Today was the purse bid for the European junior welterweight title fight between holder Pierce O'Leary and official challenger Jon Fernandez after the two teams were unable to work out a deal.

Fernandez promoter PCI Promociones secured the fight with a bid of €158.888.00 Euros (£137.95.00 or $185.62.00) beating out Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions, who bid €101.000.

No date was given at the noon purse bid but PCI Promociones did say the fight will take place in Fernandez hometown of Bilbao.

It brings an end to Fernandez long wait for a title opportunity. Previous champion Dalton Smith had been tabbed to face Fernandez to fill the vacancy on September 28, 2024, but an injury to Smith saw the fight bumped to December.

Fernandez didn't want to wait that long and ultimately, Smith met Walid Ouizza, who he stopped in one-round in Nottingham, England in January. The Brit immediately vacated and is poised to face newly minted WBC 140-pound titlist Subriel Matias in Riyadh on November 22.

O'Leary (17-0, 9 knockouts) has been a professional since 2019. The 25-year-old Dublin-born fighter moved through the ranks before claiming a WBC regional title in 2022.

He has since scored wins over Kane Gardner (UD 10), Hovhannes Martirosyan (KO 9), Darragh Foley (UD 10) and, most recently, Liam Dillon (UD 12) for the vacant EBU title in June.

Fernandez (27-3, 22 KOs) has been a professional for a decade. The Spaniard started out at 130 pounds, where he won his first 17 FIGHTS before tasting defeat for the first time against future WBC 130-pound beltholder O'Shaquie Foster (UD 12) in America.

The 29-year-old notched with five wins at home before returning stateside where he was stopped at lightweight by Michel Rivera (KO 8). He again got back in the win column before coming up short in a Spanish junior welterweight title fight with Samuel Molina (UD 12), who has since gone on to become European welterweight champion. Jonfer is on a four-fight win streak which includes a win over faded former WBA 130-pound kingpin Jezzrel Corrales (UD 10) and a win over Ricardo Nunez (DQ 3) last time out.

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at elraincoat@live.co.uk and you can follow him on X @AnsonWainwr1ght.