Luis Alberto “Venado” Lopez thought that he was going to be robbed when the announcer revealed the first scorecard of his title winning effort over Josh Warrington.

Traveling overseas and fighting Warrington in Leeds, made Lopez feel that everything was stacked against him - even the judges.

So when the first card was announced as a draw, Lopez anticipated the worst scenario. But then, the two remaining judges scored 115-113 in his favor. He was crowned the IBF featherweight world champion.

“To be honest, I was confident that I would win the fight”, said Lopez told Izquierdazo. “That was in my mind. But when they read a draw (in the first scorecard), I began to really worry. I said to myself ‘I’m being robbed’. I got really nervous. But when they said ‘the new’, everything changed, and I was excited. It was all happiness when they said that, happiness about a dream come true”.

Lopez accepts that he felt pressure with the referee doing little to admonish Warrington for headbutts, rabbit punches, and landing shots to the legs.

“I felt pressure when the referee didn’t do anything (against Warrington), when he was punching my legs, my thighs”, Lopez said.

“My legs were cramping, I was worried that he could hurt me. That's why I felt pressure at the end. It was a fantastic experience to become a world champion in front of the English fans. And even more incredible because of the way I did it. The referee never protected me; my opponent used all his dirty tactics. But winning against him, with all his cheating, was even more incredible."

The first few hours of Lopez's reign as world champion were not spent in a party or in a restaurant. He spent them in a hospital, because of a fracture in his left hand, and a cut above his left eye caused by an accidental headbutt.

“I was sent to the hospital, because I had a fracture in my left thumb," Lopez said. “I was there for about three hours and a half, and then (my cut) got stitched. I was feeling bad in my stomach, with reflux. We left the hospital very late at night”.

From Leeds, he flew to Los Angeles, and then drove his own car for three hours to get back to his native town of Mexicali in Mexico.

“The first thing was to be with my family”, said Lopez. “My mother is my number one fan. When I got home I saw happiness in her face because her son is now a world champion. Now, people recognize in my hometown, I gained that respect fighting with the best, like Juan Manuel Marquez did. But I don’t want fame. I want a normal life. I don't want to be famous."