Subriel Matias has revenge on his mind ahead of his first major title fight.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that terms have been reached for a junior welterweight clash between Puerto Rico’s Matias and Petros Ananyan, an Armenian contender based out of Brooklyn, New York. The fight will serve as part of a January 22 Showtime card from a location to be determined, headlined by long-reigning WBC featherweight titlist Gary Russell Jr. (31-1. 18KOs) in a title defense versus mandatory challenger Mark Magsayo (23-0, 16KOs).
Representatives for Matias and Ananyan both acknowledged an agreement in place for their bout, which is a rematch to their February 2020 meeting. Ananyan emerged victorious, claiming a ten-round, unanimous decision victory over then-unbeaten Matias on the undercard of the WBC heavyweight championship rematch between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The bout remains the lone loss to date for Matias (17-1, 17KOs), who has since rebounded with a pair of Showtime-televised knockout wins over unbeaten junior welterweights.
The 29-year-old knockout artist from Fajardo, Puerto Rico—who is managed by Juan Orengo—dealt the first loss to Malik Hawkins in a one-sided stoppage after six rounds last October at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. Matias enjoyed a more competitive fight with Batyrzhan Jukembayev, whom he ultimately stopped after eight furiously paced rounds this past May 29 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Matias-Jukembayev served as part of a four-man box-off ordered by the IBF to determine the next mandatory challenger for its junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor, who also holds the lineal/WBA/WBC/WBO belts. Matias is still awaiting word on a final eliminator with Jeremias Ponce (29-0, 19KOs), who scored a tenth-round stoppage of Lewis Ritson in their semifinal eliminator on June 12 in Newcastle, England.
Both have agreed to accept interim bouts while waiting on firm plans either for a final eliminator or for an eventual vacant title fight. The latter would come into play should Taylor (18-0, 13KOs) opt to move up to welterweight following his February 26 title defense versus WBO mandatory challenger Jack Catterall.
There are far easier ways for Matias to remain active than to head straight towards the only fighter to hand him a loss as a pro.
Ananyan (16-2-2, 7KOs)—who is guided by Hall of Fame promoter Lou DiBella—scored a major upset in his win over Matias, having lost two of his previous three outings heading into the bout. The career-best victory to date for the 33-year-old fringe contender was followed up by an entertaining ten-round unanimous decision win over Daniel Gonzalez this past October 16 at Barclays Center in his Brooklyn stomping grounds.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox