Brian Mendoza (18-1) figured that he would have bounced back from his first professional loss by now. His return, like many others, has been put on hold because of the covid-19 pandemic.

His former promoter, Top Rank, is the first promoter back in action since the sport grinded to a halt in mid March.  They are currently putting on two fights a week in a "bubble" atmosphere at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.  Currently fans are not allowed to attend the fights.

The 26-year-old Cuban fighte, who is currently a promotional free agent, hopes to return to the ring in August.

"We are trying to lock down a date in August.  Nothing is set down yet but we are hoping to get a 'bubble' fight soon," Mendoza said with a chuckle.

His loss was of the split decision variety last November to Larry Gomez (10-1) on the Oscar Valdez-Adam Lopez undercard. Gomez is known for beating several prospects in the sport.

Mendoza said that he is very interested in facing him in a rematch but revealed that his days fighting as a welterweight are long gone.

"Absolutely, I would love a rematch! It would most likely have to be at a heavier weight. Me and (Ismael) Salas agreed on fighting at 154 from now on," Mendoza told BoxingScene.com.

He said that his trainer Ismael Salas has been telling him to move up in weight for quite some time and that after the last fight he finally agreed with him.  Salas is known as one of the top trainers in the sport and has several notable fighters in his stable including Yordenis Ugas, Felix Verdejo, and Robiesky Ramirez.

"It was getting rough to cut the extra weight. Salas has been telling me to move up since our first fight together. I finally agreed," Mendoza stated while refusing to use the weight cutting as an excuse for his loss. "There is always a million excuses and whatever it was - I was just off but instead of finding things or people to blame, I just want to fix my mistakes and make statements moving forward, especially being healthy at 154."

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