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Well-traveled Oscar Collazo plans smart fight in title defense versus Gerardo Zapata
Oscar Collazo is indeed a ‘world’ titleholder.
Whether he is fighting near his home or abroad, Collazo is demonstrating that he is not shy about fighting in foreign lands, and continues to make fans in the process.
Collazo, who is rated No. 2 by The Ring at 105 pounds, will defend his WBO world strawweight title against Gerardo Zapata Friday night at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. The 12-round bout will headline a card that will stream live on DAZN (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).
The 27-year-old Collazo (9-0, 7 knockouts), who resides in Villalba, Puerto Rico, will be attempting to make the third defense of the WBO title, which he won on May 27 of last year, defeating Melvin Jerusalem of the Philippines by knockout.
In his last bout on January 27, Collazo stopped Reyneris Gutierrez in the third round.
Collazo will face a fighter in Zapata (14-1-1, 5 KOs), who fought to a split-decision draw against Azael Villar in his last bout on August 4. The 29-year-old, who is originally from Managua, Nicaragua and now resides in Miami, Florida, lost by disqualification to Rene Santiago in December 2022.
Despite the recent setbacks his opponent has recently suffered, Collazo is ready to face the best version of Zapata.
“I know he’s going to come in strong for this fight,” Collazo told The Ring Tuesday afternoon. “I prepared to the best of my ability and have worked on all facets of my game, which include boxing, countering, staying in the pocket and trading. Most importantly, I’m going to fight a very intelligent fight to put myself in the best place to win.”
Friday’s card will take place in Central New York state. Collazo has fought in different parts of the world, including San Juan, Puerto Rico, Phoenix, the greater Los Angeles area, amongst others.
Collazo believes fighting abroad allows him to make a name for himself, particularly with fight fans. The town of Verona will be no different.
“One has to fight often to make fans for themselves,” said Collazo, who is co-promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Miguel Cotto Promotions. “Fans will support you. I believe fans play an important role in a boxer’s career. I’m grateful to the fans, whether in Puerto Rico or in the United States. It’s great that I have a platform like DAZN, which streams my fights. This allows me to make more fans.”
Despite only having only nine fights as a pro, Collazo has been busy of late. Collazo fought once in 2022, but fought three times in 2023.
Collazo has emphasized being as active as possible, something he believes other world titleholders or contenders in the division do not do enough.
“I think it’s very important and good to defend your world title as often as you can,” said Collazo. “This is another world title defense (for me). I don’t see the other world titleholders at my weight as active as I am. I’m all about action and being active. We keep working and training and getting better. We want to demonstrated champions world hard in Puerto Rico.”
Collazo has wanted to unify the division since becoming a world titleholder. He hopes that can happen later this year or in 2025.
In the meantime, because of his skill-set and having fought as active as he has, Collazo believes he is the best fighter at 105 pounds. If others want to make a case for themselves, Collazo is more than willing to face them to see who is the best.
“I know I’m the No. 1 fighter in the division. I’ve demonstrated that many times. I’m willing to fight anyone, even the top contenders. I know I’ve made an impact in this weight class.”
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]
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