Golden Boy announced Wednesday that Mexico’s Valdez replaced Collazo’s original opponent, Joey Canoy, because visa issues prevented the Filipino contender from traveling to the United States. Collazo will defend his Ring, WBA and WBO 105-pound championships versus Valdez in a 12-round strawweight fight DAZN will stream from Frontwave Arena.

Gustavo Olivieri, president of the WBO, posted on X on Tuesday night that Golden Boy Promotions and Miguel Cotto Promotions had submitted a formal request for another Mexican, Luis Castillo (22-1-1, 14 KOs), to be approved to face Collazo (14-0, 11 KOs). Potential travel issues for Castillo ultimately led to Valdez becoming Collazo’s opponent.

Valdez (15-3-3, 12 KOs) isn’t ranked in the top 15 by the WBA or WBO.

The Monterrey native once challenged for a world title, but he lost by unanimous decision to Erick Rosa in a 12-round fight for the vacant WBA junior flyweight title in December 2024. He has gone 1-1-1 since then and last fought to a six-round majority draw against Gerardo Rodriguez (4-4-1, 1 KO) on May 30 in Guadalupe, Mexico.

Puerto Rico’s Collazo, 29, is ranked No. 9 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list. The southpaw beat Jesus Haro by sixth-round stoppage in his last fight March 14 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Canoy (25-5-2, 15 KOs) is The Ring’s fifth-ranked challenger for his title and is rated No. 5 by the WBO and No. 9 by the WBA. Valdez is not ranked by The Ring.