Liam Wilson will take another step back towards the world title when he faces Oscar Valdez in Glendale, Arizona on March 29.
An official agreement has yet to be reached, but this headline could confirm that the match is almost over.
For Wilson, it is a return to the city where his world championship dreams came to a screeching halt last February with a controversial defeat to Emanuel Navarrete.
The 27-year-old Queenslander bounced back with wins over Carlos Alanis and Jackson England to close out 2023 and return to contention for the WBO super-featherweight title.
Valdez, 33, is a former WBC super featherweight world champion and owns a 31-2 record with 23 knockouts.
The Mexican is known for his aggressive fighting style and willingness to trade, and his only two losses have come in high-profile world title fights.
He recently dropped a one-sided decision to Navarrete, who was in much better shape than when he fought Wilson.
In April 2022, Valdez dropped another decision to Shakur Stevenson for the WBC and WBO super featherweight belts.
Wilson's loss to Navarrete was voted one of the best fights of 2023, although the Caboolture fighter was short-changed when he dropped “Vaquero” in the fourth round and the referee allowed Navarrete to count too long.
The Mexican continued to stop Wilson in the ninth.
Wilson was forced to dig deep to beat England in one of the toughest battles of his career in December.
Immediately after the fight, he called for a local bout with George Kambosos at lightweight, but first he will make another run for the WBO super featherweight title.
