In December, Panya Pradabsri became a two-weight world champion when edging past Carlos Canizales by 12-round majority decision.

Many felt the visitor deserved the nod and the WBC mandated an immediate rematch less than a month later. Initially the fight was headed to Thailand before eventually landing in Caracas, Venezuela and will take place on Friday.

Pradabsri, The Ring's No. 9-rated junior flyweight, welcomes locking horns with his divisional rival for a second time.

"I'm excited to make my first title defense against Canizales," the 34-year-old Bangkok resident told The Ring through Kunkawee Naiyabootr of Petchyindee Boxing. "I know he's a tough opponent, but I'm ready to prove myself once again."

Having shared a ring with Canizales eight months ago, Pradabsri (44-2, 27 KOs) is well versed in what to expect.

"From our previous fight, I learned about his movement and ability to throw combinations continuously," he explained. "It gave me a better understanding of his style and how to prepare for him."

While Pradabsri had home advantage in their first meeting, this time he's had to travel nearly 40 hours from Bangkok to Istanbul, Turkey, where they had a 13-hour layover before a mammoth 17-hour flight after which he arrived in Venezuela on July 24.

"To me, it doesn't matter where the fight takes place," he said. "If I perform well and do what I need to do, I believe I deserve the win—no matter the location."

Canizales (27-3-1, 19 KO), The Ring's No. 4-rated contender at 108-pounds, first caught the eye when departing his homeland to face WBA titleholder Ryoichi Taguchi in what was ultimately a 12-round split draw in December 2016.

He returned home to claim three victories before travelling overseas again and making a name for himself in Asia with 12-round decision wins over Reiya Konisha and Sho Kimura, sandwiched between a final round stoppage over Chinese Olympian Bin Lu on the Manny Pacquiao-Lucas Matthyse undercard in July 2018.

In his first appearance after the coronavirus pandemic, the 32-year-old surprisingly suffered a sixth-round stoppage defeat by unheralded Esteban Bermudez before responding with four wins, including a fourth-round knockout win over faded former WBC champion Ganigan Lopez and a WBA title eliminator against Daniel Matellon.

Despite giving pound-for-pound star Kenshiro Teraji all he could handle over 12 rounds, he ultimately lost a 12-round majority decision in their RING, WBA/WBC title matchup. Since then, the Venezuelan returned with a MD12 victory himself on home soil before the most recent contentious loss by Pradabsri.