Litzy Vazquez and Stephanie Piñeiro to Fight for Katie Taylor's Vacant WBC and WBA 140-Pound Titles on December 5
Unbeaten Mexican Litzy Vazquez and Bayamón's Stephanie Piñeiro will meet in Puerto Rico on December 5 for the WBC and WBA super lightweight belts Katie Taylor vacated when she retired in September.
Less than a month after Katie Taylor walked away from boxing with every major belt at 140 pounds, two of the vacated titles have new contenders. Unbeaten Mexican Litzy Vazquez and Puerto Rico's Stephanie Piñeiro will meet on Saturday, December 5, at the Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, with the WBC and WBA super lightweight championships on the line.
The Belts Taylor Left Behind
The fight exists because of what happened at Croke Park in Dublin on September 5. Taylor, then 40, beat the unbeaten IBO champion Flora Pili by unanimous decision, with scores of 100-90, 100-90 and 99-91, in front of a crowd reported at 83,000. The win added the vacant WBC belt to the IBF, WBO and WBA titles she already held, making her undisputed for the third time. Then she retired and gave up all four belts.
That left the division open for the first time in years. The WBC and the WBA have now settled on the same two fighters for their titles, so the winner in Bayamón will start the post-Taylor era holding two of the four major belts. The announcement came during a broadcast of the Lebron vs. Hernandez card, and Fightnews and BoxingScene both reported the matchup on October 1.
Litzy Vazquez: Unbeaten and Already a Titleholder
Vazquez, 24, comes from Veracruz and is 9-0 with six knockouts. She holds the WBA interim super lightweight title, which she won in July in San Juan with a majority decision over Edith Soledad Matthysse, a veteran Argentine former champion. The WBA's own report gave the scores as 98-92 twice for Vazquez and 95-95 on the third card. It described her pressure and body work as what decided the fight against Matthysse's experience. Sources disagree slightly on the date: Fightnews puts the fight on July 11, and the WBA article is dated July 14.
The promotional release quotes Vazquez as saying that the fight "represents all the years of sacrifice, dedication, discipline, and hard work" she has put into the sport. The wording differs slightly between versions of the release.
Stephanie Piñeiro: A Hometown Shot After Wales
Piñeiro, 36, is a southpaw from Bayamón, so the fight will take place in her home city. She is 10-1 with three knockouts and is listed as the WBA's No. 1 contender. Before turning professional in 2019 she had a solid amateur record, including a bronze medal at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla and gold at welterweight at the 2023 edition in San Salvador.
As a professional she won the WBA interim welterweight title in September 2025 by stopping Marie Pier Houle in the third round. In November 2025 she defended it with a unanimous decision over Anahí Ester Sánchez. Her only loss came on April 4, 2026, when she lost a unanimous decision to unified welterweight champion Lauren Price at Cardiff International Arena. For this fight she drops back down to 140 pounds. In the release, Piñeiro said the belts carry extra weight for her because "they once belonged to Katie Taylor."
Fight Night Details
Salita Promotions and Universal Promotions are co-promoting the card, and it will be shown on the Wynn Records Network starting at 8 p.m. Eastern. Dmitriy Salita and Javier Bustillo are named as the promoters behind the event. Their statements focus on high-level competition and on building boxing in Puerto Rico.
The two fighters have taken different routes to the same fight. Vazquez is the younger, unbeaten pressure fighter who is still early in her career. Piñeiro is the more experienced, taller southpaw, coming back from her first defeat and fighting in front of her home crowd. Neither has fought Taylor, and neither is likely to escape comparison with her. Whoever wins on December 5 will hold the first share of the 140-pound titles since Taylor retired.
Sources
- Litzy Vazquez vs Stephanie Piñeiro for Katie Taylor's Vacant WBC/WBA Super Lightweight Titles, Fightnews, 1 October 2026
- Litzy Vazquez faces Stephanie Pineiro in Puerto Rico in December, Fightmag, October 2026
- Litzy Vazquez and Stephanie Piñeiro to fight for WBC & WBA super lightweight world titles (promotional release), Ringside Report, October 2026
- Litzy Vazquez Dethrones Edith Soledad Matthysse to Capture WBA Crown, World Boxing Association, July 2026
- Katie Taylor, Wikipedia, accessed 3 October 2026
- Stephanie Piñeiro, Wikipedia, accessed 3 October 2026
