Josh Warrington vs Luis Alberto Lopez – Results & Post-Fight Report

Josh Warrington lost his IBF featherweight title at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, as Luis Alberto Lopez took a majority decision win in the main event.

Warrington (31-2-1, KO8) had captured the IBF title for a second time in March, stopping the teak-tough Kiko Martinez in the seventh of their rematch, but the home hero suffered a broken jaw in the process. Lopez (27-2, KO15) was a dangerous customer, and was on a run of three straight knockout victories.

It was a breathless first few rounds, where the pair clashed heads and were both cut, and it was rough and tough action, with both landing with body shots and angled punches. Lopez was a typical Mexican, refusing to take a step back, and he was really roughing Warrington up, landing with vicious shots on the inside in the sixth, and the champion complained of pain from body shots between rounds.

Warrington was brave as ever though, rallying in the seventh, and after a tough eighth, Lopez started to unravel slightly after being hit in the back in the ninth, allowing Warrington to unsettle the visitor with heavy punches, but the challenger regained the upper hand in the tenth. Warrington had one last effort, and the penultimate round saw Lopez hurt from a superb left hook, with a strong final frame from the Yorkshireman leaving the contest in the balance.

Two scores of 115-113 meant Lopez became the new champion, with a 114-114 score redundant.

The undercard featured the popular Ebanie Bridges (9-1, KO4), and she defended her IBF bantamweight title with an eighth round stoppage of Shannon O’Connell (23-7-1, KO11) in an all-Australian affair.

It was a torrid opening round for the champion, as O’Connell winged in heavy shots, and after a firefight in the second, Bridges scored a knockdown in the third with a counter right hand. The pair continued to trade on the resumption, and the fourth saw more big shots land for Bridges, as O’Connell started to tire. Bridges had the last word in the exchanges, and O’Connell was treading water in round seven, and a round later after a sustained attack, the referee had seen enough.

Felix Cash (16-0, KO10) warmed up for a 2023 meeting with Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams, but he was given a stern test by Celso Neves (9-3-2, KO2) at middleweight. Cash was cut during the contest, and eventually came through 77-75 on the referee’s card.

JJ Metcalfe (24-2, KO15) defended his WBA Continental super welterweight title for the first time, as he forced Courtney Pennington (16-6-3, KO7) to retire after the sixth of their scheduled ten rounder.

Hopey Price (9-0, KO3) stayed unblemished, with the super bantamweight taking all eight rounds against Jonathan Santana (9-4-1, KO1) and at featherweight, Shannon Courtenay (8-2, KO3) was forced to work hard before taking a 77-75 verdict after eight against Gemma Ruegg (5-6, KO1). Rhiannon Dixon (7-0, KO0) took an 80-73 win over eight at lightweight against Kristine Shergold (7-7-1, KO1).

Super welterweight prospect Junaid Bostan (4-0, KO4) kept his knockout streak going with a fifth round stoppage of Athanasios Glynos (2-2, KO1), and Cory O’Regan (9-0, KO1) scored his first early win at lightweight, halting Antonio Rodriguez (7-28-8, KO1) in the third of their six rounder.

Koby McNamara (4-0, KO0) stayed undefeated, taking a 40-37 nod at super bantamweight against Nabil Ahmed (1-13-2, KO0).