Luis Alberto Lopez vs Reiya Abe Analysis Prediction and Picks March 2

Luis Alberto Lopez vs Reiya Abe Betting Preview

Luis Alberto Lopez and Reiya Abe head to Caribe Royal in Orlando, Florida to box in a IBF featherweight title fight on Saturday, March 2 as WagerTalk boxing handicapper Kevin Dolan gives his Luis Alberto Lopez vs Reiya Abe prediction and picks with the fight set to start around 10:00pm ET.

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Luis Alberto Lopez vs Reiya Abe Betting Odds

Saturday, March 2	Boxing Betting Notes (Courtesy of Caesars)
Moneyline:	Luis Alberto Lopez -800 vs Reiya Abe +500
Rounds:	10.5 (Over -230 / Under +165)
Fight Time:	10:00pm ET / 7:00pm PT
Arena:	Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, NY
TV:	ESPN+

Luis Alberto Lopez vs Reiya Abe Betting Analysis

IBF featherweight champion Luis Alberto Lopez steps back into the ring this Saturday night over in Verona, New York as he takes on #1 contender Reiya Abe in what should be an all-action affair on ESPN+ this weekend.

Lopez comes off two highly successful defenses of his belt after outpointing former champion Josh Warrington over in Leeds, England just over a year ago, one of which was a highly sensational stoppage of the then highly touted Michael Conlan over in Belfast.

Abe meanwhile comes off a dominant performance of his own against the aging, but still incredibly dangerous, Kiko Martinez back in April, but faces a far stiffer test here on Saturday in what will be his very first professional fight outside of his native Japan.

Luis Alberto Lopez comes into this fight as the prohibitive -800 favorite, with Reiya Abe coming back at a +500.

Lopez A Difficult Fighter To Prepare For

Just as former opponent Michael Conlan found out in their fight last year, Luis Alberto Lopez is an incredibly difficult opponent to prepare for, something Conlan alluded to in talking about sparring camps in interviews after the fight, with Lopez able to jump in and out of range almost seamlessly, closing distance on opponents from awkward angles with that substantial power of his.

However, Lopez showed in his last fight against Joet Gonzalez that he’s more than a tricky power puncher, able to outbox Gonzalez for large parts early in that fight and building up a big lead before tailing off in the mid-to-late rounds and perhaps making the fight a lot closer than it needed to be.

That said, when Lopez is on his game, he’s going to make it a very difficult night’s work for any prospective opponent in the ring.

Abe Looks To Build On Career Best Performance

Reiya Abe secured a career-best win in outpointing former champion Kiko Martinez last April, soundly outboxing his opponent over the full 12 rounds to land the unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards.

That said, there were some rather hairy moments for Abe in that fight, especially early, when Martinez’s usual aggressive style looked to pressure the hometown fighter, even opening up a nasty cut over his right eye.

However, at 37 years of age, Martinez couldn’t maintain that high tempo, and he started to slow down in the middle rounds as Abe’s straight left hand started to take over and dictate the tempo of the rest of the fight.

Luis Alberto Lopez vs Reiya Abe Expert Prediction

Luis Alberto Lopez is a formidable puncher in fights no question, absolutely running through the likes of Michael Conlan and Isaac Lowe in their respective fights against him.

That said however, they fought him at his own game, but that’s something that could well happen here once again on Saturday as despite utilizing an excellent straight left hand in fights, Abe is often guilty of leaving his own hands low at points, and that could turn into a major issue for him in this one as Lopez has that ability to catch opponents unaware who believe they’re out of range from him, especially with those leaping hooks of his.

Martinez was trying to target the body of Abe in their last fight, but simply didn’t have the gas pedal in order to capitalize, something that shouldn’t present a problem for ‘El Venado’ in this one who is currently in the prime of his career, with a statement win this weekend against a fighter who’s never fought overseas before going a long way in securing a mega-fight for him down the road.

Take Lopez to get the late stoppage victory on Saturday.

Luis Alberto Lopez vs Reiya Abe Prediction: Luis Alberto Lopez To Win In Rounds 7-12 (+250)

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