Angelo Leo

Angelo Leo is an American featherweight who emerged from regional cards to claim a recognised world title and, as of his latest defence, holds the IBF world featherweight crown. Fighting from an orthodox stance and nicknamed "El Chinito," Leo stands 168 cm with a 174 cm reach. His professional record stands at 26-1 with 12 stoppage wins. Leo turned professional in November 2012, debuting with a four-round majority decision over Jesus Xavier Pacheco at the Crowne Plaza in Albuquerque. He built his foundation across shows in New Mexico, Colorado and Mexico, mixing decisions and stoppages through the early years. Between 2014 and 2016 he registered a string of early knockouts, including first-round and multi-round KO victories in Pojoaque and Nuevo Casas Grandes that established him as a fighter with finishing ability. A key step up came at the end of 2019 when Leo captured the vacant NABO junior featherweight title, stopping Cesar Juarez by eleventh-round TKO on December 28, 2019. That regional title set him up for a shot at a world belt the following year: on August 1, 2020 Leo won the vacant WBO junior featherweight (super-bantamweight) world title via unanimous decision over Tramaine Williams at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Leo’s first world-title campaign ended in January 2021 when he lost a 12-round unanimous decision to Stephen Fulton Jr., who was contesting the WBO junior featherweight title. Leo returned later that year to earn a narrow majority decision over Aarón Alameda in Houston in June 2021 and then took time away from regular activity before re-establishing himself on the featherweight scene. In November 2023 Leo resumed momentum with a ninth-round TKO of Nicolas Polanco, then moved to featherweight and won the WBA Continental (North America) featherweight title by knocking out Mike Plania in the third round on January 31, 2024. He defended that regional crown with a 10-round unanimous decision over Eduardo Baez in April 2024. Leo reached the top of the 126 lb division on August 10, 2024, when he stopped Luis Alberto López in the 10th round to win the IBF world featherweight title at Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque. He followed that victory with a successful title defence on May 24, 2025, earning a 12-round majority decision over Tomoki Kameda in Osaka, Japan, and retained the IBF belt. Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Leo has been reported as being based out of Albuquerque while some sources also list Las Vegas, Nevada as a base. Active at featherweight and carrying an international résumé that includes regional and world titles, Leo sits in the division as the reigning IBF world featherweight champion following his 2025 defence.