Carlos Canizales and Ganigan Lopez would love one more opportunity at a world title. The winner of tonight’s bout between Canizales and Lopez will be guaranteed that opportunity for the WBA flyweight title.

Both fighters made weight for their 10-round bout at Foro Centenario in Lopez’s hometown of Mexico City.

At Friday’s weigh-in, Canizales came in at 111.3 pounds. Lopez weighed 108 pounds.

Canizales (23-1-1, 17 knockouts), who resides in Caracas, Venezuela, most recently fought on October 29, defeating German Valenzuela by unanimous decision. The win over Valenzuela took place five months after a shocking stoppage loss to Esteban Bermudez.

Entering the Bermudez fight, the 29-year-old had won his previous six bouts since a split draw against then-WBA junior flyweight titleholder Ryoichi Taguchi in December 2016. The loss to Bermudez also dropped Canizales from The Ring Magazine top-10 rankings.

Lopez (37-11, 19 KOs), who grew up in nearby Amecameca, won by disqualification over previously-unbeaten Jose Soto in his most recent bout on October 22. He had lost three of his previous four bouts, including a knockout loss to then-WBO junior flyweight titleholder Angel Acosta in March 2019.

The 40-year-old won the WBC junior flyweight title by defeating Yu Kimura by majority decison in March 2016. Lopez would make one successful title defense before losing the title to Kenshiro Teraji via majority decision in May 2017.

In the co-feature, strawweight Jazmin Villarino (5-1-2, 1 KO), of Buenos Aires, Argentina, will square off against Mexico City’s Judith Vivanco (10-4-1) in a 10-round bout.

Lightweight Randy Leon (8-0-1, 3 KOs), of Mexico City, will face David Banda (3-8-2, 3 KOs), of Durango, Mexico, in an eight-round bout. The 19-year-old Leon made his pro debut in November 2019.

Jorge Ascanio (5-0-1, 4 KOs), of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, will square off against Mexico City’s Roberto Rodriguez (3-2, 2 KOs) in a six-round bantamweight bout.

The card is co-promoted by Producciones Deportivas and Combate Space.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @FSalazarBoxing.

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