King Collazo survives early scare to defeat Zapata
THE RESULT: Oscar Collazo defeated Gerardo Zapata by unanimous decision. Boxing at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, Collazo successfully defended his WBO title at 105 pounds. The judges awarded the winner scores of 117-110 and a couple of 119-109 verdicts.
KEY MOMENTS: Things were moving smoothly for Collazo before he stepped back unprotected in round two and was badly stunned by a right hand. Zapata rag-dolled him around the ring, winging in body shots for the rest of the session. It was a brief lapse in Collazo’s control.
RECORDS: Collazo improves to 10-0 (7 KOs), while Gerardo Zapata drops to 14-2-1 (5 KOs).
TALKING POINTS: Taking place at the Turning Stone as part of Hall-of-Fame weekend and Puerto Rican parade celebrations, exciting Collazo was making the third defence of his WBO title.
Boxing’s mini-men are often an acquired boxing taste and the financial rewards aren’t quite as lucrative down at strawweight.
Collazo bucks that trend and can punch hard despite his size. Zapata can also dig a bit and more than played his part across 12 solid sessions.
QUOTABLE: “He hit me with a good shot, he landed it well, I reacted good, I changed the game plan to boxing,” Collazo explained about the second-round blip.
“I want any champion: CP, Shigeoka, Jerusalem, we can run it back. We’re gonna stay in training camp, rest a little bit and go stronger.”
Collazo boxed in front of one of his mentors, Puerto Rican legend Ivan Calderon, who was ringside ahead of his IBHOF induction.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: Dealing with contenders has proven fruitful for Collazo, and he will no doubt look at the other champions for unification bouts.
As the retaining champion mentioned in his post-fight interview, Japan’s Ginjiro Shigeoka is the IBF king, while Collazo has already beaten WBC title holder Melvin Jerusalem.
Long-reigning WBA champion Thammanoon Niyomtrong of Thailand, aka Knockout CP Freshmart, hasn’t fought in almost two years. He is due to defend his belt against Olympic gold medallist Hasanboy Dusmatov, but the purse bids and financial negotiations for that bout have been rumbling on for a while.
SUPPORTING CAST: DAZN broadcast an undercard filled with first-round finishes.
Eric Tudor landed a body shot that ended Roddricus Livsey’s evening in one session.
After being hurt himself, David Stevens brutally ended a rough-and-tumble opener against Sergio Lopez.
Mykquan Williams finished off Willmank Canonico, also in the opening round.
