Angelo Leo

Bio

Angelo "El Chinito" Leo is the IBF featherweight world champion, born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and one of the smarter sit-down boxer-punchers at the weight. He won the IBF strap by tenth-round knockout over Luis Alberto Lopez at the Tingley Coliseum in August 2024 — a brilliant home-state title win on a fight Lopez was favoured to win.

His first defence came in Japan against Tomoki Kameda last May. Leo got the win on a majority decision in a fight that taught us both that he can travel and that he can be made to work hard by a clever mover. The May 2026 Atlanta defence against Ra'eese Aleem is his second defence, and the first against a real mandatory.

Leo at his best is a class operator — switch-hitter, body-puncher, doesn't waste shots, and reads angles as well as anyone in the division. The book on him is — he can be hurt, but he doesn't fold. He won his last twelve fights and the only career loss came back in 2020 in a domestic 122-pound title eliminator. With Naoya Inoue's expected move up to 126 looming, Leo is one of the names that gets seriously interesting if he beats Aleem clean.