Leo has opponent, date for title defense in sa国际传媒官网网页入口
sa国际传媒官网网页入口 native Angelo Leo, left, throws a punch against Mexico鈥檚 Luis Alberto Lopez during their Aug. 10, 2024 fight at Tingley Coliseum.
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The gloves are off regarding the date (Feb. 21) for Angelo Leo鈥檚 next defense of his IBF featherweight title, the identity of his opponent (South Africa鈥檚 Lerato Diamini) and the general location (sa国际传媒官网网页入口).
What鈥檚 lacking as of Tuesday afternoon was a specific site and an event permit, as issued by the New Mexico Athletic Commission.
Tuesday, veteran boxing writer Lance Pugmire, writing for , reported that Diamini (21-3, 12 knockouts) has been named Leo鈥檚 opponent for the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 native鈥檚 second defense of the world title he won by defeating Mexico鈥檚 Luis Alberto Lopez at Tingley Coliseum on Aug. 10, 2024.
Leo (26-1, 12 KOs) had teased an upcoming bout last week. On Friday, Santa Fe promoter Pat Holmes told the Journal that he, partnering with sa国际传媒官网网页入口 combat-sports fighter Donald Sanchez, would soon announce details regarding an upcoming Leo title defense in sa国际传媒官网网页入口.
On Tuesday, Holmes said in a phone interview that he was in the process of finalizing a contract with a venue and hadn鈥檛 felt a need to secure an event permit this far in advance of his event. To be granted an event permit, he鈥檇 need a secured venue.
Holmes said he was still waiting to receive a signed contract from Diamini and wasn鈥檛 ready to announce the matchup before getting word of Pugmire鈥檚 report.
Pugmire quoted Garry Jonas of the Florida-based as saying ProBox would stream the Leo-Diamini fight. ProBox signed Leo to a contract in 2023 and staged three of his fights, all victories, at its home arena in Plant City, Florida.
ProBox also hosted the streaming of Leo鈥檚 first title defense, a victory by majority decision over Tomoki Kameda in Osaka, Japan on May 24.
The selection of Diamini as an opponent invites comparisons with Leo鈥檚 victory over Kameda, since the South African fought Kameda twice in 2023-24 鈥� first defeating the Japanese boxer by split decision, then losing by the same outcome. Both of those fights were contested in Japan.
Diamini, 31, has won three international titles during his 10-year pro career but never a world title. He lost by unanimous decision to England鈥檚 James Dickens in a bid for the IBO world featherweight title 鈥� the IBO is not among the sport鈥檚 four universally recognized world sanctioning bodies 鈥� in 2022.
Top Rank, Inc., which promoted the Leo-Lopez card, is not involved in the Leo-Diamini promotion.
