Oscar Collazo has relinquished his WBO minimumweight world title, ending a championship reign that began in May 2023 and clearing the way for interim champion Ryusei Matsumoto to be elevated to full champion, subject to the WBO’s formal ruling.
The WBO announced the move Monday, the same day a purse bid had been scheduled for Collazo’s mandatory defense against Matsumoto. With Collazo giving up the 105-pound belt, that purse bid was canceled. Matsumoto, who won the interim title by decision in September, is now positioned to become the WBO’s full minimumweight champion without facing Collazo.
The decision also provides another clue about Collazo’s direction. The unbeaten Puerto Rican has already tested the flyweight division, stopping Neider Valdez in two rounds in June to win the WBO International title at 112 pounds. Collazo still holds the WBA and The Ring championships at minimumweight, but his WBO exit makes a permanent move upward increasingly likely. He had been scheduled to challenge Ricardo Sandoval at flyweight in October before a rib injury forced him out. No return fight has been officially announced, leaving Collazo’s next move—and what he does with his remaining 105-pound titles—as the key storyline.