Luis Alberto Lopez vs. Joet Gonzalez Fight Card, Odds, & Predictions

The second world title defense of Luis Alberto Lopez’s (28-2) IBF World Featherweight title will be against Joet Gonzalez (26-3) this Friday, Sept. 15, inside the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Lopez comes in as the heavy betting favorite in boxing odds at -600 to retain his belt against the challenge from Gonzalez, who is tagged as the overwhelming betting underdog at +450.

𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐎! 😤

Luis Alberto Lopez defends his IBF featherweight title against Joet Gonzalez, live on Sky Sports 📺

Saturday, 2am | @trboxing pic.twitter.com/K8QUEnQd43

— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) September 8, 2023

Aside from being the defending champion, Lopez is the favorite to claim another victory because he rides an 11-fight winning streak that dates back to August 2019. Meanwhile, Gonzalez hasn’t won a major world title in his 11-year career. However, he has won multiple minor titles before this championship match. Additionally, Gonzalez is fresh off a bounce-back victory over Enrique Vivas.

Luis Alberto Lopez Recent Fight Results

Luis Alberto Lopez started his professional career in November 2015, when he beat Francisco Javier Grande Pacheco via split decision in his debut. Since then, he piled up an 11-fight winning streak and won the Mexican Pacific Coast Super Featherweight title. Lopez’s first defeat came against Abraham Montoya in March 2018 when he received a close split decision loss. Fourteen months and five wins later, the 30-year-old absorbed another defeat from Ruben Villa in May 2015 via unanimous decision.

Since that second loss in his career, “El Venado” won his next 11 fights against the likes of Israel Rojas, Cristian Baez, Mauro Loreto, Isaac Lowe, and Yeison Vargas. This streak was also crucial in challenging Josh Warrington for the IBF World Featherweight title in December 2022 and capitalized on the opportunity by beating him via majority decision. Lopez also successfully defended his title against Michael Conlan in his previous fight in May 2023 via fifth-round TKO.

Luis Alberto Lopez defends his IBF featherweight title with a nasty uppercut KO in round 5 against Michael Conlan 💥 #LopezConlan pic.twitter.com/9qPYeKx0Gj

— 𝒟𝒾𝒶𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓈 (@DiariosJournals) May 27, 2023

Joet Gonzalez Recent Fight Results

Joet Gonzalez made his professional debut in July 2012, when he fought and defeated Jesus Carmona by unanimous decision. After that successful debut, Gonzalez went on a 22-fight winning streak from November 2012 until July 2019. Included in this stretch by the Los Angeles resident was winning the WBO NABO Featherweight and the WBO Global Featherweight title, both of which are minor titles.

However, after those incredible victories, Gonzalez was matched against some of the big names in the division and went on a 3-3 run in his next six fights. The 29-year-old received a loss from Shakur Stevenson, Emanuel Navarrete, and Isaac Dogboe, while his victories came against Miguel Marriaga, Jeo Santisima, and Vivas. It will be Gonzalez’s second world title shot, and he hopes to capitalize on it.

Best Fights of 2022;
Isaac Dogboe SD10 Joet Gonzalez.
07/23/2022. pic.twitter.com/EQHOQOFQRX

— 𝗧𝗮𝗵𝗷 𝗥. 🥀 (@BoxingJournaIs) October 26, 2022

Luis Alberto Lopez vs. Joet Gonzalez: Tale of the Tape

Luis Alberto Lopez vs. Joet Gonzalez: Fight Analysis

The tale of the tape in the upcoming championship clash between Lopez and Gonzalez favors the challenger, as he will be two inches taller (5-foot-6 against 5-foot-4) and a three-and-a-half reach advantage (70 inches compared to 66.5 inches) against the defending champion. Both are relatively young at 30 and 29 years old, respectively, and have an identical 57% of TKO/KO percentage.

Stylistically, both are boxers who like to move forward and have a similar orthodox stance. But there is a major difference in their approach. For Lopez, he likes to fight with range and throw combinations to the head and body. The bread and butter of his attack is when he sets up a straight right-hand punch at the tail end of his combinations that targets the body of his opposition.

This way, “El Venado” catches his opponents off guard in every exchange. He does a phenomenal job of utilizing all the inches of his reach despite having the shorter one against other boxers in the division. Additionally, he blitzes forward with a barrage of punches that sometimes overwhelm his opponents. However, the downside of this is he leaves himself open for counterpunches.

On the other hand, Gonzalez is more of a boxer who likes to fight on the inside, meaning he closes the distance to shell up and throws his powerful hooks until he drops his opponent. He uses this approach to keep the fight dirty in the pocket because it gives him an upper hand by making his opposition uncomfortable. This style of fighting also breaks the flow and momentum of his foe.

Despite this tactic from Gonzalez, Lopez’s good management of distance and sleek combinations, coupled with his speed, will be too much for the challenger. This similar style by Lopez has presented problems to Gonzalez because the three boxers (Stevenson, Navarrete, and Dogboe) that gave him the defeat had a comparable approach. The only difference this time is that Lopez might get a knockout finish over him.

Luis Alberto Lopez vs. Joet Gonzalez: Date and Start Time

September 15, 2023, 7 p.m. PT

September 15, 2023, 9 p.m. ET

September 15, 2023, 10 p.m. ET

Luis Alberto Lopez vs. Joet Gonzalez: Fight Prediction

Official Prediction: TKO/KO victory for Luis Alberto Lopez.

See the entire  Luis Alberto Lopez vs. Joet Gonzalez odds and wagers here.