LUIS ALBERTO LOPEZ is looking to add another British boxer to his resume.
The Mexican solidified his claim as the top featherweight fighter in the world with a stunning victory over Michael Conlan in Belfast on Saturday. Despite fighting on foreign soil, Lopez (28-2, 16 KOs) stopped Conlan in the fifth round with a beautifully-timed uppercut.
Since losing to Ruben Villa on points in May 2019, Lopez has remained undefeated in his last 11 bouts, a streak lasting four years. In December, he defeated Josh Warrington on points, announcing his presence on the featherweight world scene.
In Manchester on the same night, Leigh Wood (27-3, 16 KOs) overwhelmingly defeated Lopez’s compatriot Mauricio Lara in their rematch from February.
After the Belfast victory, Kiki Magana, Lopez’s manager, had a message for Wood’s promoter Eddie Hearn: “Please go and tell him that he [Wood] is next. Of course, let’s make it happen – I’m planning to buy a house in the UK. We’re about to call Eddie Hearn and tell him ‘if the money’s right we’ll come to London and we’ll fight Leigh Wood’. It will be a full house!”
Hearn also promotes Lara, Warrington, and Raymond Ford in the featherweight division. Boxing News approached him about a potential Lopez fight, to which he replied, “Sure, it’s a great fight. Leigh wants to unify, he wants to fight at the City Ground, he wants to fight Warrington, and he’s only got a couple of fights left.”
Wood, who dreams of fighting at the City Ground, his beloved Nottingham Forest’s historic home, named Warrington as his preferred opponent. After the Belfast event, Warrington tweeted, “I’d f*****g love to run it back with Lopez.”