the boxcino win increased thompson's ranking in the wbo. when the wbo title was stripped from demetrius andrade, liam smith was to fight michel soro for the vacant title. soro pulled out of the fight for the vacant title so thompson was awarded the title shot by virtue of being the next highest available fighter. the fight took place october 10, 2015 on the undercard of the andy lee-billy joe saunders title fight, with thompson losing by knockout.