Former bantamweight titlist Nordine Oubaali will end a near two-year retirement to return to boxing against Ricardo Martinez, in a scheduled 8-rounder, at Salle Gayant, Douai, in the north of France on Saturday.

Oubaali, who held the WBC 118-pound title for over two years and made two successful defenses before being stopped by Nonito Donaire (KO 4), wants to dip his toe back into the water before deciding if he wants to go forward with his career again.

“I come back to the ring to above all to have fun, find my fans here in my district where I live,” Oubaali (17-1, 12 knockouts) told The Ring. “The desire of my come back is because I’m enjoying training again. That’s why I’m back in the ring.”

The 36-year-old southpaw hopes that, all being well, it will lead to another title run at 118 pounds.

“This fight will allow me to know where I am and will tell me if I want to continue my career,” he said. “If everything goes well and the desire is still there, my plan is to go back to fighting and to become world champion again.”

Oubaali is fighting at a modest level. However if he can win and look impressive, he is capable of getting back into the title picture. The bantamweight division opened up after Naoya Inoue vacated the undisputed championship. So far, only the WBA vacancy has been filed by Takuma Inoue, over whom Oubaali owns a win.

Martinez (9-9, 6 KOs) is a Spanish-based Nicaraguan-born fighter. He has notably shared a ring in losing efforts with former flyweight title challenger Angel Moreno (L UD 6) and former European junior featherweight title challenger Florian Montels (L UD 8).

MORE ON RINGTV:

Segolene Lefebvre defends her belt against Debora Dionicius, with Nordine Oubaali in the undercard – The Ring (ringtv.com)

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