The date of the boxing match between Uzbekistan's star and the undisputed world champion has been announced.

The Mexican top contender in the second bantamweight division Alan David Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) is no longer in contention for the May fight against the undisputed champion of the division, Japan's "Monster" Naoya Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs), reports Sports.kz citing vRINGe.com.

As early as Wednesday, rumors emerged that Picasso was no longer the number one contender. Instead, American Ramon Cardenas (26-1, 14 KOs), Mexican Brian Mercado (30-1, 24 KOs), and Murodjon Akhmadaliev (13-1, 10 KOs) from Uzbekistan were being considered.

Additionally, there are talks that a title fight featuring WBO champion Mexican Rafael Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs) is tentatively planned as the co-main event of the show. He is being matched with former contender from the U.S., Edward Vasquez (17-2, 4 KOs).

All of this is not without reason. Previously, Espinoza decided to remain in the super featherweight division and wait for Inoue here. This indicates a systematic buildup for the fight.

Just a few hours ago, analyst Salvador Rodriguez reported that Picasso has definitively dropped out of the list of potential opponents for Inoue: “Sources indicate that in May there will be a fight with Murodjon, and in September in Japan with Cardenas.”

This was expected, as recently there were reports of negotiations between Akhmadaliev's team and Inoue's.