Featherweight prospect Adam Lopez will face former world title challenger Jason Sanchez on February 13, a source told BoxingScene over the weekend.
The 10-round bout will take place at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada and will air on an ESPN platform, whether opening the live ESPN telecast (10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT) or ESPN+. The Lopez-Sanchez fight will precede the main event bout between light heavyweight contenders Joe Smith and Maxim Vlasov, with the vacant WBO world title on the line, and the lightweight bout between former IBF lightweight titleholder Richard Commey and once-beaten Jackson Marinez.
Lopez (14-2, 6 knockouts), who resides in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale, last fought on June 11, defeating Luis Coria by majority decision.
In his previous fight in November 2019, the 24-year-old took a major step-up in opposition, losing by knockout in round 7 to current junior lightweight contender Oscar Valdez after scoring a knockdown earlier in the fight. Lopez was originally scheduled to fight Coria that night, but faced Valdez on a day’s notice after Valdez’s original opponent, Andres Gutierrez, weighed 11 pounds above the contracted weight.
Lopez’s other notable fight was a majority-decision loss to Stephon Fulton, who will be challenging WBO junior featherweight titleholder Angelo Leo. He is currently trained by James ‘Buddy’ McGirt.
Sanchez (15-2, 8 KOs), who resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico, lost by unanimous decision to Puerto Rico’s Christopher Diaz in his last bout on June 23. The fight came almost eight months after Sanchez knocked out gatekeeper Adeilson Dos Santos of Brazil in round 4.
Back in June 2019, Sanchez challenged Valdez, who then held the WBO featherweight title, losing by unanimous decision.
The Lopez-Sanchez fight is an intriguing crossroads clash with the winner becoming a legitimate contender at 126 pounds.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.
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