Angelo Leo is eager to prove he’s the best of them all. Leo (26-1, 12 KOs) will make the second defense of his IBF title when he faces Ra’eese Aleem on Saturday at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia, on DAZN.

“[Aleem's] a formidable foe,” Leo told The Ring. “He's very competitive, and he's in it to win it, but the same goes for me. I'm the exact same. It's gonna be a tough fight.”

Leo made his lone title defense last May, defeating Japan’s Tomoki Kameda by majority decision in enemy territory. The Las Vegas native emphatically won the title with one of the more devastating knockouts of the year when he beat Luis Alberto Lopez by 10th-round knockout in August 2024.

Aleem’s last victory also came in Japan when he beat previously unbeaten Mikito Nakano by unanimous decision on November 24. Aleem (23-1, 12 KOs) has won three straight fights, while Leo enters on a six-fight winning streak.

Leo is The Ring’s No. 2-ranked featherweight, while Aleem is No. 9.

“I think it's one of the best divisions in the sport right now,” Leo said. “It's a very diverse division. You got fighters that are six foot, you got fighters that are my height [and] you got different types of styles. It's a great division for the sport.”

Leo, 31, and Aleem, 35, have sparred before. Both, however, downplayed the impact of it, given the time that has elapsed and the difference between sparring and a title fight.

“Pretty competitive,” Leo said of those sparring sessions. “I remember Floyd [Mayweather] at one of the sparrings, he stepped into the ring and refereed it. Overall, I'm not taking too much of it during the fight, because when the bright lights are on, things change, and it's been six years.

“I know he's changed as a fighter. I've changed as a fighter. We're going to go in there and put on our best performance, regardless of what happened in the past.”

If Leo were to successfully defend his title, he hopes to face one of WBO champion Rafael Espinoza, WBC titleholder Bruce Carrington or WBA champion Brandon Figueroa.

“I would like a unification fight,” Leo said. “For the most part, I just want to keep establishing my legacy and establish myself as the best featherweight in the world.”