Vasiliy Lomachenko's upcoming lightweight world title challenge could have ramifications for the WBO super featherweight title.
Lomachenko, who currently holds the WBO title, will be fighting Jorge Linares for the WBA title on May 12 in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN at Madison Square Garden. Should Lomachenko win the WBA title, he could elect to keep the WBA lightweight title and then vacate the WBO super featherweight title. As such, there are negotiations in place to have Christopher Diaz and Masayuki Ito, the WBO's top two-ranked super featherweights, fight for what could be the vacant title according to TheGondol.com.
Negotiations have not gone far as both sides are awaiting the result of the May 12 lightweight title fight and if Lomachenko decides to return to super featherweight or not. Felix Zabala, Diaz's promoter confirmed the plans and that there are a number of different cities in play to host the fight such as Miami, Tampa and Orlando. A date for the fight has not been decided.
"Of course we have to first wait and see what happens this Saturday. We have to wait for Lomachenko to win the [lightweight] title and then decide to stay at 135 pounds," Zabala said.
Diaz, an undefeated Puerto Rican who holds the WBO-NABO title, is coming off a win a stoppage win, his fourth straight, over Braulio Rodriguez. Ito is a former OPBF champion and is also coming off a stoppage win earlier this year, a ninth-round TKO win over Vergil Puton back in March.
