When Azael Villar and Ricardo Astuvilca fought in December 2023, they produced an exciting back-and-forth contest which Villar won on points.

Both fighters initially went their separate ways but will once again cross paths in a scheduled 10-round headliner for a WBA regional junior flyweight title fight on October 3.

"We have a solid show lined up at Seneca Resort and Casino in Niagara Falls, WBO's No. 15-rated Villar will face former WBA Gold champion Astuvilca in a rematch," Felix Zabala of All Star Boxing told The Ring.

"Their first encounter was a war, and we expect the same on neutral grounds. Also, there's a solid line-up of local talent, our 10th show at the venue where we've sold out on every occasion."

The card will be televised live internationally on ESPN KnockOut and Disney+ from 8pm ET.

In the evening's co-feature, local female contender Mikiah Kreps (10-0, 2 KOs) will face Argentina's Juliana Basualdo (13-6, 2 KOs) in an eight-round junior featherweight bout.

Tabbed to also appear on the nine-fight card are Elon De Jesus (10-1-2, 3 KOs) against Colombia's experienced Belmar Preciado (22-9-1, 15 KOs) over eight rounds at junior featherweight.

Nephew of hugely popular heavyweight Joe, Joseph "Ming" Mesi (2-0, 1 KO) will continue his early progress at heavyweight when facing Alexis Taveras (3-3, 1 KO).

Villar (21-4-4, 16 KOs) turned professional in 2013. Held to a draw three times within his first five years in the paid ranks, he nonetheless notched 14 wins before a first-round stoppage saw him lose his unbeaten record to Jerson Ortiz in September 2018.

He reeled off a five-fight win streak between 2019-22, notably beating former world title challenger Leroy Estrada (TKO6) and faded former WBA strawweight titlist Ryo Miyazaki (TKO 1) in Osaka, Japan. However, Ayumu Hanada scored a seventh-round stoppage victory at his expense on his return to Japan in January 2023.

Since then, the 31-year-old Panamanian has fought a two-fight series with Gerardo Zapata - drawing one, losing the rematch - bested Astuvilca, was outpointed in a 10-round contest by Jairo Noriega and beat Kevin Vivas on points over eight rounds.

Astuvilca (23-3, 5 KOs) by contrast, has been a professional since 2012. He won 21 fights in Peru against limited opposition before travelling to the Dominican Republic and losing a 12-round decision to future 105-pound champion Erick Rosa in July 2021.

The 36-year-old returned to the win column before defeat by Villar in Panama, as well as a one-sided points loss over 10 rounds against future WBO junior flyweight titleholder Rene Santiago last October.