The Last Stand with Brian Custer
Step inside the ring of conversation with The Last Stand with Brian Custer — the show where sports’ biggest names come to talk real. Hosted by award-winning sportscaster Brian Custer, one of the most respected voices in the game, this podcast delivers raw, unfiltered interviews with today’s top boxing champions and legends across all sports.
Brian’s career spans decades of excellence — from anchoring some of the most iconic broadcasts to calling the biggest fights in the world. His insightful questions, undeniable presence, and deep sports knowledge have earned him multiple awards and a reputation as one of the most trusted voices in sports media.
A prostate cancer survivor, Brian brings more than just journalism to the mic — he brings perspective, resilience, and authenticity. Whether it’s fighters, athletes, or cultural figures, The Last Stand gets past the headlines and into the human story.
🔥 New episodes weekly — honest talk, powerful moments, and unforgettable conversations.
The Last Stand with Brian Custer
Angelo Leo 🏆 vs Ra'eesse Aleem 🔥 Face-Off! May 9 War | The Last Stand 🥊
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🚨 PREMIERING TODAY at 9AM ET! 🚨
Brian Custer sits down with TWO elite warriors ahead of their explosive May 9 showdown 💥
🥊 Angelo Leo (26-1, 12 KOs)
• IBF Featherweight World Champion 🏆
• Former WBO Champion (2-division world champ)
• Captured the IBF title with a statement KO win over Luis Alberto Lopez
🥊 Ra’eese Aleem (23-1, 12 KOs)
• Dangerous contender known as “The Beast” 🐺
• Riding a 3-fight win streak entering his FIRST world title shot
• Earned his shot after beating undefeated Mikito Nakano
⚔️ These two collide May 9 in Atlanta in a HIGH-STAKES title fight that could shake up the division!
🔥 In this episode:
• Face-off tension 👀
• Fight predictions 🎯
• Mindsets heading into WAR 💭
• What this fight means for their legacy 🏆
👉 Who you got… CHAMP or CHALLENGER?!
#Boxing #LeoAleem #TheLastStand 🥊🔥
You're watching the last stand with Brian Custer. That's right. It is the last stand. I am Brian Custer. We bring you the biggest names in the sport. And joining me today are two of the biggest at 126 pounds. I'm talking featherweights. One of them is the current reigning and defending IBF featherweight champion of the world. The other is the number one contender, and they will face one another May 9th in Atlanta, Georgia. Joining me is the champion, Angela Leo, and the number one contender, Raiz the Beast Aline. Gentlemen, welcome to the last stand. How are you, Champ? I'm doing great. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. Raiz, how are you? Oh, what's up? What's up? I'm doing good. Good, good, good. Okay. Champ, let me start with you. May 9th, on the zone. You're uh making your second title defense. Now, listen, you as the champion are fighting a guy in Raiz who you know very well. I mean, I I remember at one time you guys were not only training but sparring together as you were getting ready for that Fulton uh fight. Now he finally gets his chance to fight for the world title, something that he's been fiending for for a very long time. What does Raiz Alim need to know when he steps into the ring with the champion on May 9th?
SPEAKER_02Uh just that uh that ballot staying with me, you know. Um I have that competitive spirit, and I'm sure Rais has the same thing. And uh, you know, we're both gonna go in there and we're gonna put on a great show.
SPEAKER_01Rais, I I I I remember talking to you a couple of years ago, and you said you always considered yourself the ultimate uh underdog, I think is what you you said as I looked at my fighter notes. You've come a certainly a long way to get to this point. Now you finally get that world title shot. What does Angela Leo need to know when he when Ray Salim finally steps into the ring with him? For real.
SPEAKER_00I mean, well, you know, this is it. You know, I finally get the shot. I I've always believed I was the top fighter in the sport in the division, and I just never got that opportunity to uh showcase it and everything. And now it's that time, and you know, I'm sticking to the script. You know, it's gonna be a very electric fight. Angelo's a great fighter, I'm a great fighter, so uh, you know, everybody's got to tune in. It's gonna be fireworks.
SPEAKER_01It will be, and you know, I I was uh looking at an interview you had done recently, Rais, and you said Angela Leo will be dethroned. Tell me why you're so confident.
SPEAKER_00I mean, you know, timing, you know, the the time is now. I finally, finally got my shot, got my opportunity, and you know, it's just it's really just countdown mode. It's gonna be an extremely tough fight, uh, at every second of every round, but I do expect to come out on top and get the win. Uh Angelo, you heard that. Give me your response.
SPEAKER_02Uh, you know, same thing. Same goes uh same goes for me. You know, I'm gonna go in there and uh I'm gonna keep that belt. You know, I worked too hard to get here. Uh I climbed my way back to the top uh of the food chain, and uh I ain't uh I ain't gonna buy to let that belt go.
SPEAKER_01I I know you guys did a lot of sparring, especially when you were preparing for that Fulton fight like four years, four or five years ago, Angelo. Um, how does that sparring help you in in a fight like that, considering you've you spent some rounds with Raisin, maybe you know some of the things that he likes to do?
SPEAKER_02Uh sorry, uh Brian, you cut out in that last part right there.
SPEAKER_01No, what what how does that sparring, how does that help you, considering that you've shared the ring and you kind of know some of the things?
SPEAKER_02A little bit, you know, to to a degree, but for the most part, everything's gonna be uh in the ring when um when we have to adjust and all that and uh do what we gotta do. But uh uh I don't I don't take it too too uh too strongly the the sparring. So you know everything's gonna happen in in the in the fight.
SPEAKER_01Rais, what about it? Does that sparring help in a situation like this? Now that you get the title shot, you're like, yeah, I hey, I remember he he did this, and you know, when I look at film, he's still doing this.
SPEAKER_00I mean, you know, sparring is sparring, but you you can't uh take whatever happened in sparring and expect for that to happen when it counts. You know what I'm saying? When you're in the ring, you're under the lights, and it's showtime. You you you can't expect that. I mean, yeah, we we've gone rounds and you know it was extremely competitive, but on fight night, you never really know what's gonna happen. So, you know, it just kind of is what it is. Uh, we're two cop top competitors, and when it's that time to shine, it's gonna be on and popping.
SPEAKER_01Champ, I mean, you flattened Luis Alberto Lopez basically to win the title. That was like knockout of the year type stuff. What did that knockout, that victory, do for you in your career?
SPEAKER_02Oh man, it did uh it really skyrocketed me and put me in um uh put me at the top of the division because at the time, you know, Vanilla Lopez was considered the best featherweight of the division. So him knocking him off, you know, that'll tell you something. And um, you know, I trained extremely hard for that fight, and it just kind of shows uh it shows my pedigree and uh what kind of fighter I am, you know. I um able to bounce back from you know all my uh tribulations in this in this sport, and uh now I'm at the top again.
SPEAKER_01Uh uh Rice, when you saw that knockout, what'd you say to yourself?
SPEAKER_00Great fight, you know, uh great instincts, you know. He uh kind of took a chance on the punch and uh landed flush and did his thing. And like you said, it was like a knockout of the year uh candidate. I mean, it was a great fight, so he did his thing.
SPEAKER_01Uh uh even when you look back at those times when you guys sparred, did it ever come to your mind like, yo, I may be facing this dude for real down the road?
SPEAKER_02Um, yeah, actually, it has, you know, it has. And uh uh I know Raiz, you know, he has that competitive spirit and he was always on my undercards. So I always thought, you know, we would we were on a collision course at uh at some point.
SPEAKER_01What about you, Raiz? Did you did you did you ever have it in your mind like, yeah, eventually we we're gonna meet for real?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, 100%. You know, it was just a matter of time, you know. It was always possible, you know, because I I've been with the top guys, I was just never able to get that shot. So it was just really a matter of time before it happened, and uh now that time has come.
SPEAKER_01You know, I hear fighters say all the time they probably learn more from uh their loss or losses that they uh than their wins, basically. And so Angelo, your first loss came to Stephen Fulton, right? And that was what 2021, if I'm not mistaken. 2022, yes. Yeah, yeah. So that was when you you lost the 122-pound strap, right? To to Cool Boy. Most important thing you learned from that loss that has made you now uh uh two division champion now.
SPEAKER_02Uh I believe I'm just a lot had to do with maturity, you know, a lot of maturity, mental, physical. Um, but now it's I'm a I'm a whole different fighter from then, you know. Uh I've changed as a fighter. Uh, you can see it in my style, but um, yeah, I think it had to do with uh maturity.
SPEAKER_01Right, this is the same question for you. You know, three years ago you lose to Sam Goodwin. Really good fight. I mean, that was a competitive back and forth. You go over to his country, basically, uh, to go fight him. What'd you learn most from that? That loss?
SPEAKER_00Uh well, ultimately I learned, you know, uh getting acclimated is a real thing, you know, how your body feels and stuff like that. So I just told myself, if I ever fought overseas again, I have to approach it differently. But as far as the fight, I don't feel like I went in there and he beat me. So uh it's just hard to uh, you know, if you uh get into a fight and the other guy just dismantles you, now you gotta create a whole nother blueprint, you know what I'm saying? It it wasn't that type of fight, but you know, it just told me I had to tighten things up and uh kind of really just listen to myself a little bit more instead of outside voices and do what I think and what I feel is right, uh inside the ring and outside the ring. And I made those adjustments.
SPEAKER_01Hey Angelo, what does what is a win over Raiz Aline say about you as a fighter?
SPEAKER_02Um, I think a win over Raiz would solidify myself as you know the top dog, the top champion in the division, you know. Um, none of my fights since I won the world title will have been easy, you know. Um, Tamoki Kameh, former world champion, Rai Salim, uh top contender, you know. So um, and I'm a mandatory challenger, you know. A lot of these fighters in my division aren't doing that. So I think uh solidifies myself as you know the top dog.
SPEAKER_01I like it. Raiz, same question to you. What is a win over the champion, Angelo Leo, say about Rai Salim?
SPEAKER_00I mean, it says a lot, you know, it proves that you know I'm one of the best fighters in the world. You know, Angelo's one of the uh best fighters in the division. You know, my goal is to beat him and be the best fighter in the division, but it it would say a lot, just uh it would validate everything that I've always known all these years, you know, that uh I am one of the best fighters in the world.
SPEAKER_01You you know, this is uh, and I'm talking about 126, a division that is ruled by you, Angelo. Uh it's certainly ruled by Rafi uh Espinosa, um, Brandon Figueroa now, because he got that that that surprise win over Nick Ball. Uh Shushu Carrington. Um, does the winner Angelo a win over Rai Saline? Do we see a unification next?
SPEAKER_02Uh potentially, potentially. You know, that's something that I have to go and talk to my team about. But yes, we would love to to uh fight one of the uh another champion. But um if not, you know, it could happen in 2027 as well. You know, we're not we're in no rush. Um, but uh yeah, I would I would love to fight any of the champions, no problem.
SPEAKER_01And and Rais, the same question to you. You become champion. Do we see a unification fight afterwards?
SPEAKER_00I would absolutely love a unification fight because you know, I I've I've literally tried to fight all three of those guys. You know, I've tried to fight Carrington, you know, we was kind of in talks and the fight fell apart. Uh, I was in talks to fight Figueroa, you know, that kind of fell apart, and Espinoza. So, you know, uh, I won the strap and everything like that. It's really just coming up with the contract and making it happen. But I'm I'm down to unify.
SPEAKER_01Angelo, what does let's say maybe some in the boxing public, or maybe even Rai Salim, what is he not they not know about you that they gonna find out about you on May 9th?
SPEAKER_02It's different in the ring, you know. When you step in the ring with me, it's it's a it's a whole different story. When the bright lights are shining, it's a different story.
SPEAKER_01How have you changed since you've become champion again?
SPEAKER_02Um, I guess you could say it gives me a little bit more confidence, you know. It solidifies myself as uh the fighter I am, you know. Uh and you know, I'm really I just remain the same to be honest, but I have a little bit more confidence, a little bit more uh uh reassurance of myself of um what kind of fighter I am.
SPEAKER_01It's almost like I hear you saying, I've been here, I've been, I've done this at this level, and this is maybe the first time that Rais is going to be experiencing this.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, pretty much. You know, this is uh not my first rodeo. I've been here before. I got the experience, um, a lot more mature, and um, I mean, I'm in my prime. You know, I'm in my prime. I'm 31 years old, I'm uh you know, strong, uh, still fast, all that.
SPEAKER_01And Rais, I guess the same question to you. What what do you think Angelo Leo and in the boxing public are gonna find out about you on May night that they didn't know?
SPEAKER_00I mean, well, if you didn't know, I'm a dog, I'm the uh ultimate competitor, you know, there's no quit in me. And uh, you know, I always show up and show out. So, you know, when it's uh when it's time to uh get it on and pop in, is it's gonna be on. And uh I'm in it to win it.
SPEAKER_01I I I think your your story is interesting because I as I was reviewing some of the old fighter notes that I had about you, I I I was looking over. I can't believe you actually trained yourself at one time for like a year and a half. I mean, this was I mean, you are a guy who left Michigan, came to Vegas just to get this kind of opportunity, and now it's here. Can you kind of give us a sense of the long road for Raisa Leen to get here?
SPEAKER_00It's been an extremely long road because you know, it's not only obstacles inside the ring that you have to overcome, it's obstacles outside the ring that you have to overcome, you know, and it's been an extremely long road. And uh whether people believed in me or not, whether they jumped on the bad wagon or not, I was still grinding, I was still doing me because at the end of the day, it's all on me anyway. So, you know, I have to execute, I have to wake up, I have to show up, you know, and I take pride in that. So, you know, I can really look in the mirror and say I did everything the way I wanted to do, you know what I'm saying? Like I can live with that, you know. I've grinded all these years, I've made all these sacrifices to be able to look in the mirror and say that.
SPEAKER_01Angelo, there's been a lot of great fighters. People may not know this from a boxing perspective, out of Albuquerque, and you know what I mean? It's got a great history of some champions here. Am I talking to the next great champion out of Albuquerque, New Mexico?
SPEAKER_02Absolutely, absolutely. I'm uh I'm the next big the next uh best thing out of Albuquerque for sure.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah. Who who was your guy? Who was your guy coming up?
SPEAKER_02Oh man, uh out of Albuquerque, yes. I have to say, uh that's a tough one. It's uh it's it's a toss-up between Johnny Tapia and Danny Romero. Okay, yeah, because uh my trainer, my one of my my trainer, he used to train Danny Romero. I I love uh the way he was knocking out people back in the 90s, but I also like uh what Johnny used to do, his angles, his uh agility, um, his personality, everything about him was electrifying.
SPEAKER_01You know, listen, guys, Atlanta is a great fight city. Uh, you know, people are gonna come out. It's gonna be Pat. Um, Rais, give us uh your final message to Angela Leo and to everyone when they tune in on March 9th into the zone. And for all the people who are gonna be coming out to that arena in Atlanta, Georgia, tell them uh what they're gonna see and what they're gonna get out of Rai Saline that night.
SPEAKER_00I mean, you're gonna see fireworks. I'm I'm bringing my A game. I'm I'm locked in, I'm focused, you know, physically, mentally, spiritually. I'm all there, you know. Uh the it's countdown mode. The time is now, and uh, I'm gonna show up and show out. I'm gonna do what I do.
SPEAKER_01Get the win. I like it. Champ, I'll give you the final word again for all those people who will tune in to the zone on May 9th. For all those people gonna pay their hard-owned money, come out to that arena uh in Atlanta, Georgia. Tell them what they're gonna get when the champion steps into the ring against Rai Salim.
SPEAKER_02Uh, it's gonna be uh Ann Still, and still world champion. Um, I'm coming with everything. Uh, and you see what you see what I've done before in the past. So, you know, uh, I let my fist do the talking.
SPEAKER_01Yes, that's what you get. Listen, folks, that's what we do here on the last stand. We bring you the biggest names in the sport, and at 126, you've got two of them. The champion, Angela Leo. You've got the number one contender, Rais Alem, who will be facing each other May 9th on the zone. Thanks for watching, everybody. We'll see you again next week.