.IBF featherweight champ Luis Alberto Lopez defends his belt against Angelo Leo in the main celebration of a Best Rank on ESPN card at Tingley Col iseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Sunday (ESPN/ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET). Lopez's final reduction remained in May 2019 and also he has succeeded 14 consecutive matches due to the fact that, including remarkable victories over Josh Warrington in England and Michael Conlan in Northern Ireland. Yet is he the best featherweight in boxing?Vasiliy Lomachenko just recently declined a highly profitable battle versus fellow light in weight champion Gervonta "Container" Davis as well as while he have not revealed his retired life, will definitely our team find "Hi-Tech" in the ring again?Canelo Alvarez will definitely make his second band appeal this year, however certainly not against the competitor supporters have actually demanded. Rather Than David Benavidez, Canelo will encounter Edgar Berlanga, who's certainly never battled at this level in his quick profession. While Berlanga possesses unbelievable power-- he began his occupation along with 16 successive first-round KOs-- can he find a technique to gain, or even at the very least go the span versus Alvarez?Former abundant champ Anthony Joshua will definitely defend a headline for the very first time in pair of years. Joshua is going to face IBF champ Daniel Dubois in London, as "AJ" is actually preferred to come to be a three-time globe champ (-550 every ESPN BET). And also two-division champion Danny Garcia goes back to the ring for merely the second time in almost four years to take on WBA middleweight champion Erislandy Lara. Garcia, that succeeded belts at 140 as well as 147 extra pounds, is actually going up in body weight for the possibility to come to be a three-division champion, but can he distress a much older however still highly effective Lara?Mike Coppinger and also Nick Parkinson respond to these questions and also additional, attempting to distinguish what's true as well as what's not.Real or otherwise: Vasiliy Lomachenko are going to retire without one more fightNot genuine ... in the meantime. Lomachenko is pondering retired life, sources said to ESPN, aspect of the main reason he dropped a lucrative fight with Gervonta Davis in Nov. There is actually likewise an opportunity that Lomachenko are going to come back in the 1st one-half of 2025 to protect his IBF light in weight title.After all, Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) seemed in a battling mood Sunday in Los Angeles: he as well as Shakur Stevenson had to be divided at ringside throughout the Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov memory card. Lomachenko was actually observed informing Stevenson, "Let's go correct now.If that's any evidence, Lomachenko will combat again. Maybe even versus Davis or Stevenson, the 2 largest matches on the table for him. Yet if he certainly never shoelaces up the gloves once more, Lomachenko's legacy is actually gotten. He's a three-division champion, a first-ballot Hall of Famer and a mainstay of the pound-for-pound list over the last 10 years.He also doesn't need to have to fight for the cash. He's earned millions of bucks in his profession as well as still stays in Ukraine, where he's one of the country's very most well-known athletes. Whether or not he deals with once again, he surely won't do this a lot longer. He turns 37 in February.-- CoppingerReal or not: Danny Garcia hammers Erislandy Lara and comes to be a champ in a 3rd divisionNot real. Garcia has actually outplayed the odds prior to, featuring a stunning KO gain Amir Khan and also a leading choice triumph over Lucas Matthysse. The initial gain lifted him to the higher tier of the sporting activity and the last sealed that status.But the Matthysse fight was 11 years ago, though, as well as those two trademark Garcia success were at 140 extra pounds (he also succeeded a title at 147 pounds as well as moved up to 154 for a July 2022 win over Jose Benavidez Jr.) Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs) is actually still hunting for a gain that matches that, as well as a dismayed triumph over Lara would suit the bill.Garcia really did not appear like the stinging counterpuncher in the majority-decision victory over Benavidez, as well as he have not contended given that. Now, he'll go up another weight lesson (though the Lara match is occurring at a catchweight in between 155 and 160 pounds) and need to contend with ring sluggishness. The Sept. 14 middleweight title battle versus Lara will be actually Garcia's 2nd since December 2020, when he was transmitted through Errol Spence Jr.The select right here is actually Lara (30-3-3, 18 KOs), who, even at 41, presents incredible power, albeit versus fighters below Garcia's degree. Lara is using a three-fight KO touch.-- CoppingerReal or otherwise: Canelo Alvarez's match against Edgar Berlanga doesn't go the distanceCanelo Alvarez, left behind, safeguards his undeniable tremendously middleweight champion versus Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14 in Sin City. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu using Getty ImagesReal. Alvarez, boxing's best celebrity, hasn't scored a KO victory considering that he flattened Caleb Vegetation in a November 2021 fight to succeed the undeniable incredibly middleweight championship.However, Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) has scored a presentation in his last three matches. Versus a boxer in Berlanga, that will definitely be actually fighting on the best level for the very first time, Alvarez needs to incorporate the 40th KO of his renowned career.Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) has been actually hurt in the ring before, particularly in a step-up battle versus Marcelo Coceres, that lost him in Cycle 9. And his defense isn't exactly seem. Berlanga has electrical power (he began his job with 16 consecutive KO succeeds in the preliminary), and also if he decides on to trade with Canelo, Alvarez should take him out.Alvarez guaranteed as much at a set of press conference this week to ensure the fight.-- Coppinger Real or not: No other light champ may beat Luis Alberto LopezNot real. Rafael Espinoza looks a true hazard to Lopez after agonizing Sergio Chirinho Sanchez in a four-round win in June and also defeating Robeisy Ramirez by a bulk decision to succeed the WBO label in December. Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) floored Chirinho in three of the four shots, while his escapement win with Ramirez was just one of the best battles in 2023. Editor's Picks1 RelatedAt 6-foot-1, Espinoza-- the tallest planet lightweight champion in past history-- would be actually an obstacle for Lopez. Chirinho prospered to get out of bed coming from an uppercut coming from Espinoza in Sphere 1, just before he was actually soon subdued. As a professional, Chirinho had never ever been actually brought down just before Espinoza swept him aside.Espinoza made a shock in pounding two-time Olympic gold medallist Ramirez, as well as he outlanded him in the final 3 spheres. Although he is actually not as skilled as Lopez, the quantity of punches he has actually thrown in his final two matches, in addition to his height as well as arrive at advantages, could show impossible for Lopez.Rey Vargas has actually appeared implausible in current fights, while our experts still need to view extra from Scar Sphere prior to our experts declare him the division's No. 1. Round (20-0-1, 11 KOs) caught the WBA featherweight headline along with a split choice draw Raymond Ford in June. That accomplishment complied with a debatable draw versus Vargas for the WBC title in March. Yet Espinoza would certainly stand over 5-foot-2 Ball.Vargas was actually frustrating versus Round and has actually certainly not succeeded in almost pair of years, so it is actually difficult to present a disagreement for him in his existing form.Lopez (30-2, 17 KOs) is actually the existing ESPN No. 1 at featherweight after stopping Reiya Abe in eight spheres in a third defense of the IBF belt in March. Lopez has actually gotten rid of huge problems in label matches, like punching in a champ's neighborhood as well as obtaining cut very early (vs. Josh Warrington), and also if he wins on Saturday versus Angelo Leo, he might possibly encounter his greatest difficulty however in a title marriage match against Espinoza to crown the very best competitor in the branch.-- ParkinsonReal or otherwise: Anthony Joshua will definitely KO Daniel DuboisReal. As good as Dubois' resurgence has been actually simply a year after being dropped in Oleksandr Usyk, recent form recommends his very first IBF abundant title self defense are going to finish in a KO loss to Joshua.Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) remains in leading type, much more therefore than some other heavyweight. Like Dubois (21-2, twenty KOs), Joshua has actually must rebuild his occupation, after going through next choice losses to Usyk in 2021 as well as 2022. Joshua combated meticulously, along with a consentaneous selection get Jermaine Franklin in April 2023, but in his final three matches, he finished off Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou.Dubois returned coming from Saudi Arabia to London as IBF interim heavyweight champ after he ceased Filip Hrgovic in Around 8. Usyk at that point relinquished the IBF belt, which indicated Dubois was upgraded to complete champ, therefore shows Joshua with the possibility to become a three-time globe champ at Wembley Stadium in London.Joshua will definitely make an effort to exploit what Hrgovic had duplicated success with against Dubois. Hrgovic frequently landed right hands on Dubois in the early spheres, and also Joshua has shown in current matches how damaging his right hands desire he ruined Ngannou in Around 2. Joshua landed a right-hand man on the former UFC heavyweight champion's chin to take him out cold. Joshua will take possession of the possibility if Dubois makes himself similarly on call, as he did against Hrgovic. Joshua is actually a greater puncher than Hrgovic and also, although Dubois showed durability to soak up type June, he has been actually stopped twice (by Joe Joyce in 2020 and Usyk in 2014) and also was defeated 3 times in the preliminary through Kevin Lerena prior to recouping to succeed in Cycle 3. Yet it is no stroll in the park for Joshua, that likewise needs to appreciate Dubois' electrical power. Dubois bungled Hrgovic's face and also can potentially manage a shock stop against Joshua, similar to Andy Ruiz Jr. performed in 2019. However Joshua, that ruled as champion coming from 2016 to 2019 and then from 2019 to 2021, is actually more likely to win this match through KO.-- Parkinson.