WORLD Boxing Organization (WBO) and World Boxing Association (WBA) minimumweight king Oscar Collazo has picked another Filipino as his next opponent.
However, it will not be the highly anticipated world title unification bout with International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight champion Pedro Taduran.
Instead, Collazo will defend his belts against world-ranked Joey Canoy on June 20, 2026, in a Golden Boy Promotions event at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California.
Two Filipinos had been chasing a unification bout with Collazo — Taduran and Melvin Jerusalem.
But after Jerusalem lost his World Boxing Council (WBC) minimumweight title to Siyakholwa Kuse in South Africa, Taduran emerged as the leading candidate for the fight.
That matchup, however, will have to wait as Collazo will take on the veteran
Canoy first.
The 29-year-old Collazo is coming off a sixth-round stoppage victory against Jesus Haro last March 14, 2026, in his third defense of his
twin belts.
Collazo has also built a strong record against Filipino fighters. His first bout against a Filipino came in 2022, when he outclassed former world champion Vic Saludar via unanimous decision.
Collazo then challenged Jerusalem for the WBO strap in 2023 and stopped him in seven rounds to capture
the title.
In the first defense of his WBO belt, Collazo demolished Garen Diagan in six rounds. He followed that up by stopping Filipino foe Jayson Vayson in seven rounds last year.
Meanwhile, Canoy has long been seeking a shot at a major world title.
He has been in several International Boxing Organization (IBO) title fights but has never fought for a world title under any of the four major boxing sanctioning bodies.
Canoy has not lost a fight since his unanimous decision defeat to Nhlanhla Tyirha
in 2021.
During that five-year run, the 32-year-old Canoy has won the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) light-flyweight title and the World Boxing Council (WBC) minimumweight belt.
Canoy is ranked No. 1 by the WBC, No. 5 by the WBO, and No. 9 by the WBA.
Collazo has an immaculate win-loss slate of 14-0 with 11 knockouts, while Canoy is 25-5-2 with 15 knockouts.
/ EKA
