IBF featherweight titlist Luis Alberto Lopez will put his belt on the line against mandatory challenger Reiya Abe in late February/early March.

It is believed the fight, which would be televised on ESPN, will be in either Las Vegas; Glendale, Arizona; or New York.

Lopez (29-2, 16 knockouts), rated No. 2 by The Ring at featherweight, turned professional in 2015 and moved through the ranks but dropped decisions to Abraham Montoya (SD 10) and Ruben Villa (UD 10).

The Mexicali native won nine consecutive fights, notably defeating the previously unbeaten trio of Cristian Baez (TKO 5), Gabriel Flores Jr. (UD 10) and Isaac Lowe (KO 7) to become the IBF mandatory challenger for Josh Warrington. When that chance came, he edged out Warrington (MD 12) in the defending champion’s hometown. Lopez took his title to Michael Conlan’s backyard in Belfast and stunned the locals by stopping the Irishman in five rounds. He then turned back the challenge of Joet Gonzalez (UD 12).

Abe (25-3-1, 10 KOs), rated at No. 9 by The Ring at featherweight, turned professional after a low-key amateur career and lost his second fight. He then came up short against Taiki Minamoto (D 10) and Ryo Sagawa (UD 10) in efforts to win the Japanese national title, but he persevered and claimed the belt by outpointing Hinata Muruta and May 2022.

After one defense against Jinki Maeda (MD 12), he bested grizzled former two-weight titleholder Kiko Martinez (UD 12) in an IBF eliminator.

Lopez is promoted by Top Rank, who also work with WBO titlist Robeisy Ramirez. The talented Cuban will defend his championship against Rafael Espinoza on December 9. Early this week, Top Rank added the services of Otabek Kholmatov to their stable and won the purse bid to his fight with Raymond Ford for the vacant WBA title in a move to strengthen their position in the division.

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