On Saturday, Luis Alberto Lopez will put his IBF featherweight title on the line for the third time when faces his mandatory challenger Reiya Abe at Turning Stone Resort&Casino, Verona, in upstate New York.

Lopez, rated at No. 2 by The Ring at featherweight, welcomes what may prove to be a difficult fight stylistically.

"It's going to be a good fight," Lopez (29-2, 16 knockouts) told The Ring through Gabe Rivas. "He earned the opportunity to fight me and he's going to come prepared for anything and everything. We're working hard for that.

"He's a fighter that is going to come to box. He's not a brawler, he's a fighter that likes to move and so he's going to maintain his distance but we're going to neutralize that by cutting off the ring and (neutralizing) his legs."

The 30-year-old Mexican wasn't particularly impressed by Abe's win over veteran former two-weight world champion Kiko Martinez, which earned him the mandatory position.

"He (fought) his fight, Kiko was one step away from retirement, they were in Japan, he had everything against them," said Lopez. "It was a good fight, he moved around, he ran a little. But it's going to be different with me because we're basically going to be in my house. I'm younger, I'm stronger, I'm faster. It's going to be a different fight."

Lopez won the title by edging out Josh Warrington (MD 12) in the defending champion's hometown in December 2022.

Last year, Lopez consolidated his position at 126-pounds when he took his title to Michael Conlan's backyard in Belfast and made what promised to be a difficult assignment look somewhat easy when he stunned the locals by stopping the Irishman in five rounds. That was followed by besting teak-tough Joet Gonzalez (UD 12) last September.

"It's been a grandiose year for me, ending with victories, important steps forward, getting myself closer to a unification fight," he said. "The fight I have upcoming is a good fight, all fights are good but it's nothing like these unification fights and that's what I'm desiring to do. God willing,  after that we can have a unification fight against anyone. It doesn't matter to me, as long as it's a good deal. We're ready for everything, we don't have any favorites, whoever is there, whoever wants to face me, so we can give a great fight."

Abe (25-3-1, 10 KOs), rated at No. 8 by The Ring at featherweight, turned professional after a low key amateur career and lost his second fight. However, he persevered and claimed the Japanese national title in his third attempt. After coming up short against Taiki Minamoto (D 10) and Ryo Sagawa (UD 10), the 30-year-old southpaw was galvanized by those experiences and strung three wins together before upsetting once-touted Hinata Murata (UD 12) to become national champion. After one defense against Jinki Maeda (MD 12), he bested grizzled former two-weight titleholder Martinez (UD 12) in an IBF eliminator.

Although 'Venado' Lopez is clearly favored and is a sizable betting favorite (1/8 -800), this figures to be an absorbing contest. However, I think the more aggressive Lopez will be too active and win a 12-round unanimous decision.