There was plenty of action over the weekend, what with so many cards playing out at once. So we apologize if Puerto Rico’s Oscar Collazo and his enormous achievement never got as much ink as they should have. As fight fans may have already read, Collazo, after only seven professional fights, became the WBO mini flyweight champion on Saturday night when he forced defending champion Melvin Jerusalem to the stool after seven tough rounds in Indio, California.
Collazo (his Christian name given to him by his parents who admired Oscar De La Hoya) now has a record of 7-0(5) and has made boxing history by becoming the fastest Puerto Rican boxer to win the world title. Collazo, 26 and Southpaw, turned pro in February 2020. His progress is truly amazing. Jerusalem of the Philippines won the WBO title in explosive fashion in January this year when he defeated Masataka Taniguchi by KO in the second round and against Collazo made his first defense. Now 20-3(12) 29-year-old Jerusalem has not had an easy time defending her maiden title.
Collazo, born in Puerto Rico but living in Newark, New Jersey, had an illustrious amateur career and may now be on his way to true greatness. If Collazo was a bigger guy, fighting in a heavier weight class, maybe he would already be a big star. Since turning pro, Collazo has been hard to beat as he has had to go through test bouts with Pedro Villegas, Vic Saludar and Yudel Reyes in a WBO eliminator.
Collazo destroyed Jerusalem with his body attack and after some good exchanges where the defending champion had his share of success in this fun fight, the challenger started to really hurt his fighter in the fifth. Collazo wobbled Jerusalem early in the seventh minute, and although he tried to fight in spurts, Jerusalem was pulled back towards the end of the session.
How much more can Collazo achieve? Can Collazo unify belts at 105 pounds? Speaking after his historic win, Collazo said he was planning his first title defense in August.
