WBO to vote on replacing sidelined minimumweight contender Joey Canoy with Luis Castillo
Jun 17, 2026 • 2:54 AM ET
Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy PromotionsThe WBO announced Tuesday it will convene a special meeting Wednesday to rule on a request to replace sidelined minimumweight title challenger Joey Canoy with Luis “Flechita” Castillo.
Canoy 25-5-2 (15 KOs), from the Philippines, is out of Saturday’s title fight in Oceanside, California, due to “the unfortunate inability … to secure the necessary work visa to compete,” WBO President Gustavo Olivieri posted on “X.”
Unified champion Oscar Collazo 14-0 (11 KOs) was due to defend his belt against Canoy, who’s the WBO No. 5-ranked 105lbs contender. In order to fight for the WBO belt, a contender must be ranked within the sanctioning body’s top 15.
So Collazo co-promoter Miguel Cotto has submitted a written request to the WBO’s Ratings and Championship Committee to provide sanction approval and allow Mexico’s Sampson Lewkowicz-promoted Castillo 22-1-1 (14 KOs) to fight for the title at Frontwave Arena.
The Golden Boy Promotions card, to be streamed by DAZN, is loaded with prospects from Oscar De La Hoya’s company.
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
