BoxRec

Former unified flyweight titleholder Juan Francisco Estrada will face Filipino journeyman Raymond Tabugon on Oct. 8 in his first test since stepping up to the junior bantamweight division. The fight will take place at Estadio Francisco Leon Garcia in Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico at a non-title catchweight of 116 pounds.

The 26-year-old Estrada, who had vacated the WBA and WBO 112-pound titles, hasn’t fought since September of 2015, owing, in large part, to a hand injury. His exodus from the flyweight division comes nearly three years after defeating Brian Viloria for the titles, which he successfully defended five times against former champions Hernan Marquez and Giovani Segura, among others. The native of Sonora, Mexico, Estrada is rated the No. 1 contender in THE RING’s flyweight rankings.

Estrada will be stepping up to a talent-packed 115-pound division, which features pound-for-pound champion and recently crowned WBC titlist (and current RING/WBC flyweight champion) Roman Gonzalez – the last man to defeat Estrada – plus WBO titleholder Naoya Inoue.

Tabugon (18-5-1, 8 KOs) of General Santos City, Philippines is coming off a fifth round technical knockout loss to Makazole Tete in South Africa on July 29 and was stopped by Juan Hernandez Navarrete in November of 2015 in his most recent trip to Mexico. Tabugon’s promoter Jim Claude Manangquil says the 25-year-old had already been doing light training when they received the offer and will have already had five weeks of preparation.