Luis Nunez is stepping out of the frying pan and back into the fire.

The 25-year-old featherweight from the Dominican Republic returns to the ring on Wednesday night after an 18-month layoff to face Mexico’s Leonardo Baez at the ProBox TV Events Center in Plant City, Florida, on "Wednesday Night Fights." For Nunez, who has been sidelined for more than a year, this isn’t a soft landing – it’s a leap straight back into the thick of things, exactly as he wants it.

“He didn't want to just any kind of gimme layup fight,” said Bob Santos, Nunez’s trainer told BoxingScene. “He wants challenges, and on ProBox, there’s no such thing as an easy fight.”

Nunez, unbeaten at 19-0 (13 KOs), last fought on April 8, 2023, defeating then-unbeaten Christian Olivo Barreda by unanimous decision. Baez, 29, is coming off a longer layoff of three years, but his credentials remain solid. With a record of 21-5 (12 KOs), Baez went the distance with titleholder Rey Vargas in his last fight – proof, Santos said, that he’s no easy opponent.

“Anybody who can go the distance with Rey Vargas is pretty solid,” Santos said. “This guy’s not coming to lay down for anybody. He doesn’t give a shit about what Nunez’s pedigree was or whether he won the Pan-Am Games – that doesn’t mean shit to him. I know what kind of guy he is, but we’ll be prepared, and I feel confident we’ll be victorious.”

Nunez’s return also provides a chance to build on the goodwill he’s earned behind the scenes. Santos credits Nunez with opening the door for Jeison Rosario, the former unified junior middleweight champion, who has found new life under Santos’ guidance. Rosario fought Jarrett Hurd to a draw earlier this year and parlayed that into a February 1 fight against Jesus Ramos Jnr on the David Benavidez-David Morrell undercard – all thanks to Nunez’s recommendation.

For Nunez, Wednesday night is about getting back to business and staking his claim in a stacked featherweight division. Santos is already looking ahead, making it clear the team is eyeing titleholders.

“Think about this: after a year-and-a-half off, all these other guys would have been looking for little buttercup tune-up fights,” Santos said. “You know that, like they would look for soft opposition – not him. We're going into ProBox TV, baby. We don't play around.”

“After this, I’ll put him in with anybody,” Santos added. “Any of the champions at 126, any of them.”