Andrew Cancio is finally set to resume his career.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that the former secondary WBA junior lightweight titlist is set for his ring return after more than three years on the sideline. Cancio will hit the road for the occasion, as he will face Jonathan de Pina on March 16 at Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts.
The scheduled eight-round lightweight bout will serve in supporting capacity on a UFC Fight Pass show headlined by the Callum Walsh-Leonardo di Stefano Ruiz ten-round middleweight contest.
Cancio (21-5-2, 16KOs) has not fought since November 2019, when he suffered a seventh-round stoppage loss to Rene Alvarado at Fantasy Springs Casino Resort in Indio, California.
The working-class hero from Ventura, California won the WBA ‘Regular’ 130-pound title in the same venue with an upset fourth-round knockout of unbeaten Alberto Machado in February 2019. He repeated the feat with a third-round knockout in their June 2019 rematch, also at Fantasy Springs which has housed seven of his last eight fights.
Cancio signed with Top Rank in 2020, but was forced to withdraw from several bouts due to a variety of reason.
The last attempt to get him in the ring under the Top Rank banner was when he was due to face then-unbeaten Gabriel Flores on a February 2021 ESPN show from MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas. Cancio was forced to pull out of the fight five weeks prior due to a lingering back injury, having fallen off the radar altogether before resurfacing on the upcoming pre-St. Patrick’s Day show.
Boston’s de Pina (11-1, 4KOs) turned pro in August 2019, three months prior to Cancio’s last fight. The 28-year-old lightweight prospect fought four times in 2022 and has already fought once this year, when he overcame a first-round knockdown to outpoint Marcello Williams over six rounds on January 21 in nearby Dorchester, Massachusetts.
The matchup breaks ground for both fighters, particularly for de Pina who enters his first scheduled eight-round affair. Cancio will fight at lightweight or heavier for the first time since December 2011, having since campaigned at featherweight and junior lightweight.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox