Angelo Leo Eyeing Title Unification Bouts After Ra'eese Aleem Fight Fallout

In his second defense of the IBF featherweight title, Angelo Leo was supposed to face one of the biggest challenges of his career against No. 1 contender Ra'eese Aleem. The fight was called off on weigh-in day when Aleem failed to make the 126-pound limit.

Now, Leo is already reportedly in deep talks for an even bigger fight to make up for the weight mishap.

Instead of rebooking the fight with Aleem, Leo is negotiating a potential title unification bout with either WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza or WBC titleholder Bruce 'Shu Shu' Carrington, ESPN's Salvador Rodriguez reported.

Fuentes: Angelo Leo tiene en la mesa posibles unificatorias con ‘Divino’ Espinoza o ‘ShuShu’ Carrington. La siguiente semana podría definirse su futuro 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/jKuzF1FYYj
— Salvador Rodriguez (@ChavaESPN) May 15, 2026

Rodriguez teased that an announcement could come as soon as the coming week.

The featherweight division is one of the few in boxing without much clarity at the top due to its champions struggling with either inactivity or just gaining the title. Espinoza is the division's longest-reigning titleholder, owning the WBO belt since his upset win over Robeisy Ramirez in December 2023.

While Espinoza initially excited fans with his high-volume, chaotic fight style, he was unfortunately one of the biggest victims of Top Rank's recent lack of a broadcast deal, which caused him to fall out of the limelight.

Carrington, meanwhile, burst onto the scene with a massive ninth-round knockout of Carlos Castro in January to win the vacant WBC title. Although 'Shu Shu' is also under contract with Top Rank, he won the belt on the 'Ring VI' undercard, which was headlined by Shakur Stevenson and Teofimo Lopez.

The Leo-Espinoza-Carrington trilateral conversation leaves out WBA champion Brandon Figueroa, who just reclaimed gold with a stunning knockout win over Nick Ball in February. Figueroa has yet to announce any plans for his upcoming title defense.

Angelo Leo still looking to stamp featherweight title reign

Needless to say, a win over either champion would do wonders for Leo in his budding career. The 32-year-old is already an established champion, but despite his exciting fighting style, he is still not the bona fide headlining star he aspires to be.

Leo is coming off a majority decision win over Tomoki Kameda in his first title defense, but is now quickly approaching a full year away from the ring. He initially imagined that the matchup with Aleem would help him get over the hill before losing that fight on the scales.

Now 20-1, Leo's only loss came to former champion Stephen Fulton in a high-paced 12-round bout in January 2021. He will enter his next championship bout riding a six-fight win streak, which includes a trio of highlight-reel knockouts.

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