Alex Winwood and Joey Canoy will meet in a WBC strawweight title eliminator on June 12 at Hordern Pavillion in Sydney, Australia.

The attractive matchup is a modification of the previously ordered WBC elimination bout.

Winwood initially tried to reach terms with current WBC No. 1 contender Luis Castillo, No. 10 at 105 by The Ring. When that fell through, they instead brokered a deal with the experienced Canoy (20-5-2, 12 KOs).

WBC World #3 Joey Canoy(20-5) is set to square off against WBC World #2 Alex Winwood(4-0) in a WBC Minimumweight World Title Eliminator on June 12 in Sydney, Australia pic.twitter.com/WKfo5LmuZo

— Tony Tolj (@TonyTolj) April 9, 2024

The bout still represents a meeting between the highest rated available WBC strawweights. Australia’s Winwood (4-0, 2 knockouts) is rated No. 2 by the sanctioning body; the Philippines’ Canoy is No. 3.

Winwood represented Australia at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships, and the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He also participated in the 2022 Commonwealth Games before he turned pro later that year.

It has been a brisk and aggressive move from newcomer to contender. The 26-year-old from Mandurah has earned notable wins over Tibo Monabesa and then-unbeaten Reyneris Gutierrez.

Canoy turned professional in 2012. The Filipino southpaw lost his unbeaten record at the hands of Jerry Tomogdan via decision in their January 2015 national title fight. He was subsequently stopped by Jesse Espinas and former two-division champ Hekkie Budler in South Africa.

The setbacks were followed by a July 2017 win over countryman Melvin Jerusalem, The Ring’s No. 3-rated strawweight and the current WBC titlist. The momentum was short-lived; he fell short to former titlist Nkosinathi Joyi and Nhlanhla Tyirha in South Africa.

A five-fight unbeaten streak has followed, including an April 2022 majority draw with countryman ArAr Andales.

The winner of the Winwood-Canoy title eliminator will become the WBC mandatory challenger. Jerusalem (22-3, 12 KOs) dethroned then-unbeaten WBC titlist Yudai Shigeoka via unanimous decision on March 31 in Nagoya, Japan.

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected] and you can follow him on Twitter: @AnsonWainwright

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