The next job for Erick Rosa is to return home.

Unfortunately, he will return empty handed to the Dominican Republic.

BoxingScene.com has confirmed that Rosa’s challenge of WBA ‘Super’ strawweight titlist Thammanoon Niyomtrong is no longer in play. Their title consolidation fight was due to take place March 1 in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand, though the fight was jeopardized once the unbeaten Dominican southpaw was detained by Thai immigration officials upon arriving in the country on Monday.

Rosa–who holds the secondary WBA ‘Regular’ strawweight title—remains stuck in Thailand and without his passport which remains in the possession of Thai authorities.

“There is no longer any fight,” Belgica Pena, Rosa’s promoter and head of Shuan Boxing, told BoxingScene.com. “They broke the agreement. It seems to me all this was on purpose to weaken us.”

It remains unclear if Niyomtrong will proceed with the fight date versus another opponent. Representatives from the WBA and event promoter Petpiya Fight did not respond to inquiries by Boxing Scene seeking comment as this goes to publication.

As previously reported by Boxing Scene, Rosa remained in detention for more than a day immediately upon arriving in Thailand following a 21-hour flight from Dominican Republic. The 22-year-old southpaw from Santo Domingo was released on Tuesday but unable to leave the country. The issue appears to be with his passport, which expires in April. Thai immigration laws for Dominican visitor require “a valid passport for at least 6 months following departure date. It is also recommended that your valid passport have at least 2 remaining unused pages for any necessary entry and exit stamps that may be issued.”

A confirmed travel itinerary and proof of funds and accommodation are also required.

Rosa’s side contends that everything on their end was handled well in advance. However, the response from Petpiya Fight has been slow to the point of unprofessional and perhaps intentional.

“The cheating has already begun,” Belgica Pena, Rosa’s career-long promoter who is also currently detained, told Boixng Scene on Monday. “Our lawyers asked the Thais for all the necessary documentation to enter Thailand in time and they always took three or four days to respond.”

A letter from the Thai Boxing Association-Sanctioning Authority was requested by Pena and Rosa through their legal team, which should help resolve the issue. Such action never took place, though it is believed that Niyomtrong and his side were eager to go through the fight due to the amount of money invested in the title consolidation bout.

Niyomtrong (24-0, 9KOs) was due to attempt the 12th defense of the longest active title reign among male titleholders.

The 32-year-old from Surin, Thailand upgraded his secondary belt to WBA ‘Super’ champion following a twelve-round win over Nicaragua’s Byron Rojas in June 2016. Eleven title defenses have followed for Niymontrong. His most recent win came in a twelve-round, unanimous decision over countryman, close friend and former WBC titlist Wanheng ‘TBE’ Menayothin on July 20 in Chonburi, Thailand.

Rosa (5-0, 1KO) was required to fight outside of his native Dominican Republic for the first time in his ambitious career. The 22-year-old southpaw from Santo Domingo went all ten rounds in his October 2020 pro debut and upgraded to twelve rounds by his fourth pro fight, when he outpointed unbeaten Ricardo Astuvilca to win the now defunct interim WBA strawweight title.

An upgrade to the secondary ‘Regular’ title came in Rosa’s most recent fight, a twelve-round, split decision victory over Vic Saludar in December 2021. He went all of 2022 without a fight, with much of the final three months hoping to lure Niyomtrong to the U.S.

Instead, the ordered title consolidation bout went to a purse bid hearing. Petchyindee Boxing Promotions—the parent company of Petpiya Fight Promotions—posted $140,000, outbidding Shuan Boxing ($122,000) who promotes Rosa and hoped to bring the fight either to D.R. or on a Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) card in early 2023.

It remains unclear if the fight will be reordered by the WBA, or if Rosa’s title will be eliminated due to failure to commit. The fight was ordered as part of the WBA’s ongoing title reduction campaign, with strawweight still among six weight divisions where the sanctioning body still boasts two titleholders.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox