Rafael Espinoza is moving toward a featherweight title defense on home soil against countryman and former titleholder Luis Alberto Lopez.
The all-Mexico showdown is expected to headline a Top Rank-heavy November 15 show in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Officials connected to the card, to be staged by Mexico’s Zanfer Promotions, said it will also include a Lindolfo Delgado-Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela IBF 140lbs title eliminator, with the winner bound for a shot at champion Richardson Hitchins.
Delgado trainer Robert Garcia told BoxingScene Tuesday that he’ll be occupied with his unified 115lbs champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in Saudi Arabia for his November 22 fight. Because of the travel conflict, the reigning Trainer of the Year will send a team contingent including his father, Eduardo Garcia, to preside over Delgado’s corner in the important bout.
“Delgado’s 30 … it’s time [to fight for a title],” Robert Garcia said. “Sometimes, it takes a while for [opposing promotions] to make fights, but the IBF is pretty strict on its rules, so this winner will be fighting for a title, which is so good for Lindolfo. He’s been waiting on it. He’s been asking for it. The IBF enforces its mandatories, so if [Delgado] wins this fight, his next one should be for a world title.
Unbeaten 140lbs fighter Emiliano Vargas 15-0 (13 KOs), the son of former champion Fernando Vargas, and heavyweight Richard Torrez Jnr 13-0 (11 KOs) are additionally pegged for the card.
The activity comes as Top Rank is operating without an existent major broadcast deal. Last week, the promotion streamed its undisputed junior-featherweight champion Naoya Inoue’s title defense from Japan on its Facebook page.
Espinoza 27-0 (23 KOs) last fought May 4 on Inoue’s card in Las Vegas, defeating Edward Vazquez by seventh-round TKO to defend his WBO featherweight title.
Amid reports of accelerating talks with Mexico’s former IBF champion Lopez 31-3 (18 KOs), Espinoza will have the opportunity to headline a desired homecoming fight in Mexico after three successful title defenses in the U.S.
Delgado 23-0 (16 KOs), 30, posted a majority decision victory in April over Elvis Rodriguez to elevate in the IBF rankings.
Valenzuela, 31-4-1 (17 KOs), also 30, answered a TKO loss to new WBC 140lbs champion Subriel Matias in March to win a late-May unanimous decision in Mexico.
Meanwhile, Dominican Republic’s Rodriguez 17-2-1 (13 KOs) is among a slew of Top Rank fighters who’ll be placed on an October 18 card at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California.
The card will be headlined by unbeaten featherweight Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez 14-0 (7 KOs) of Moreno Valley, California. The event will include 130lbs contender Andres Cortes 23-0 (12 KOs) of Las Vegas, unbeaten junior-middleweight Art Barrera Jnr 10-0 (7 KOs) and first-year 115lbs prospect Perla Bazaldua (3-0, 0 KOs).
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
