Philippine boxing is looking for its next minimumweight world champion. Joey Canoy is ready to answer the call.
The General Santos City native gets his first shot at a genuine world title on June 20 in California (June 21, Philippine time), challenging unified WBA-WBO minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo of Puerto Rico in a fight that could give the Philippines two active champions in the 105-pound division simultaneously. WBC minimumweight titlist Pedro Taduran—who has been angling for his own fight with Collazo—would have a fellow Filipino to share the divisional spotlight with if Canoy delivers.
It is a tantalising prospect. And at 32 years old, with 14 years of professional boxing behind him, Joey Canoy knows this may be his only shot at making it real.
Joey Canoy’s Long Road to a World Title
Canoy, nicknamed “Babyface,” has been in title fights before—just not the kind that matter most. Between 2017 and 2019, he fought three times for the fringe International Boxing Organization crown and came away with nothing to show for it. He was stopped in seven rounds by South African Hekkie Budler in a 2017 IBO light flyweight bid. He fought Simpiwe Konkco for the IBO minimumweight title in 2018 and got a No Contest after four rounds—knocking Konkco down in the second before an accidental clash of heads ended the night. Konkco wisely declined a rematch. In December 2019, superb tactician Nkosinathi Joyi completely outclassed him over 12 rounds in South Africa.
Three cracks at secondary titles. Nothing.
But Canoy has been rolling since. He has won his last eight fights, including a seventh-round knockout of Kenichi Horikawa in December 2022 for the Orient Pacific Boxing Federation light flyweight title and a victory over Minh Phat Sam in April 2025 to claim the WBC International minimumweight crown. The wins have been stepping stones. June 20 is the destination.
The Man Across the Ring
Collazo is a different proposition from anything Joey Canoy has faced before. The southpaw Puerto Rican is undefeated at 14-0 with 11 knockouts, widely regarded as one of the best fighters in the lower weight divisions, and has unified two major titles in the 105-pound class.
He stopped then-WBC champion Melvin “Gringo” Jerusalem—whose dethroning last May 16 is precisely what opened the door for Canoy’s opportunity—to win the WBO belt in May 2023, then added the WBA version by stopping Thai knockout artist CP Freshmart in seven rounds in November 2024. Three successful defenses since unification, all by stoppage. He was supposed to face Jerusalem in a rematch earlier this year before the fight fell apart over promotional issues. He settled for Jesus Haro and knocked him out inside six rounds.
Collazo is clearly the smart money. But he has shown vulnerabilities. Filipino challenger Jayson Vayson rocked him with body shots in the fourth round last September and appeared to be holding his own before his corner inexplicably threw in the towel in the seventh. The opening exists. A Filipino has already come close to exploiting it.
Why Joey Canoy Can Win
Joey Canoy is an aggressive pressure fighter—the kind who does not wait for the fight to come to him. He pushes forward, engages willingly, and hits with genuine power. His left uppercut is his signature weapon; it was the punch that put Horikawa flat on the canvas in 2022. Canoy has been stopped only twice in his career, which means he can take a shot, and his willingness to trade punches could make this a war rather than a chess match—and wars tend to level the playing field between a champion and a challenger.
If Collazo looks vulnerable on the inside and can be hurt to the body—as Vayson demonstrated—then Canoy’s high-octane style and punching power give him a genuine path to victory.
What It Would Mean
Taduran has been calling for a fight with Collazo to unify the minimumweight division, but that fight has not materialised. A Joey Canoy victory on June 20 would change the entire landscape—giving the Philippines two active champions in the same weight class, forcing a unification conversation that includes two Filipinos, and potentially setting up a dream scenario for Philippine boxing at 105 pounds.
Joey Canoy has been pushing leather since December 2012. Fourteen years of professional boxing, three near-misses at secondary titles, and a lot of patience—and he is finally standing at the door of a genuine world championship.
