Luis Alberto Lopez delivered a devastating fifth-round knockout to hometown hero Michael Conlan to retain his IBF featherweight championship at the SSE Arena in Belfast.
Lopez's unlikely run as champion continued with a stunning knockout that followed his equally shocking upset of Josh Warrington to claim the title back in December. Any questions surrounding Lopez's legitimacy as a titleholder were put to rest by a relentless offensive performance from 'El Venado'.
Lopez got off to a fast start by applying forward pressure and landing lunging punches that kept Conlan off balance. Initially, Conlan appeared to make some adjustments to the awkward approach but he couldn't quite figure out how to keep the Mexican off him.
The 2012 Olympic bronze medalist landed punches off his back foot but those shots lacked the power to force Lopez to alter his strategy. The furious pace of Lopez continued into the second and third round as he persisted in pushing Conlan backward, leaving the Irishman susceptible to the wide power shots that Lopez was launching from odd angles.
Midway through the third round, Lopez stunned Conlan with a right uppercut and followed it with a left hook. The champion pursued his staggered foe and belted him with a barrage of power punches to the head and torso.
VENADO HAS CONLAN SHAKEN 👀 pic.twitter.com/pyNqhnImm5
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 27, 2023
Conlan was unable to adjust and was clearly out of sorts heading into the fifth round as Lopez continued to pursue the finish by loading up on the uppercut.
And then it found its home as Conlan dipped his head right into an uppercut that put him on his back. Rather than allow him a chance to continue, Conlan's corner had seen enough and threw in the towel to rescue their fighter from further punishment.
BELFAST SILENCED.@VenadoLopez1 does it again 🤫🏆 #LopezConlan pic.twitter.com/3KEvNcIe4n
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 27, 2023
With the victory, Lopez improved to 28-2 while collecting his 16th victory by way of knockout. More importantly, Lopez can claim to be the best of the champions in the featherweight division and a tough out for anyone taking aim at him.
As for Conlan, he falls to 18-2 with another knockout loss in a title fight.
Luis Alberto Lopez vs. Michael Conlan full card results
- Luis Alberto Lopez def. Michael Conlan via 5th round knockout (1:14) to retain for the IBF featherweight title
- Nick Ball def. Ludumo Lamati via 12th round TKO
- Anthony Cacace def. Damian Wrzesinski via unanimous decision (118-111, 117-111 & 116-112
MORE: Sign up to watch Luis Alberto Lopez vs. Michael Conlan, exclusively on ESPN+
How to watch Luis Alberto Lopez vs. Michael Conlan
| Country | Date | TV channel | Live stream |
| United States | Sat. May 27 | — | ESPN+ |
| United Kingdom | Sat. May 27 | BT Sport | BT Sport app/website |
| Australia | Sun. May 28 | — | TBC |
Lopez vs. Conlan is live on ESPN+ PPV in the US, and can be streamed on ESPN+. The event will air on BT Sport in the UK.
