The 27 year-old gave up hope of facing Nonito Donaire in a high-profile unification at super-bantamweight as the ‘Filipino Flash’ agreed terms with Guillermo Rigondeaux and now meets the tough Mexican on April 20.
The Home Depot Center in California is the favourite to stage the contest, with Marcos Maidana v Josesito Lopez rumoured to be close to being finalized as the chief support contest.
De Leon, 32, dethroned Jhonny Gonzalez to claim his second career world title last September and was due to meet Jayson Velez until injury ruled the unbeaten youngster out of their scheduled clash.
