Featherweight Joet Gonzalez will look to get back into the win column when he takes on Chris Avalos on March 19, a source with direct knowledge of the deal told BoxingScene.com.

One likely venue being considered for the fight is The Avalon in Los Angeles, the source said. An official announcement from Gonzalez’s promoter Golden Boy is imminent.

The 26-year-old Gonzalez (23-1, 14 KOs), a Los Angeles born-and-bred boxer, will be returning to the ring for the first time since dropping a wide unanimous decision to Shakur Stevenson in October for the vacant WBO featherweight title.

Stevenson’s victory was of a landslide variety that night in Reno, as all three judges scored the fight 119-109 for the 2016 US Olympian silver medalist. According to CompuBox, Stevenson landed 121 of 510 punches (24%), and Gonzalez landed just 53 of 494 (11%).

The 30-year old Avalos (27-7, 20 KOs) is a game contender who’s been in the ring with Carl Frampton, Oscar Valdez and Leo Santa Cruz, all of which were knockout losses. Avalos’ notable win came against Miguel Flores in 2017, who most recently was decisioned by Santa Cruz.

Avalos returned from a two-year layoff in November but lost via unanimous decision to Abimael Ortiz in Puerto Rico. Avalos had been away from the ring since losing to Santa Cruz in 2017.

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the LA Times, Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com and currently does TV commentary for combat sports programming that airs on Fox Sports and hosts his own radio show in Los Angeles. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk.akopyan@gmail.com.