Canoy loses shot at world title due to visa issues

Joey Canoy has lost his shot at becoming a unified champion after his supposed bout against minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo was cancelled due to visa issues. The 32-year-old General Santos native was supposed to challenge Collazo’s unified WBA, WBO and the Ring minimumweight straps on Sunday, June 20, at the Frontwave Arena in California but was struck out of the picture after failing to get his visa in time for the bout. “Sa nag aabang na laban ko ngayon June 20. Kanselado po mga ka idol. Laban lang mga ka idol hindi mahinaan ng loob.. May plano si God,” said Canoy on a Facebook post. It was a huge dampener for Canoy who finally earned his first title shot after going on an eight-fight win streak. It was not Canoy’s first try fighting overseas, having fought in South Africa and Japan although stricter visa issues in the US became the biggest hurdle for the fight to come to fruition. Canoy is sporting a 25-5-2 record while Collazo is undefeated through 14 bouts. Fighting in Canoy’s place is Mexican Neider Valdez Aguilar.