By Jake Donovan

A third attempt is being made at getting Rey Loreto and Nkosinathi Joyi in the ring for a second time. Their twice postponed rematch is now confirmed to take place March 22 in South Africa. 

The bout was confirmed by International Boxing Organization (IBO) President Ed Levine, whose organization recognizes Loreto as its junior flyweight titlist. 

Loreto (19-13, 11KOs) shocked the boxing world with his 3rd round knockout of Joyi in Monte Carlo last February, his second straight upset. The Filipino journeyman had previously scored a points win over former strawweight titlist Pornsawan Porpramook on the road in Thailand in August. He has won three straight overall.

Joyi (24-3, 17KOs) was once the baddest strawweight on the planet but has fallen on hard times in recent years. A shocking knockout loss to Mario Rodriguez ended his stay as strawweight champ in Sept. '12, and also his run as an unbeaten fighter. The East Londoner has dropped three of his last five, including a points loss to countryman Hekkie
Budler wedged in between his knockout defeats.

The upset knockout at the hands of Loreto represents Joyi's last piece of ring action. The 31-year old ex-champ is not yet ready to call it a career, at least not without one more shot at his most recent conqueror.

Plans called for a rematch to take place last December, only for the show to fall through at the 11th hour. A mass exodus from the undercard left event handlers with no time to secure enough rounds to have the show officially sanctioned by the local commission. 

A similar occurrence was reported to BoxingScene.com as the cause for their planned February 28 clash, although it has since been claimed that Loreto had to undergo an appendectomy and was forced to withdraw.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox