Luis Alberto “El Venado” Lopez will make the first defense of his IBF featherweight world title against Michael “Mick” Conlan this Saturday, May 27, at The SSE Arena in Conlan’s hometown of Belfast.
Promoted by Top Rank and Conlan Boxing, in association with Queensberry Promotions, Lopez-Conlan and undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ in the U.S. beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT.
Conlan Boxing hosted a media workout TODAY in Belfast
Lopez (27-2, 15 KOs), from Mexicali, Mexico, navigated bumpy terrain to become a world champion. Despite losing early in his career to Abraham Montoya and Ruben Villa, he regained his momentum with victories over unbeaten standouts Gabriel Flores Jr. and Isaac Lowe. After two stay-busy wins, Lopez received his shot at the title, defeating Josh Warrington last December in enemy territory in Leeds, England. Now under the tutelage of Kay Koroma, he is set to make his first title defense.
Conlan (18-1, 9 KOs), a 31-year-old Olympic bronze medalist, made an unsuccessful bid for the WBA featherweight title against Leigh Wood in March 2022 but bounced back later that year with wins over Miguel Marriaga and Karim Guerfi. Less than six months after his first-round knockout against Guerfi, he will return to The SSE Arena for the third straight time.