LUIS NERY RETURNS TO ACTION AGAINST JASON CANOY IN TIJUANA HOMECOMING

Bantamweight contender Luis Nery will make his return to the ring this Saturday night against Jason Canoy at the GasMart Stadium in his hometown of Tijuana, Mexico.

The fight air live on Azteca TV throughout Mexico and will be streamed live on ESPN+ (11 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. PT).

A large crowd is expected at the stadium, which is home of the Xolos professional soccer team.

Nery (26-0, 20 knockouts) is one the more talented bantamweights in boxing today. The unbeaten southpaw is known for an aggressive and hard-hitting style which has produced impressive knockouts in his last seven fights.

However, Nery has also drawn plenty of criticism. Following his Aug. 15, 2017 knockout of Shinsuke Yamanaka, it was announced that the Mexican power-puncher tested positive for Zilpaterol, a performance enhancing drug. The samples were drawn by VADA three weeks before the Yamanaka fight.

Nery maintained his innocence, claiming he ingested contaminated meat, the same excuse countryman Canelo Alvarez made when he twice tested positive for trace levels of clenbuterol in February. That failed test led to the postponement of Alvarez’s rematch with Gennady Golovkin.

The 23-year-old Nery was then officially suspended by the WBC following his second-round knockout of Yamanaka in their rematch which took place Mar. 1. Nery officially weighed 121 pounds for that fight (a full three pounds over the limit) prompting the WBC to strip him of the title he won from Japanese star in their first fight.

The WBC lifted that suspension approximately three weeks ago, although Nery is currently not ranked by any of the sanctioning bodies.

Canoy (27-8-2, 19 KOs) resides in Cebu City, Philippines, and has won three of his last five bouts. On Feb. 8, he lost a unanimous decision to Hiroaki Teshigawara.

In the co-feature, Kenia Enriquez (20-1, 9 KOs), who also resides in Tijuana, will square off against 19-year-old Norleidys Graterol (7-0, 7 KOs) of Venezuela in a 10-round junior flyweight bout.

Omar Aguilar (9-0, 9 KOs), a 19-year-old from nearby Ensenada, will face Jose Luis Aguilar (8-3-2, 1 KO) in an eight-round junior welterweight bout.