sa国际传媒官网网页入口

Angelo Leo has an opponent and a promoter for a second defense of the IBF featherweight title he won in his hometown of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 some 18 months ago.

As for a date and a site, not yet 鈥� but the outcome of a Tuesday purse bid appears to greatly reduce the possibility of Leo coming back to defend in sa国际传媒官网网页入口. 

The IBF has confirmed that MP Boxing, a firm headed by boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, outbid Probox Promotions for rights to stage a title bout between Leo (26-1, 12 knockouts) and Ra鈥檈ese Aleem, the No. 1 challenger. 

MP Boxing is Aleem鈥檚 promoter, or is at least representing his interests regarding this title fight; Probox is Leo鈥檚 promoter. 

Santa Fe promoter Pat Holmes, who鈥檇 been involved in a project that would have brought Leo back to sa国际传媒官网网页入口 to defend his title against South Africa鈥檚 Lerato Diamini 鈥� short-circuited when the IBF ordered the mandatory defense against Aleem 鈥� said he didn鈥檛 believe MP鈥檚 winning the purse bid ruled out the possibility of Leo-Aleem being staged in sa国际传媒官网网页入口. 

鈥淚 think sa国际传媒官网网页入口 still makes more sense than anywhere else (because of Leo鈥檚 drawing power here),鈥� Holmes said. 

Still, neither Aleem nor MP Promotions has any history with sa国际传媒官网网页入口. 

Aleem (23-1, 12 knockouts), who like Leo lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, is originally from Muskegon, Michigan. His last half-dozen bouts have taken place in Las Vegas (twice), Los Angeles, Norfolk, Virginia, Australia and Japan.

He鈥檚 fought twice at Mohegan Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, on both of those occasions fighting on the undercard as Leo fought the main event. Between 2018-2020, he fought five times in Pennsylvania on cards promoted by Marshall Kauffman.

Aleem has not fought in his home state of Michigan since 2015, and it鈥檚 not clear whether he retains any drawing power there. 

MP Promotions had promoted exclusively in the Philippines, Pacquiao鈥檚 home, until staging a card at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California on Nov. 9 of last year. MP has a card scheduled for Feb. 28 at Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York on Feb.28 and is scheduled for a return to Pechanga on April 3. 

MP Promotions does not have a large stable of fighters 鈥� the list on its website does not include Aleem 鈥� and it鈥檚 unclear how a card with Leo-Aleem at the top would be populated. 

In sa国际传媒官网网页入口, Holmes said, putting unbeaten local boxer Matt Griego-Ortega (15-0, 10 KOs) in a featured bout under the main event would be an asset to a Leo-Aleem promotion.

According to an email from the IBF to MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons, published online by freelance boxing writer Dan Rafael (formerly of USA Today and ESPN), MP鈥檚 winning bid was $227,100, far surpassing Probox鈥檚 bid of $167,000. 

It鈥檚 unusual in such cases, Rafael wrote on X, for the challenger鈥檚 promoter to outbid the champion鈥檚 promoter. 

Regardless, according to the IBF鈥檚 message to Gibbons, Leo, as the champion, would be entitled to 65 percent of the purse.

Holmes said he didn鈥檛 understand why Probox鈥檚 Garry Jonas didn鈥檛 submit a more competitive bid. Holmes was surprised as well that veteran promoter Sampson Lewkowicz, with whom Holmes has collaborated in the past, didn鈥檛 submit a bid. 

A successful bid from Lewkowicz, Holmes felt, might have cemented Leo-Aleem for sa国际传媒官网网页入口. 

Top Rank, which promoted the Aug 10, 2024 Leo-Luis Alberto Lopez card at Tingley Coliseum and retains promotion options on Leo, also did not submit a bid.

Leo, 31, won the IBF featherweight (126-pound) title with a spectacular 10th-round knockout of then-champion Lopez. Leo traveled to Japan for his first defense, defeating Tomoki Kameda on May 24 in the latter鈥檚 hometown of Osaka.

Rick Wright writes about combat sports and the community for the Journal. He can be reached at rwright@abqjournal.com.