexico. His most notable loss came the following year in a nationally televised fight in the United States on ShoBox. He lost a decision to Ruben Villa, who later fought for the world title (against Emanuel Navarrete) and lost.
“Ruben Villa recently signed with Top Rank and made his debut with them in the last few weeks and looked very solid, taking the victory (5th round by knockout) (against Maickol Lopez Villagrana on May 13). It’s a very solid competitor.
“Ultimately, it could be an attractive fight for Lopez to try to avenge his loss to Villa and Villa will get another chance at the title. I absolutely see that happening and then they can go down the road where “We want to make an exciting fight” where Lopez is also the favorite.
“They promote Joet Gonzalez, who has also lost a few title fights, but he always gives it his all and always has an exciting fight. It would be a very fan friendly fight. I saw Top Rank look that way.
“He will have Villa, Joet, unification against (WBO Featherweight Champion) Robeisy Ramirez, which if it came to that would probably be a long way off. I say this because Robeisy Ramirez is going to Japan to defend his title on the card for the big matchup between Inoue and Stephen Fulton.
“But suffice it to say that the Top Rank stable with 126-pound fighters or other 122-pound fighters who can make weight or anything else has a lot of scope and options for him. Other unification struggles seem unlikely for various reasons.
“I don’t think they had a fight between him and Leigh Wood. Though I’d be okay with that. You never know, I guess. It’s unlikely. As I said, Robeisy has the WBO title.
“I’m sure looking at Lopez before this fight and after this fight, this guy is completely fearless. He doesn’t care about going to his hometown or anything. I assume if you pay him well, he’ll leave.
“Leigh Wood is coming to the United States to fight him, I don’t think Leigh Wood is afraid of that at all. But he made it very clear what he wanted after the fight. There is not a lot of money to come to the United States to fight Lopez. That seems a bridge too far.
“What Leigh Wood wants is a big fight at the City Ground where he lives in Nottingham and he would also like a reunion. The second champion in this weight class, for what it’s worth, is from PBC and it’s Rey Vargas.
“If I had to bet when Lopez comes back, he’ll be fighting one of the Top Rank guys. It probably won’t be a unification in his next fight. Most likely, he will fight one of their rivals. Joet, Ruben Villa or someone else. It’s going to be that kind of fight. We’ll see him on ESPN in a title fight,” Rafael said.
