Former WBO super bantamweight champion Angelo ‘El Chinito’ Leo 20-1 (9) is ready to put his lone loss behind him when he takes on former world title challenger Aaron Alameda 25-1 (13) in a 10-round bout this weekend.
The fight will take place on the undercard of the WBC middleweight world title fight between champion Jermall Charlo 31-0 (22) and challenger Juan Macias Montiel 22-4-2 (22) at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Saturday night.
The 27-year-old American was left with a bitter taste in his mouth when he lost the WBO belt on points in his first title defence against the ultra-talented Stephen Fulton 19-0 (8) in January.
“It’s a pleasure to be fighting in Houston, Texas,” Leo said. “I came up short in my last fight, but this camp we’ve improved my strength and conditioning. I’m a lot stronger and a lot wiser from the experience I had against Stephen Fulton.
“Training camp with my dad has been great. We’re ready to go and put on a show for Houston on Saturday.
“I had Covid-19 about six weeks before the Fulton fight. As a fighter, I wanted to put on a show for the fans no matter what. In that fight, I didn’t have the same stamina that I had in the previous fight. I feel fully healed now and we’re going to deliver a good performance.
“I have a lot of motivation knowing that I’ve been champion once and that I can reach that height again. I just want to prove to everyone that I’m still at the top level of this division and a serious threat to anybody.”
Mexican southpaw Alameda, 27, is coming off a 12-round loss to Luis ‘Pantera’ Nery 31-1 (24) for the vacant WBC super bantamweight title last September. Alameda had his moments in the fight. Judge Julie Lederman scored the bout 115-113 for Nery, while judges Tom Caursone and Don Ackerman had it wider for the winner at 116-112 and 118-110 respectively.
“We trained very hard for this fight. I got a lot of good experience from the Luis Nery fight and on Saturday I’m going to show everything that I’ve learned,” Alameda said.
“It was a great opportunity against Luis Nery. I’m going to let my hands go, leave it all in the ring and be victorious on Saturday night.
“I’m very motivated by my previous experience against Nery. Everyone will see that I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win in this fight.”
