WBO titles vacated and Boxing Challenge

After what looked to be a decent two-card week for ESPN, the company was bitten with both of their main events going by the wayside as Jamel Herring's WBO junior lightweight defense against Jonathan Oquendo was canceled with some controversy on Tuesday and Thursday's main event was lost when Mark John Yap missed the weight for his fight with veteran featherweight contender Miguel Marriaga by almost NINE pounds.

The only fight that remains for the challenge is former Wunderkind Felix Verdejo attempting to continue his comeback against undefeated Will Madera in a lightweight tilt.
The former Olympian Verdejo was once thought of as a future star before injuries and an indifference to training moved him from a mandatory title shot against then-WBO lightweight champion Terry Flanagan to one fight in twenty-two months before his shocking loss to Antonio Lozada in March 2018.
Verdejo has won his three fights since but has yet to regain the sizzle that saw him ranked as arguably the top prospect in boxing at the time.
The 15-0-3 Madera does hold an upset win over then-undefeated Thomas Mattice in February 2019, which was the only time that I remember seeing Madera.

In other boxing news, two WBO champions have decided to vacate their titles to move up to a new division and with the WBO's rule that states that champions that vacate their title will become the top contender in their new division, could receive a title shot before the end of 2020 or certainly early 2021.

Featherweight champion Shakur Stevenson turned in his featherweight title after failing to come to an agreement with IBF champion Josh Warrington for a unification fight and with few other money fights in the division as the other two champions (WBA and WBC champions Leo Santa Cruz and Gary Russell) fight with the PBC.
Stevenson will likely receive a shot at WBO junior lightweight champion Jamel Herring either in the fall or early 2021 in a fight that Stevenson will likely be a strong favorite.

With Stevenson's championship now available, WBO junior featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete decided to leave his division and vacated his championship.
Navarrete will likely fight for the title previously owned by Stevenson against either number one contender Michael Conlan or Jessie Magdaleno, who is 4th in the WBO and 1st in the WBC.
Both fighters are promoted by Top Rank, so either fight should be signed fairly easily.
Magdaleno, a former champion at 122 pounds as Navarrete had been, has more experience than Conlan, who despite holding strong status as a prospect, has fought no one of note and is undeserving of his top-rating at this time.
Top Rank is trying to build Conlan (of Ireland) into a gate attraction and I'm not sure which is a better idea for him- rushing him into a title fight that he would likely be an underdog or passing on the challenge, raise his competition a bit and then challenge the winner sometime next year.
There are good reasons to travel either path for Conlan, so it'll be interesting to see which path is chosen.

In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 68-60.

Lightweights 10 Rds
Felix Verdejo vs Will Madera
Both: Verdejo Unanimous Decision