Fundora and Collazo Double Down at Fantasy Springs Saturday

Boxing fans live for the megafights like last Saturday’s blockbuster card at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for Canelo vs Crawford. But give me a card with top talent in a smaller venue with enthusiastic local fans. Golden Boy Boxing’s championship doubleheader this Saturday at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio is just the ticket.

Unified WBA/WBO Minimumweight and Ring Magazine champion Oscar “El Pupilo” Collazo of Puerto Rico and undisputed, unified flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora of Coachella, California, will defend their respective titles, and fans will pack the venue to see these fan-friendly fighters.

The card starts with preliminary fights at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on DAZN Boxing.

Maxmium Action At Minimumweight: Collazo vs Vayson

Oscar Collazo is highly motivated to defend his titles on the road to undisputed status against Jayson Vayson. Photo: Cris Esqueda, Golden Boy Boxing

Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs) will make his sixth title defense against Filipino fighter Jayson Vayson (14-1-1, 8 KOs), who gets his first title shot. Both men have a two-fight knockout streak.

It’s a steep challenge for Vayson, who puts himself in the path of a man on a mission. Collazo badly wants to unify the division and become Puerto Rico’s first four-belt male undisputed champion.

It’s hard to believe this hasn’t been done by greats like Miguel Cotto, Wilfred Benítez, Wilfredo Gómez, Tito Trinidad, Héctor Camacho, or Ivan Calderon. The only undisputed champion from Puerto Rico is Amanda Serrano.

“I’m telling you now today, in 2026, I’m gonna be the first undisputed champion, male champion in Puerto Rico,” said Collazo. “I’m knocking people out, making people see me, and making people notice me.”

This makes Collazo highly motivated. He’s got to get past Vayson to take his shot at IBF champion Pedro Taduran, and WBC champ Melvin Jerusalem, who Collazo beat for the WBO belt in May 2023. Collazo then scored a seventh-round TKO in November 2024 over Knockout CP Freshmart for the WBA belt.

“He comes with a lot of hunger. He comes to fight. And that’s what we gotta do. We gotta fight and give a good bout to the people watching,” said Collazo of Vayson.

“I came here to show what I have learned being a true warrior of the Filipinos,” said Vayson. “I will show the best that I have.”

Collazo has impressive power. Few 105-pound men can generate the kind of force Collazo uses to take down his opponents. He throws in combination with excellent punch variety.

Vayson also has enough power to stop opponents, often with body shots. But Vayson’s best won’t be enough. He lacks the resume and high-level experience of Collazo, even after just 12 pro fights. He is moving down for the title opportunity after fighting mainly at light flyweight. He will give a solid effort, but it’s all the better for the champion Collazo to shine in front of the High Desert fans.

Gabriela Fundora Enjoys Home Game Saturday

Gabriela Fundora is the 2024 Female Fighter of the Year, seen hanging out with the goats at her Coachella Valley ranch family home. Photo: Golden Boy Boxing

Gabriela “Sweet Poison” Fundora (16-0, 8 KOs) and Alexas “Iron Lady” Kubicki of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (13-1, 2 KOs) will defend her belts in the co-main event for the undisputed flyweight championship.

Both women made weight Friday, Fundora at 110.2 pounds, Kubicki at 110.6 pounds. Kubicki stepped in with a week’s notice after Ayelén “Piru” Granadino of Buenos Aires could not secure a visa. Although Kubicki may not be familiar to American fans, she is the former WBC Junior Flyweight champion and is currently ranked eighth in the WBA female flyweight world rankings.

Kubicki said at this week’s news conference she stays in the gym and is always prepared. She is seizing her moment and calling her shot with utmost confidence.

Alexas Kubicki came to Indio wearing a custom vest with photos of herself in action. Photo: Cris Esqueda, Golden Boy Boxing

“It’s a tremendous opportunity. Look, she’s a world champion. She’s undisputed, but I’m gonna be the next and the youngest undisputed flyaway champion,” said Kubicki, who would break Fundora’s record as the youngest undisputed champion in boxing history at age 22 by three months.

Fundora’s reaction? “Talk is cheap, and I like to show action,” said Fundora with a steely look. “My nickname is ‘Sweet Poison’ for a reason. So yeah, I’ll be sweet outside the ring, but when it comes Saturday, that’s when the poison will come.”

Asked for a prediction, Fundora said, “When you guys see Fundora, what usually happens? Knockouts. So of course, Saturday comes, you’re going to see another one.” Fundora has four knockouts in her last five bouts.

Give it to Kubicki. Her confidence is impressive. “I’m a special fighter. She’s gonna be surprised when she steps in the ring with me, because she has not fought anyone like me. So, she’s going into deep waters with me.

“I’ve been training the whole time. I’m never out of the ring, out of the gym. I’m nonstop, I’m a machine. I’m gonna keep coming, and I’m taking all those belts. She’s gonna have to pay for my baggage, the luggage to fly back to Edmonton,” said Kubicki.

Fundora brushed it off with a champion’s matter-of-fact grace. “I welcome it. That’s fine, everybody. That’s why I’m a champion. That’s why my faces are all on those bugs. My name’s on those bugs. It’s gonna stay that way. It’s gonna stay that way.”

“Not Saturday!” insisted Kubicki, a former ice hockey player who took up boxing to better her skills.

“And again, talk is cheap. Put the work in on Saturday, and we’ll see. We’ll see who has a better team on Saturday. I hope she comes in her with one thousand percent. But I’m going to come in with a million.”

Make that one million, five thousand, because every fan packing the sold-out Fantasy Springs Event Center will be cheering on the Coachella Valley’s first and only undisputed champion.

Like her brother, Fundora towers over her opponents at 5-foot-8 with a 67-inch reach. But Kubicki comes as close as any recent opponent at 5-foot-6. She is willing to fight inside and scrap.

But against Fundora, it’s a recipe for disaster, as Fundora’s punch volume, selection, and power are unmatched. Kubicki only has two knockouts, and doesn’t have the power to keep Fundora off her. She’ll do her best, and that’s all fans can ask for.

Golden Boy Prospects Featured On Undercard

Top Golden Boy prospects (L to R) Grant Flores, Ruslan Abdullaev, and Joel Iriarte are ready to shine on Saturday. Photo: Cris Esqueda, Golden Boy Boxing

On the undercard, several Golden Boy prospects will sharpen their skills and stay busy.

Welterweight Joel Iriarte of Bakersfield, California (8-0, 7 KOs) will face Eduardo Hernandez of Tijuana (8-4, 5 KOs) in a six-round fight. The 22-year-old Iriarte is creating buzz among Southern California fight fans, and he hopes to keep being matched against tougher opposition. He has only gone the distance once and never needed more than two rounds for all his knockout wins.

Iriarte runs his own gym, and in between training, he works with special needs kids there. “I feel like someone from a small town that’s able to, you know, just be a role model for those kids … just to be a light in their life, I feel like that’s something cool, and I feel like it gives me purpose in life. So that’s why I continue to do it.”

Super lightweight Ruslan Abdullaev of Uzbekistan (2-0, 1 KO) will fight eight rounds in just his third pro fight against Grimardi Machuca of Venezuela (17-2, 14 KOs).

Abdullaev calls the Coachella Valley home along with his fellow Uzbek pros trained by Joel Diaz in Indio, including Murodjon Ahkmadaliev, Israel Madrimov, and Bektimir Melikuziev. “I achieved everything as an amateur, and I’m here to take it all as a professional,” said Abdullaev, adding that after he becomes a boxing champion, he’ll take on mixed martial arts.

Abdullaev has good power in both hands. Diaz says he’s among the strongest of his Uzbek pros.

Hometown favorite Grant Flores of Coachella (11-0, 9 KOs) will put on a show for his fans in an eight-round super welterweight bout against Courtney Pennington of Brooklyn (17-9-3, 7 KOs). Flores is back after a second round TKO win in July when his opponent could not continue due to a hand injury.

“I’m so confident in my abilities because of how much work I put in since I was seven years old,” said a smiling Flores this week. “Man, all the nosebleeds, all the crying in the restroom, all the losing, all the wins in the amateurs, I feel like I’m here to stay. I just got to show the world what I can do, and I just got to go out there and show it.”

Before the Bell Lineup in Indio

In preliminary action, Olympian Gael “El Terror” Cabrera of Sonora, Mexico (9-0, 6 KOs) faces Judy “Stingray” Flores of General Santos City, Philippines (14-4, 8 KOs) in an eight-round super bantamweight fight.

Javid Ramirez of Jalisco, Mexico (14-0, 7 KOs) will take on Brian Arregui of Argentina (11-6, 7 KOs) in a six-round middleweight bout.

Opening the night, flyweight Adriana Pineiro of Uruguay(8-0, 1 KO) will step into an eight-round fight against Gloria Munguilla of Los Angeles (8-1).