Joan Guzman vs Khabib Allakhverdiev set for November 30 in Florida

Joan Guzman and Khabib Allakhverdiev will meet for the vacant WBA "regular" junior welterweight title on November 30 in Sunrise, Florida, at the BB&T Center, according to Reynaldo Sanchez.

Guzman (33-0-1, 20 KO) has seen his career spiral somewhat over the last three years, starting with a gift draw against Ali Funeka on HBO, in a fight that almost everyone felt Funeka deserved to win, and clearly so. After that, he missed weight by an absurd nine pounds in the rematch with Funeka, winning a non-title bout by split decision, and since then has all but disappeared.

His recent string of wins over Florencio Castellano, Jesus Pabon, and Jorge Pimentel has only turned heads with the WBA and Guzman's apologists, but at 36, he's clearly past his prime, fighting well over his best weight (which was 122 pounds), and is a shadow of the guy that was once a pound-for-pound contender. But this will be the fight where he proves whether or not he's really got something left. His recent opponents just weren't good enough to prove that either way.

Allakhverdiev (17-0, 8 KO) is a solid, 29-year-old southpaw from Russia, with recent wins over Nate Campbell and Kaizer Mabuza, former titleholders at 135 and 140 pounds, respectively.

It's a decent fight, really, and it's a step back up into relevance for Guzman, and for Allakhverdiev, it's his first world title opportunity. The fight will be televised on a low-end channel called Pursuit TV, which streams online at PursuitChannel.com.