Cesar Mateo Tapia has a new promotional banner backing his career and is competing in a different weight class.

Tapia recently signed a multi-year promotional deal with No Limit Promotions, manager Ryan Rickey confirmed to The Ring Monday morning. Tapia is scheduled to return to the ring on April 24. 

The 25-year-old will be dropping down in weight after fighting most of his career as super middleweight. 

“Cesar will now be fighting at 160 pounds,” Rickey told The Ring. “He will now be based in Saint Petersburg, Florida with coaches Richard Caronongan and Jesse Thompson. 

“Mateo has the ability to compete for a world title in the next 24 months and that is essentially the plan. (The middleweight division) is wide open and he now has the team and stability to finally break through.”

Tapia (16-0, 10 knockouts) was born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico and now resides in Narrabeen, Australia. In his last bout on October 18, Tapia stopped Eric Robles after the fifth round. 

No Limit Promotions has a high-profile fighter on their roster in WBO world junior middleweight titleholder Tim Tszyu, who will face Keith Thurman in a 155-pound fight on March 30, junior featherweight contender Sam Goodman, and former world junior lightweight title challenger Liam Wilson. 

In recent years, No Limit has co-promoted cards in Top Rank and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC). Rickey believes Tapia can become an international star, given the opportunity to fight on No Limit cards and be showcased on different worldwide platforms. 

“(Cesar Mateo) will be featured on Fox Sports in Australia and their larger pay-per-view telecasts,” said Rickey. “Signing to No Limit will give him international and domestic exposure, as No Limit is partnering with PBC and Top Rank in the U.S.”

Tszyu’s younger brother, unbeaten junior middleweight Nikita Tsyu, is also promoted by No Limit and will reportedly fight on an upcoming Top Rank card. 

No word yet on an opponent for Tapia’s April 24 bout. 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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