Luis Alberto Lopez will return on March 29, fighting for the first time since the former featherweight titleholder suffered a career-threatening injury.

That injury, a brain bleed, came when Lopez lost the IBF belt to Angelo Leo in August 2024. Lopez, a 31-year-old from Mexicali, Mexico, was on the wrong side of a knockout-of-the-year contender.

Less than eight months later, Lopez will fight Eduardo Montoya at the Palenque Del Fex in front of his hometown fans in Mexicali in a 10-round junior lightweight bout. 

When asked about Lopez’s return to the ring, Hector Fernandez, Lopez’s co-manager along with Luis “Kiki” Magana, was candid. 

“We’ve done extensive care and doctor visits as well as taking many precautions for this comeback fight,” Fernandez told BoxingScene. 

In September, Fernandez spoke about what he would need to see to allow Lopez to return.

“If Lopez still wants to continue fighting, I’m going to reject any offer until we get that MRI,” Fernandez said at the time. “For me, it’s not about money or legacy; it’s about the life of the fighter. They’re like my kids, my siblings. I wouldn’t put them in any danger.”

Lopez has since undergone the MRI, Fernandez said: “The result came back clear and normal.”

Lopez won the IBF title against Josh Warrington in 2022. He made three successful defenses before the loss to Leo. 

Montoya, who is also 31, is 21-7-1 (14 KOs) and has been stopped in five of his seven losses. He is coming off a unanimous decision over the 6-1 Luis Fernando Ruiz Angeles in December. 

“The fight will tell us everything,” Fernandez said. “That the health is there, that the will is there, and that the hunger is there. This fight will tell us what we need to know.”