One-time world title challenger Michael Dasmariñas returns to the Cayman Islands when he battles Eduardo Esquivel of Belize in a featherweight showdown on Sunday.

A native of Camarines Sur, Dasmariñas’ first big break took place in June 2021 when he faced Naoya Inoue for the world bantamweight title in Las Vegas.

Inoue proved too much for the Filipino, who got stopped in the third round.

Since the Inoue debacle, Dasmariñas, nicknamed “Hot ‘N Spicy,” has clawed his way back to being relevant by racking up five wins in his last six bouts.

Now being trained by former national amateur team head coach Ting Ariosa, Dasmariñas has so far ramped up his win-loss-draw record to 35-3-2 with 24 knockouts.

Last year, Dasmariñas beat Jorge Sanchez of Panama also in the Cayman Islands.

Ariosa admits the road back to glory won’t be easy but with the influential American dealmaker Sean Gibbons backing them up, hopes are high that Dasmariñas will get another stab at a world title.

“Boss Sean Gibbons is our hope to make all these materialize,” Ariosa told DAILY TRIBUNE, referring to their plan to land bigger fights down the road.

Esquivel, who is known in the ring as “El Mecanico,” enters the Dasmariñas clash parading a 16-4-1 mark with five knockouts.