Alberto Luis “Venado” Lopez (29-2) is currently training for his March 2nd showdown against Reiya Abe (25-3-1). The fight against Abe, who is his mandatory challenger, will be Lopez’s third defense of his IBF featherweight title. 

The fight, which is promoted by Top Rank, takes place at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY and will be streamed live on ESPN+. 

Lopez, who is guided by Hector Fernandez de Cordova, is hoping to land a unification bout after facing his mandatory challenger. 

Fernandez insists that they are focused on the task at hand with Abe and are not looking ahead. They do however hope to take on WBO featherweight champion Rafael “Divino” Espinoza in Lopez’s next ring appearance. 

“Everyone has overlooked Abe. He’s got length and is a strong southpaw. All Japanese fighters have huge hearts so it will be an all out war. We are focused on Abe and then we would love to fight Divino and unify titles,” Fernandez told BoxingScene.com. 

Team Lopez originally had their sights set on a unification clash against Robeisy Ramirez who was a huge favorite against Espinoza. 

Fernandez says they won’t make the same mistake that Ramirez made. 

“Robeisy was more focused on Venado then the fight in front of him. We are fully concentrating on Abe and won’t make the same mistake,” said Fernandez.

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