On June 14, Juan Francisco Estrada will make his comeback fight against Karim Arce, the nephew of Jorge Arce and the current WBC Youth Silver champion.

Former two-division world champion and current WBC No. 2 and WBO No. 3 ranked bantamweight, Juan Francisco Estrada (Mexico), with a record of 44 wins (28 KOs) and 4 losses, is scheduled to return to the ring on June 14 (June 15 Japan time) in Hermosillo, Mexico.

His opponent will be Karim Arce (Mexico), the nephew of the popular former five-division world champion Jorge Arce. Karim Arce holds a record of 21 wins (8 KOs), 2 losses, and 2 draws.

The 35-year-old Estrada will return to the ring for the first time in about a year since losing by 7th-round KO to Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (USA, Teiken) — who remains undefeated with 21 wins (14 KOs) — on June 29 last year (June 30 Japan time) at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. That loss cost Estrada his WBC super flyweight title, and this upcoming bout will mark his debut in the bantamweight division.

The fight against Rodriguez was broadcast on DAZN and attracted 7,261 paying attendees, generating a gate revenue of $593,570 (approx. 86.2 million yen). The contract included a rematch clause, and Estrada immediately expressed his desire for a rematch, showing strong confidence in his ability to avenge the loss.

In August, Estrada announced the end of his long-term partnership with renowned trainer Alfredo Caballero. He commented, “I’m deeply grateful to Mr. Caballero. I believe this new environment will bring positive changes.”

Preparations had been underway for a rematch with Rodriguez between November and December, but in September, Estrada cancelled the bout. He then announced his intention to move up to the bantamweight division for future fights. Now, his long-awaited return has finally been set. The world bantamweight titles, which are the targets for his goal of becoming a three-division world champion, are currently held exclusively by Japanese fighters across all four major sanctioning bodies.

On Sunday, June 8, a title unification bout will be held at Ariake Arena in Tokyo between WBC champion “Big Bang” Junto Nakatani (M.T.) — undefeated in 30 fights with 23 KOs — and IBF champion Ryosuke Nishida (Matsushima) — also undefeated with 10 wins (2 KOs).

In addition, top contenders aiming for world titles include WBC No. 1 ranked Tenshin Nasukawa (Teiken), who is undefeated in 6 bouts (2 KOs), and WBA No. 3 ranked Daigo Higa (Shisei), who has a record of 21 wins (19 KOs), 3 losses, and 2 draws, and is slated to face WBA interim champion Antonio Vargas (USA) — 19 wins (11 KOs), 1 loss, 1 no contest — in July.

For Estrada, who is coming off a one-year layoff, capturing a third world title will require not only adjusting his body to the new weight class but also managing time effectively. His upcoming opponent, Arce, is a carefully chosen name, partly because he joined Estrada’s training camp back in September 2021.

The 27-year-old Arce previously fought former WBA super flyweight champion Alexander Muñoz (Venezuela), who was 39 at the time, in an 8-round super bantamweight bout on September 1, 2018 (September 2 Japan time) in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico. Arce won by unanimous decision with scores of 77–74 on all three cards.

Although Arce continued to build up wins after that, he suffered his first professional loss in June 2021, when he was knocked out in the 9th round of a clash of unbeaten fighters against David Cuellar (Mexico), who holds a record of 28 wins (18 KOs) and 1 loss. Cuellar later challenged Junto Nakatani for the world title on February 24 this year at Ariake Arena in Tokyo but was knocked out in the 3rd round.

After his first defeat, Arce returned to the ring in August 2022 but suffered a surprising TKO loss in the 7th round to Jesús Moreno (Mexico), who had only three career fights and experience in 4-round bouts. Following this loss, Arce remained inactive for nearly two years.

He made a successful comeback on July 6 last year (July 7 Japan time) in Guasave, Mexico, defeating Kevin Villanueva (Mexico) — 28 wins (16 KOs), 8 losses, and 3 draws — via unanimous decision (78–70, 78–70, 77–71) in an 8-round bout for the WBC Youth Silver super bantamweight title, claiming the belt. However, he has not fought since then.

Both fighters will be entering the ring after long layoffs. The key questions are: how will Estrada perform after moving up in weight? Will his power translate to the new division? And can he demonstrate the gap in class befitting his No. 2 world ranking? If he wants to make a case for a showdown with one of Japan’s world champions, he will need a dominant and convincing victory that matches the weight of his name.

If Estrada moves up to the bantamweight division, which champion he will face becomes a key point of interest. The potential fight purse is also drawing attention!

This article has been translated and published with permission from BOXING MASTER.

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