By Jake Donovan
Juan Carlos Payano didn't get to experience much ring time during a near two-year stay as bantamweight champion. His quest for a second title reign will begin with attempting to right a past wrong as he seeks a greater rate of activity than has been the case in recent years.
The Miami-based Dominican remains hard at work for a planned ring return in mid-December, with a goal of fighting as often as possible leading to another title shot.
Everything about the bout - location, opponent, stakes - are still to be determined, but the fact that the wheels are in motion puts his mind at ease.
"We are training for a fight in mid December for a top ten opponent and for a belt, but the final opponent is not yet decided," Payano (17-1, 8KOs) informed BoxingScene.com. "But Herman Caicedo, my trainer/manager tells me it will be a good opportunity.
"My job is to train and prepare to my best ability. I look forward to once again becoming a world champ again."
Payano - a two-time Olympian for Dominican Republic - claimed his hardware in an upset technical decision win over long-reigning bantamweight champ Anselmo Moreno in Sept. '14. While the record books will show that he held a belt for 21 months, just one successful defense came of his run at the top - a 12-round split decision nod over Rau'Shee Warren in Aug. '15.
Warren - the only three-time Olympian in the history of U.S. boxing - came up aces in their rematch this past June, a bout that was delayed several times, first due to Payano recovering from a broken wrist and then waiting on a TV date before their sequel landed on an NBC-televised triple header in Chicago.
Payano took a major risk in going forward with the rematch while suffering a rib injury during sparring despite Caicedo's advice to rest and heal, but sought fit to proceed with the bout in lieu of enduring yet another delay. Now fully healed, he hopes that ring rust or physical pain never again come back to surface in what he considers his second career.
"After the rematch with Warren I had no choice but to take time off, as going into the fight I had broken upper ribs on my lead side," Payano admits. "I can say that those 12 rounds were excruciating during the fight as we clashed bodies and my ribs were killing me. We thought it would be tough but it actually was very hard. I could focus on nothing but not getting hit there.
"It is what it is. We will meet again soon, as in our weight class there are few of us at this level."
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox_v2
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