Spanish contender Jon Fernandez will challenge for the vacant European junior welterweight title against Italy’s Armando Casamonica on November 22 in Bilbao, Spain. The opportunity came after former champion Pierce O’Leary vacated the belt rather than travel to Spain for his mandatory defense, paving the way for Fernandez’s long-awaited title shot under PCI Promociones.
“Jon has been an official challenger for the European title a long time and the way has been a long time coming,” said PCI CEO Oscar Zairdain. “First Dalton Smith, now O’Leary - nobody wants to give him the chance. Jon has been a professional boxer for more than 10 years, but has never had the opportunity until now. They’ve always been afraid of him; he’s a big danger.”
Fernandez began his career at junior lightweight, winning 17 straight before losing to now-WBC champion O’Shaquie Foster in 2018. After a brief U.S. campaign, where he was stopped by Michel Rivera in 2021, Fernandez rebounded with a strong domestic run, claiming the Spanish 140-pound title and reeling off four consecutive wins. His recent victories include decisions over former WBA champion Jezzrel Corrales and Ricardo Nunez, keeping him in contention for continental honors.
Casamonica has risen quickly since turning professional in 2020, capturing IBF Youth and Italian titles along the way. The 25-year-old owns wins over Patrizio Santini and Gianluca Picardi, and narrowly lost a majority decision to WBA-ranked lightweight Lucas Bahdi on the Jake Paul–Mike Tyson undercard last November. He rebounded with a split-decision victory over Charlemagne Metonyekpon in May, earning the EBU Silver belt and positioning himself for this title opportunity.
Fight card:
▪️Jon Fernandez vs. Armando Casamonica, 12 rounds, for the vacant EBU European super lightweight title
▪️Jokin Garcia vs. Antonio Collado, 10 rounds, for the Spanish lightweight title
▪️Jon Miguez vs. Christian Danilo Guido, 6 rounds, welterweight
▪️Andres Abrego vs. Bassam Laaoula, 4 rounds, super lightweight
