Kerman Lejarraga will get a chance to avenge his only pro defeat this fall in a bid to recapture the EBU European welterweight title.
Lejarraga will face David Avanesyan on September 28 in Bilbao, Spain in a rematch of their March 30 fight which also took place in Bilbao. The winner of the rematch, however, will have to face mandatory challenger Josh Kelly, according to the EBU.
The first between the two was a competitive back-and-forth contest until Avanesyan was able to stop him in the ninth round to win the EBU title. Lejarraga was actually ahead on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage, leading the fight with scores of 77-74, 76-75 and 76-75.
Since then, Lejarraga has gone on to fight once more in June. That fight saw him go up to junior middleweight and knock out Luis Solis late in the fourth round to capture the WBC Latino title. Lejarraga is currently ranked No. 10 by the WBC at welterweight.
Avanesyan, a former interim WBA welterweight titleholder, has faced a number of notable names throughout his career, including Lamont Peterson and Egidijus Kavaliauskas, and even owns a win over Shane Mosley back in 2016 that retired the multi-time world champion. Avanesyan is ranked No. 8 by the WBC, No. 12 by the WBA and No. 7 at 147 pounds.
