Neri, to WBC super bantamweight challenger deciding match Sudden rise to opponent of Naoya Inoue: J-CAST News[full text display]

Luis Neri (Mexico, 28), a former world two-division champion of professional boxing and WBC world super bantamweight No. 1, will hold a WBC class challenger decision match on February 18, 2023. Golden Boy Promotions announced on January 25th.

The opponent will be Azat Hovanishan (Armenia, 34), who is second in the same class, and the winner will get the right to challenge Steven Fulton (USA, 28), who holds the class title.

In the past, there was also a blunder of being overweight in the world war

In August 2017, Neri challenged the WBC world bantamweight champion, Shinsuke Yamanaka (Teiken, 40) and won by TKO four times to win the title. In the rematch in March 2018, he was overweight at the weigh-in the day before and was stripped of the throne before he entered the ring. Neri, who was uncrowned, defeated Yamanaka twice in the match, but was suspended indefinitely by the WBC, and then changed to a six-month suspension.

In September 2008, when he switched to super bantamweight, he won the WBC world super bantamweight championship match and won the throne. In May 2009, he had a unification match with WBA world super bantamweight champion Brandon Figueroa (USA, 26), and fell from the throne after losing by KO in the 7th round.

Won the WBC World Super Bantamweight Silver Championship in February 2010. He was promoted to No. 1 in the WBC class ranking and got a chance to regain the world title.

WBC champion Fulton also holds the WBO title, and there is a high possibility that he will face Naoya Inoue (Ohashi, 29), the former world bantamweight champion and WBO world super bantamweight champion. The US sports channel “ESPN” (WEB version) reported that the Inoue and Fulton camps had reached an agreement on January 18, aiming to hold the event in Japan in May.

If Neri wins the challenger deciding match, she will get the right to challenge the WBC champion. If the Inoue vs. Fulton match is realized and the WBC title is won, there are multiple options for the next match, but there is also the possibility of a match with Neri, who has the right to challenge the nomination.

Neri’s record is 33 wins (25 KO) and 1 loss. Hovanishan has 21 wins (17 KOs) and 3 losses.