NSAC refuses to sanction Andrew Cancio vs Manny Rojas

Can’t say I saw this coming.

Former super featherweight champion Andrew Cancio’s planned July 16th bout with Manny Rojas, slated to be “El Chango’s” Top Rank debut, is off. Top Rank’s Brad Goodman tells The Athletic that the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) “refused” to sanction the bout, presumably considering it a mismatch, and that Cancio is presently in search of a new opponent.

Rojas’ (18-4, 5 KO) trainer claims he “would never put [his] guy in a fight he didn’t have a chance to win.”

As Mike Coppinger points out, the reasoning doesn’t particularly hold up, Was Cancio (21-5-2, 16 KO) vs. Rojas a mismatch? In the sense that Cancio would be a sizable favorite, sure, but while Rojas fell well short against Andy Vences, he put up a solid fight against Felix Verdejo in January and Cancio is reeling from a one-sided thrashing at the hands of Rene Alvarado. It’s far from the worst bounce-back fight we’ve seen, and it’s far less execrable than Shakur Stevenson vs. Felix Caraballo.

Let me be clear: I am all for there being greater oversight to prevent dangerous matchups. but this one just doesn’t qualify, especially not by the standards NSAC’s past actions have demonstrated.