Angelo Leo could still very well wind up with a homecoming headliner for his next outing.
It will just no longer come against his originally stated target.
BoxingScene has learned that Leo will proceed with his IBF 126lbs mandatory title defense against No. 1 rated challenger Ra’eese Aleem. The decision forces the postponement of a planned voluntary defense against Lerato Dlamini.
Leo was due to face Dlamini on February 21 in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Those plans are now paused, with the possibility that the fight could be revisited later this year.
For now, Leo, 26-1 (12 KOs), will instead take on his second consecutive mandatory. The 31-year-old, two-division title claimant defended his IBF 126lbs strap in a May 24 majority decision win over then-No. 1 contender Tomoki Kameda on the road in Osaka, Japan.
Kameda previously defeated Dlamini in an IBF eliminator to earn the opportunity last August, avenging a defeat to the South African the year prior.
In the time since Leo’s last fight, Aleem, 22-1 (12 KOs), continued his resurgence.
The Las Vegas-based contender has won three in a row since a disappointing June 2023 defeat to Sam Goodman on the road in Broadbeach, Australia. His most recent outing also came on his opponent’s home soil. Aleem soundly outboxed unbeaten Mikito Nakano over 12 rounds in their IBF 126lbs final eliminator on November 24 at Toyota Arena in Tokyo.
The timeline was tight for Leo to sneak in a voluntary defense before he would be summoned to next face Aleem.
Leo claimed the IBF featherweight title in a stunning, one-punch, 10th round knockout of Luis Alberto Lopez last August 10 at home in Albuquerque. The nip-and-tuck affair through nine rounds ended in an instant when he connected with a savage left hook flush on the Mexicali native’s chin to produce the Knockout of the Year-level finish.
The win was Leo’s sixth in a row since a January 2023 defeat to Stephen Fulton, which ended his WBO 122lbs title reign. His loss to Fulton threatened a career tailspin – Leo fought just once more after that before enduring a ring absence of more than two years.
At one point, he considered abandoning the sport altogether and focusing on real estate for the sake of providing for his family, including his newborn son at the time. He since resurrected his career after signing with ProBox TV (whose founder, Garry Jonas, also owns BoxingScene) in late 2023, a run which has produced five wins and a partnership with Top Rank.
