Unified minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo will defend his WBA and WBO titles against Neider Valdez on Saturday night at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California on DAZN — despite Valdez entering the fight having won just two of his last six bouts, according to BoxingScene.
Valdez, 15-3-3 with 12 knockouts, arrived in California on Wednesday as a late replacement after original challenger Joey Canoy could not travel from the Philippines and a subsequent Mexican replacement also fell through. He sits outside the top-15 contender rankings of both sanctioning bodies, and his recent record is difficult to defend as title-shot worthy. He suffered three losses in a 14-month stretch through last year, including a TKO to Erik Badillo in March 2024 and a second-round knockout loss to Victor Sebastian Rojas Gonzalez in May 2025. His most recent win in March came against a 0-1 opponent, and he took a draw less than three weeks ago in Mexico.
One official connected to the bout acknowledged the flimsy credentials while explaining the situation left little choice.
Collazo, 14-0 with 11 knockouts, is an unbeaten unified champion out of Puerto Rico. The title defense was already promoted and sold to DAZN subscribers and ticketholders, leaving the promotion with little option beyond proceeding with an available opponent regardless of his ranking.