.IBF featherweight champion Luis Alberto Lopez defends his waistband versus Angelo Leo generally activity of a Best Ranking on ESPN card at Tingley Col iseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Saturday (ESPN/ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET). Lopez's last reduction resided in May 2019 and he has gained 14 successive battles given that, including outstanding triumphes over Josh Warrington in England and Michael Conlan in Northern Ireland. But is he the most ideal featherweight in boxing?Vasiliy Lomachenko recently rejected a financially rewarding match against fellow lightweight champ Gervonta "Tank" Davis and while he have not announced his retirement life, will definitely our team view "Hi-Tech" in the ring again?Canelo Alvarez will definitely make his 2nd ring appeal this year, but not against the competitor followers have clamored for. Instead of David Benavidez, Canelo will definitely face Edgar Berlanga, that's certainly never fought at this degree in his quick profession. While Berlanga has awesome power-- he started his profession with 16 successive first-round KOs-- can easily he discover a technique to succeed, or a minimum of go the range versus Alvarez?Former abundant champion Anthony Joshua are going to defend a title for the first time in pair of years. Joshua will certainly experience IBF champ Daniel Dubois in London, as "AJ" is favored to become a three-time planet champion (-550 every ESPN BET). And also two-division champion Danny Garcia comes back to the band for merely the second time in nearly 4 years to handle WBA middleweight champion Erislandy Lara. Garcia, who succeeded waistbands at 140 as well as 147 extra pounds, is moving up in weight for the possibility to come to be a three-division champ, however may he upset an older but still powerful Lara?Mike Coppinger and Chip Parkinson address these concerns and also additional, attempting to identify what's actual and also what is actually not.Real or not: Vasiliy Lomachenko are going to retire without another fightNot true ... meanwhile. Lomachenko is pondering retirement, sources told ESPN, aspect of the factor he dropped a lucrative fight along with Gervonta Davis in November. There is actually also an option that Lomachenko will return in the first fifty percent of 2025 to guard his IBF light in weight title.After all, Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) appeared in a battling mood Saturday in Los Angeles: he as well as Shakur Stevenson had to be split at ringside during the Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov card. Lomachenko was actually viewed saying to Stevenson, "Allow's go ideal now.If that is actually any type of sign, Lomachenko will fight once again. Maybe even against Davis or Stevenson, the two largest battles on the table for him. However if he never ever laces up the gloves once more, Lomachenko's heritage is actually gotten. He is actually a three-division champ, a first-ballot Hall of Famer and a mainstay of the pound-for-pound checklist over the final 10 years.He additionally doesn't require to combat for the cash. He's earned millions of dollars in his career as well as still resides in Ukraine, where he is among the country's very most well-known professional athletes. Whether he combats once more, he certainly will not do so much longer. He switches 37 in February.-- CoppingerReal or not: Danny Garcia beats Erislandy Lara and also ends up being a champ in a 3rd divisionNot actual. Garcia has outplayed the odds just before, consisting of a shocking KO draw Amir Khan and also a dominant decision success over Lucas Matthysse. The initial win raised him to the higher tier of the sporting activity and also the last sealed that status.But the Matthysse fight was actually 11 years earlier, however, as well as those two signature Garcia wins went to 140 extra pounds (he additionally won a title at 147 pounds as well as went up to 154 for a July 2022 gain Jose Benavidez Jr.) Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs) is actually still seeking a win that matches that, as well as an upset victory over Lara would accommodate the bill.Garcia really did not be similar to the stinging counterpuncher in the majority-decision success over Benavidez, as well as he hasn't competed due to the fact that. Now, he'll move up one more weight class (though the Lara fight is occurring at a catchweight between 155 and 160 extra pounds) and have to contend with band stagnation. The Sept. 14 middleweight headline match versus Lara will definitely be Garcia's 2nd due to the fact that December 2020, when he was directed through Errol Spence Jr.The decide on listed below is Lara (30-3-3, 18 KOs), who, also at 41, reveals tremendous electrical power, albeit versus boxers under Garcia's amount. Lara is riding a three-fight KO touch.-- CoppingerReal or not: Canelo Alvarez's match versus Edgar Berlanga doesn't go the distanceCanelo Alvarez, left behind, safeguards his unquestioned tremendously middleweight champion versus Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14 in Sin City. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty ImagesReal. Alvarez, boxing's leading star, hasn't racked up a KO success because he smoothed Caleb Vegetation in a Nov 2021 match to win the undisputed incredibly middleweight championship.However, Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) has scored a knockdown in his final three battles. Against a boxer in Berlanga, that will certainly be actually dealing with on the leading amount for the very first time, Alvarez needs to add the 40th KO of his remarkable career.Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) has actually been harmed in the ring before, particularly in a step-up match against Marcelo Coceres, who dropped him in Round 9. And his defense isn't precisely seem. Berlanga has electrical power (he began his profession along with 16 consecutive KO succeeds in the preliminary), and if he picks to trade with Canelo, Alvarez must take him out.Alvarez guaranteed as much at a set of press conference today to promote the fight.-- Coppinger Real or otherwise: Not one other light champ can easily hammer Luis Alberto LopezNot real. Rafael Espinoza appears a true hazard to Lopez after tormenting Sergio Chirinho Sanchez in a four-round win in June and defeating Robeisy Ramirez through a bulk choice to succeed the WBO title in December. Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) floored Chirinho in three of the 4 rounds, while his breakout win with Ramirez was one of the most ideal battles in 2023. Publisher's Picks1 RelatedAt 6-foot-1, Espinoza-- the highest world lightweight champ in past-- will be actually an obstacle for Lopez. Chirinho flourished to rise coming from an uppercut coming from Espinoza in Around 1, prior to he was actually soon overpowered. As a specialist, Chirinho had certainly never been brought down prior to Espinoza swept him aside.Espinoza produced a surprise in beating two-time Olympic gold medallist Ramirez, and also he outlanded him in the last three arounds. Although he is actually certainly not as skilled as Lopez, the quantity of hits he has actually thrown in his last pair of matches, together with his elevation and also get to conveniences, could possibly confirm unbeatable for Lopez.Rey Vargas has actually appeared unconvincing in recent fights, while our team still need to find extra from Chip Round just before we proclaim him the department's No. 1. Sphere (20-0-1, 11 KOs) captured the WBA featherweight title along with a split decision win over Raymond Ford in June. That accomplishment adhered to a debatable draw versus Vargas for the WBC headline in March. Yet Espinoza would certainly overlook 5-foot-2 Ball.Vargas was actually unsatisfying versus Sphere and has actually not won in almost two years, so it is tough to present a disagreement for him in his present form.Lopez (30-2, 17 KOs) is actually the current ESPN No. 1 at featherweight after ceasing Reiya Abe in 8 arounds in a third defense of the IBF waistband in March. Lopez has actually gotten rid of large challenges in title fights, like boxing in a champion's home town and obtaining cut very early (vs. Josh Warrington), and also if he succeeds on Saturday versus Angelo Leo, he might maybe experience his largest difficulty but in a headline unification fight against Espinoza to crown the most effective fighter in the branch.-- ParkinsonReal or not: Anthony Joshua will KO Daniel DuboisReal. Like Dubois' revival has actually been simply a year after being actually dropped in Oleksandr Usyk, latest kind proposes his first IBF heavyweight title self defense will definitely finish in a KO defeat to Joshua.Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) resides in top type, more therefore than some other abundant. Like Dubois (21-2, twenty KOs), Joshua has actually must reconstruct his job, after enduring next decision losses to Usyk in 2021 and also 2022. Joshua battled carefully, along with a consensual decision gain Jermaine Franklin in April 2023, but in his final 3 battles, he finished off Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and also Francis Ngannou.Dubois came back from Saudi Arabia to London as IBF acting heavyweight champ after he stopped Filip Hrgovic in Sphere 8. Usyk at that point gave up the IBF waistband, which suggested Dubois was updated to total champion, consequently shows Joshua with the possibility to come to be a three-time world champ at Wembley Coliseum in London.Joshua are going to make an effort to manipulate what Hrgovic had actually duplicated results with versus Dubois. Hrgovic continually landed right hands on Dubois in the very early spheres, and Joshua has actually displayed in recent matches just how destructive his right-hand men want he ruined Ngannou in Around 2. Joshua landed a right-hand man on the previous UFC heavyweight champ's face to take him out cool. Joshua will certainly confiscate the chance if Dubois makes himself in a similar way on call, as he did versus Hrgovic. Joshua is a bigger puncher than Hrgovic and, although Dubois revealed resilience to absorb type June, he has been stopped twice (by Joe Joyce in 2020 as well as Usyk last year) and was floored 3 times in the preliminary through Kevin Lerena just before recouping to gain in Round 3. However it is actually no stroll in the playground for Joshua, that likewise needs to appreciate Dubois' electrical power. Dubois pauperized Hrgovic's face and may potentially pull off a shock halt against Joshua, just like Andy Ruiz Jr. carried out in 2019. But Joshua, that ruled as champ coming from 2016 to 2019 and afterwards coming from 2019 to 2021, is actually more likely to gain this fight by KO.-- Parkinson.