Australian boxing star Liam Wilson is reportedly “likely” to fight for a world title after Mexico’s Oscar Valdez injured himself in training, ruling him out of a mouthwatering championship bout.
Valdez was pencilled in to fight Emanuel Navarrete for the WBO super featherweight title which was made vacant after American superstar Shakur Stevenson failed to make weight for his victory over Robson Conceicao in September.
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As a result of coming in overweight, Stevenson was stripped of his WBC and WBO belts the day before the fight as the undefeated star confirmed he would move up to the lightweight division.
Valdez, ranked second among the WBO’s super featherweight, was all set to face off against Navarrete, the current WBO featherweight champion.
However, Navarrete is eligible to fight for the title in the division above having committed to moving up in weight.
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Yet the Mexican is no longer preparing for Valdez after the latter suffered a training jury, per Boxing Scene.
Valdez was evaluated by a doctor who decided it was best to withdraw from the fight, leaving one side of the card up for grabs.
And Boxing Scene reported it is “likely” to be Wilson, who holds the WBO international super featherweight title and is No. 3 in the rankings, to take Valdez’s place.
Should Wilson be confirmed for the world title bout, it is set to take place on February 3 at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Wilson was initially scheduled to fight British star and the No. 1 ranked WBO super featherweight Archie Sharp on the undercard of Tim Tszyu vs Jermell Charlo in Las Vegas, but a world title shot would take precedence.
The Queenslander is coming off a longer-than-expected spell on the sidelines as a result of a broken left hand sustained in his last fight against Matias Rueda.
Wilson was forced to have a bone graft taken out of his hip for his left hand as a result of the botched recovery process which rendered him unable to walk.
