"I'm fighting the guy who ducked you!"

A polite smile, some well-intentioned translation that fell on deaf ears and a respectful handshake between former champion and newly-minted titleholder.

That was the gist of conversation, or lack thereof, between former WBA featherweight champion Raymond Ford (17-1-1, 8 KOs) and IBF junior lightweight titlist Eduardo Nunez (28-1, 27 KOs) standing ringside in New York overnight, during a shortened Matchroom bill headlined by Richardson Hitchins' eighth-round stoppage win over George Kambosos Jr.

Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn, who promotes both fighters, was naturally an excited observer at Madison Square Garden Theater and will hope the pair can face-off for real before a world title bout this time next year.

Nunez won the vacant IBF title in Japan on May 27 with a 12-round decision win over Masanori Rikiishi (16-2, 11 KOs) and while Hearn wants an in-house world title showdown, it appears the Los Mochis native will first have a voluntary defence later this year.

As such, both must continue winning if his wish is to come true, starting with Ford on August 16 as he returns to Saudi Arabia against an in-form former titleholder in Anthony Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs).

Cacace-Nunez was ordered by the IBF almost immediately after the Irish southpaw's eighth-round upset stoppage win over Joe Cordina in May 2024, though they agreed a step-aside deal to allow his title defence against Josh Warrington on the Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois undercard in September.

Two months later, the sanctioning body cancelled purse bids as it appeared Cacace-Nunez was agreed between their respective promoters.

Instead Cacace vacated and opted for a more lucrative bout, headlining with another impressive stoppage victory, this time besting former two-time world champion Leigh Wood in his Nottingham hometown last month after vacating the IBF strap.

Ford, who won every round in a commanding decision win over Thomas Mattice on April 12, is currently ranked No. 4 with the WBC and WBA, while No. 5 with the WBO/IBF.

The latter sanctioning body will be refreshed in this month's update, seeing as the top two spots are vacant, Rikiishi just lost and Kazakh southpaw Sultan Zaurbek (20-0, 11 KOs) earned a career-best win over Azinga Fuzile in April.

When asked about the thinking behind his fight in two months' time, Ford told DAZN's Chris Mannix that he didn't want to be idle.

"I said no at first. I didn't want to go back to Saudi Arabia, especially right now when I'm looking forward to fighting the world champion. My main thing was getting in there with Sugar Nunez, they basically told me I'd have to wait so this was pretty much the best option, stay busy."

This month marks a full year since Ford suffered his first professional defeat and dropped the WBA world title after a 12-round split decision defeat by Liverpool's Nick Ball in Saudi capital Riyadh, before belatedly moving up from a weight he'd been making since 2019.

"They told me I'd be waiting 12-16 months. I think it's gonna be easy [against Cacace], I'm gonna knock him out. I watched [Nunez-Rikiishi], he looked good and did what he was supposed to, congratulations to him, hopefully we can make a big fight later on down the line. I've got to handle my business and he does too, hope we can get it on."

Nunez, who had exclusively boxed in his native Mexico before last year, is expected to continue travelling as his stock rises.

Having pitched stoppage victories over established names in Tajikistan, Los Angeles and now Yokohama, Hearn hinted he'd keep showcasing the 27-year-old talent worldwide as a fan-friendly champion in a division without many pathways to unification bouts at present.

O'Shaquie Foster-Stephen Fulton is set for August 16 for the former's 130-pound WBC strap, while WBA titleholder Lamont Roach Jr (25-1-2, 10 KOs) remains at lightweight before his proposed Gervonta Davis rematch expected to headline that bill on pay-per-view.

WBO champion Emanuel Navarrete, who would represent an all-Mexican clash, has this month been ordered into an immediate rematch with Charly Suarez after last month's controversial fight ending was changed to a no contest.