Photo by Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images

After what seemed to be an endless succession of postponements and delays, cruiserweight Victor Ramirez (22-2, 17 knockouts) will have the golden opportunity to validate his contention credentials on his own home turf against RING champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez (29-1, 14 KOs) of Cuba, on Oct. 2 in Villa La Nata, in the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Hernandez is coming off a one-year, injury-induced layoff, which created the opportunity for Ramirez to face Ola Afolabi in his last outing back in April. Hernandez, who also holds the IBF title, was then mandated to face Ramirez as soon as he was cleared to fight again. The smooth-boxing southpaw will now travel to Argentina to clash with the crude, free-swinging Ramirez in an intriguing match-up.

Rumor has it that the repeated delays were caused by Ramirez’s chief sponsor, presidential candidate Daniel Scioli, who requested that the fight be carried out as near as possible to the impending Oct. 25 national election, in order to make the most out of the flamboyant orange ring canvas bearing his name in big black letters.

This announcement leaves former WBO two-division titlist Omar Narvaez momentarily out of the picture, since he had already zeroed in on that same date for his return to the ring after his heartbreaking loss to Naoya Inoue in Japan last December. He is now scheduled to face Diego Luis Pichardo Liriano in Narvaez’s hometown of Trelew. However, the date of the fight is now being delayed until further notice due to a minor hand injury sustained by the former two-division titleholder.

Former WBA flyweight titlist Juan Carlos Reveco had also hoped to finally make his own comeback bout after losing his title to Kazuto Ioka in April, with several names being thrown around as possible candidates for this bout. But Reveco’s bout could now take place toward the end of the year as the search for a high-profile opponent continues.

Ruiz-Vidondo in the works

Another important fight awaiting a final confirmation will pit Argentine heavyweight champion Matias Vidondo facing Luis “Real King Kong” Ruiz.

The contract currently making its way through the promoters’ fax machines calls for a 10-round bout but there is a chance that two more rounds could be agreed upon to accommodate the requirements of a dubious “vacant interim strap.”

If signed, the fight will take place as part of the Gennady Golovkin-David Lemieux undercard at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Oct. 17.

Diego Morilla, a bilingual boxing writer since 1995, is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He served as boxing writer for ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com, and is now a regular contributor to RingTV.com and HBO.com, as well as the resident boxing writer for XNSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @MorillaBoxing.