Back in mid-July, PCI Promociones won the purse bid for their fighter Jon Fernandez to face European junior welterweight champion Pierce O'Leary.

However, the Irishman and his team elected to vacate the title rather than head to Spain for a mandatory defense.

That prompted the EBU to work through their rankings for an opponent to face Fernandez (27-3, 22 KOs), who will now instead box Armando Casamonica (15-1, 3 KOs) in Bilbao, Spain on November 15.

Oscar Zairdain, CEO of PCI Boxing Promotions was excited about getting a deal over the line.

"Jon has been an official challenger for the European title a long time and the way has been a long time coming," he told The Ring.

"First Dalton Smith, now O'Leary, nobody wants to give him the chance. Jon has been a professional boxer for more than 10 years, but has never had the opportunity until now. They've always been afraid of him; he's a big danger."

Fernandez began his professional career campaigning at junior lightweight, where he won his first 17 fights before a career-first defeat against now-reigning WBC champion O'Shaquie Foster via 12-round decision in September 2018.

The 30-year-old notched five wins on home soil before returning stateside, where he was stopped by then-unbeaten lightweight contender Michel Rivera with an eighth-round knockout in July 2021.

Consecutive victories inside the distance saw him win the Spanish junior welterweight title, though Samuel Molina outworked him in a competitive 10-round contest during his first defence in December 2022.

Molina has since won and defended European honours at welterweight, while Jonfer finds himself on a four-fight winning streak, including victories over faded former WBA 130-pound kingpin Jezzrel Corrales (UD10) and Ricardo Nunez (DQ3) on June 14.

Casamonica, by contrast, turned professional in December 2020 and has won IBF Youth regional and Italian titles on his way to prominence.

The 25-year-old holds victories over Patrizio Santini (TKO10) and Gianluca Picardi (UD10) but fell short via 10-round majority decision against WBA's No. 2-ranked lightweight Lucas Bahdi on the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson undercard in November.

He eeked past Charlemagne Metonyekpon during his Roma homecoming on May 30, earning a split decision nod in his first 12-round contest to win the EBU Silver title.