By Francisco Salazar
Junior bantamweight contender Juan Francisco Estrada will face Anuar Salas Saturday night, Zanfer Promotions liaison and matchmaker Sean Gibbons told BoxingScene.com Tuesday morning.
The 12 round bout will take place at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City.
Also taking place on the Zanfer Promotions card will be a 12 round WBC elimination bout between bantamweights Luis Nery and Jesus Martinez.
beIN Sports en Espanol will air both bouts, beginning at 11 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. PT.
Estrada (34-2, 24 KOs) returned to the ring on October 8 after an over year-long absence from the ring, winning a 10 round bout over Raymond Tabugon.
The 26-year-old from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico held the WBO and WBA World flyweight titles since April of 2013, successfully defending five times.
Estrada has not lost since his competitive 12 round decision loss to Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez in November of 2012. There has been talk of a rematch between Estrada and the unbeaten fighter from Nicaragua, but nothing serious has ever materialized.
Salas (20-3, 12 KOs), who hails from Colombia, has won his last six bouts. His notable bouts as a pro have come in defeat to the likes of Wilbert Uicab, Luis Concepcion, and David Sanchez.
Luis Nery has moved up the ranks of the bantamweight division and could be one fight away from fighting for a world title belt.
Nery (22-0, 16 KOs), who is ranked number two by the WBC, survived a first round knockdown to stop Raymond Tabugon in round four of his last bout on December 17.
His most impressive win as a pro came in his previous fight when he stopped three-time world title challenger Richie Mepranum in round two on October 22.
Nery, who resides in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, was scheduled to fight Suriyan Kaikanha (Sor Rungvisai), but the Thai fighter tested positive for two banned substances last month. He did return to the ring on Saturday, knocking out Tommy Seran in round three.
Martinez (23-1, 11 KOs), who hails from Colombia and is ranked number eight by the WBC, knocked out Angel Berrio in round seven on December 9.
He has won his last 14 bouts.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing