Najee Lopez vs Juan Carrillo

Najee Lopez against Juan Carrillo is two unbeaten light-heavies with ambition, punch power and a bit of needle about it. Lopez is the more talked-about prospect, 16-0 with 13 knockouts, and he’s got that look of a fighter being pushed towards the bigger names. Carrillo, 15-0 with 11 knockouts, is not coming to play the opponent. He’ll fancy this.

Lopez is the cleaner boxer for me. He’s tall at the weight, 6ft 3in, long arms, and when he keeps his shape, he can punch down the pipe with real spite. He’s not just a whacker either. He showed against Manuel Gallegos that he can handle a rough night, bite down, and still find the finish. That matters. Pretty records are ten a penny until someone drags you into deep water.

Carrillo is dangerous because he’s strong, compact, and he punches like he means it. The Colombian won’t mind making it ugly. He’ll look to get inside Lopez’s reach, rough him up, bang the body, and turn this into a proper tear-up. His weakness is that he can be straight-lined coming in, and against a long, sharp puncher like Lopez, that’s asking for one on the whiskers.

Lopez has to keep the jab busy, step off after punching, and not admire his work. Carrillo has to close the gap without falling in, which is easier said than done when leather is coming back at you.

I think Carrillo has a couple of lively moments and maybe marks Lopez up, but Lopez’s length, timing and heavier variety tell late. Lopez by stoppage.