By Miguel Rivera
Former world champion Jose "Sniper" Pedraza is planning to return to the ring on a date between May and June.
"They called us to tell us that we will be working in one of those two months," said Luis Espada, stepfather and main trainer of Pedraza, to Carlos Gonzalez.
Last month, Pedraza suffered the first loss of his career when he was knocked out by rising star Gervonta Davis. In the process, the Puerto Rican boxer lost the super featherweight (130 pounds) title of the International Boxing Federation (IBF).
When Pedraza returns, he will do so at the lightweight limit of 135-pounds.
"We were given a list with three names to evaluate at 135 pounds. They are top opponents, with good records and next Monday we will begin to train," said Espada. "The fight will be in the United States, possibly televised by FOX."
"Jose will reincorporate himself. We have enough time to work the physical aspect. Let's increase muscle mass, something we've already worked on. The body by nature will acquire it. Those five pounds will be a source of energy."
Likewise, Espada reiterated that Pedraza will not continue at 130 pounds.
"We're not going to turn back. Jose is going up. He has been at 130 pounds for the past 10 years and going up has long been overdue,' Espada said.
Pedraza won the IBF crown in June 2015 and successfully defended it against Edner Cherry and then Stephen Smith.
"We did not close out [our run at 130] as we would have liked, or as we had planned, but we will not go back to 130 pounds. We want the opponent chosen to be of quality," he said.
Espada, on the other hand, does not rule out the possibility of challenging Robert Easter Jr. in the future. Easter holds the IBF world title at 135-pounds.
"We saw the Easter fight against Luis Cruz and we were not impressed. I was expecting more from Easter, but I also have to say that Cruz made a good fight against him," Espada concluded.
