By Rafael Soto

On Saturday night, at 11 p.m. ET from the Gasmart Stadium in Tijuana, Mexico, former WBC bantamweight world champion Luis “Pantera” Nery (26-0, 20 KOs) will fight Jason “Dillinger” Canoy (27-8-2, 19 KOs) in a scheduled 12-rounder for the vacant WBC silver bantamweight title. In the co-feature, Kenia Enriquez (20-1, 9 KOs) will defend her interim WBC light flyweight world title against 19-year-old knockout artist Norleidys Graterol (7-0, 7 KOs).

Nery, a southpaw power puncher, is returning to action following a pair of controversies. He won the WBC bantamweight title in August 2017 with a devastating fourth-round stoppage against longtime champion Shinsuke Yamanaka, but tested positive for the banned substance zilpaterol.

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Nery claimed contaminated meat was the cause of the positive test, and he served a six-month WBC-mandated suspension. Following a knockout victory against Arthur Villanueva, he met Yamanaka in a rematch for the vacant WBC bantamweight world title in March.

He missed the bantamweight limit by three pounds and knocked out Yamanaka in the second round.

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Nery, only 23 years old, returns to action intent on recapturing bantamweight world championship glory. Canoy, from Balamban, Cebu, Philippines, is coming off a closely contested unanimous decision loss to Hiroaki Teshigawara in February for the WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight title.

A 10-year pro, Canoy has never been knocked out as a professional. Nery, meanwhile, is riding a seven-bout knockout streak.

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