Rafael Espinoza is set to return Nov. 15 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, a source directly informed of the WBO featherweight champion’s plans told
The Ring.
The opponent has not yet been finalized, but there is little chance the adversary will be former titleholder Luis Alberto Lopez, according to the source. “Venado” Lopez has lobbied for the all-Mexican matchup, but Zanfer, Espinoza’s promoter, is looking elsewhere for an appropriate adversary for Espinoza.
The show will be co-promoted by Top Rank and is also set to feature the IBF 140-pound title eliminator between Lindolfo Delgado (23-0, 16 KOs) and
Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela (31-4-1, 17 KOs), as well as
Emiliano Vargas (15-0, 13 KOs) and
Richard Torrez (13-0, 11 KOs) in separate fights, according to the source.
“El Divino” Espinoza (31-0, 27 KOs) defended his title for a third time in May with a
seventh-round stoppage against Edward Vazquez. The 31-year-old from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, first won the 126-pound crown from Robeisy Ramirez during a December 2023 firefight and made sure the win wasn't a fluke with a sixth-round stoppage in a rematch last December. In between, Espinoza defended the title against Sergio Chirino Sanchez.
Espinoza is
ranked No. 1 by The Ring at 126 pounds.
Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan