The winner of Oscar Valdez vs. Liam Wilson, set to occur tomorrow on Friday, March 29th, will become the WBO interim super featherweight champion per the WBO’s announcement of making the title available for their match. The match between the two―which will headline a Top Rank card at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona―had already been set for twelve rounds but had nothing significant at stake until now.
The inclusion of the vacant WBO interim super featherweight title now gives the main event between Mexican former world champion Oscar Valdez (31-2, 23 KO’s) and Australian contender Liam Wilson (13-2, 7 KO’s) a new dimension, with their bout previously not having been designated to be an elimination match or any other match of import.
The winner may also gain the opportunity to face the holder of the WBO super featherweight belt, Mexican champion Emmanuel Navarrete (38-1-1, 31 KO’s), who defeated them both last year―and managed to stop Wilson in February before defeating Valdez months later in August by unanimous decision (UD), both amidst title defenses by Navarrete.
However, that opportunity is contingent on Navarrete’s upcoming match against Ukrainian fighter Denys Berinchyk (18-0, 9 KO’s) who have been confirmed for their own match at lightweight over the now-vacant WBO lightweight title. Their title bout is set set for May 18th, and depending on whether Navarrete wins and decides to return to super featherweight, the winner of Valdez-Wilson will also become the mandatory challenger to Navarrete’s WBO 130 lbs title.
If Navarrete loses to Berinchyk, his WBO super featherweight title might be vacated by the WBO itself, and handed to the winner of Valdez-Wilson to promote them to full champion. Additionally, the winner may also be promoted even in case of a Navarrete win over Berinchyk, depending on whether Navarrete chooses to stay at lightweight.
Regardless of how the result of Navarrete’s upcoming match in May proceeds, the Valdez-Wilson has gone up several times in standing and reputation as an interim world title is now put on the line. Even more intriguing, a potential future rematch against Navarrete lurks in the corner, setting up a battle that will pit Navarrete against a foe he has already beaten, but will now be more experienced and perhaps more capable of defeating him the next time around.
