Hall of Fame Weekend Fight Card: Collazo Survives Scare

Fighters on the Golden Boy Boxing fight card during the International Boxing Hall of Fame induction weekend at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York must have been in a hurry to get to the afterparty.

Every fight on the DAZN Boxing broadcast undercard ended in a knockout, some more quickly than others. Fans in the venue didn’t mind. They enjoyed the action and had time to meet some of the famous faces in the audience, including IBHOF Class of 2024 members Michael Moorer and Ricky Hatton.

Collazo Survives Scare to Defend Title

Oscar Collazo barely avoided disaster to glide to a decision win over Gerardo Zapata in Verona, NY. Photo: Cris Esqueda, Golden Boy Boxing

As his idols Miguel Cotto and Ivan Calderon watched from the audience, WBO World Minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo of Villaba, Puerto Rico (10-0, 7 KOs) survived a serious scare from Gerardo Zapata of Managua, Nicaragua (14-2-1, 5 KOs) in the third successful defense of his title. Collazo won a definitive decision with scorecards of 119-109 twice and 117-110.

“I boxed like Ivan Calderon today. I know he’s seeing me; I know he will congratulate me for the nice boxing I did today,” said Collazo.

In the second round, Zapata caught Collazo expecting a body shot and instead landed a vicious right hook. He staggered Collazo, who somehow avoided hitting the canvas or touching a glove down. While it wasn’t officially a knockout, Collazo didn’t get any break to recover from a referee count. On wobbly legs, Collazo managed to make it through the round and spent the next round gathering himself.

Oscar Collazo regrouped after his near knockdown, using movement and a jab with uppercuts to dominate Gerardo Zapata. Photo: Cris Esqueda, Golden Boy Boxing

“He hit me with a good shot, it landed well. I reacted good, and it changed the game plan to boxing,” said Collazo. “He’s got a lot of pounds in him. We boxed intelligently like the strategy we had, and we got the outcome.”

By the fifth round, Collazo had settled back into a solid boxing rhythm. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. He used superior footwork and accuracy to move in, land his shots, and back out of range of Zapata. As he regained control, his fiery jab held Zapata off with ease.

The challenger grew frustrated by his inability to repeat his early success, failing to throw punches. The rounds rolled up for the champion.

“You need to them go. We’re way behind,” Zapata’s corner told him after the ninth round, warning him they would stop the fight without seeing more effort.

“That’s how you box. Stay calm. Be intelligent about it,” said trainer Jose Cotto to Collazo after the tenth round. Through the final round, Collazo looked as fresh and composed as he did in the first round, before the shocking near knockdown. He played it smart and played out the bout to the final bell.

Oscar Collazo took back control and cruised to three wide scorecards. Photo: Cris Esqueda, Golden Boy Boxing

“Champions do that. champions get knocked down, wobbled, and come back stronger and intelligently. I showed that I’m a true champion. I can take a hit and box well.”

Collazo landed 151 of 390 total punches through (39%), against just 40 of 194 thrown by Zapata (21%).

Collazo said he wants to rest a bit, stay in training camp, and take on any of the challengers with titles. And no doubt, enjoy the Puerto Rican Day festivities this weekend in New York.

Undercard Delivers Knockout Excitement

Eric Tudor bounced back from his first loss to stop Roddricus Livsey. Photo: Cris Esqueda, Golden Boy Boxing

Welterweight prospect Eric Tudor of Fort Lauderdale, Florida (11-1, 7 KOs) bounced back from his first loss in impressive style, dropping Roddricus Livsey of Atlanta (12-3-1, 9 KOs) with a vicious body shot in the first round. Livsey could not beat the count from referee Charlie Fitch, with the official stoppage time at 2:19 of the round.

“Taking my time, finding my shots, placing my shots. I saw an opening, and I took it,” said Tudor. “I’m getting back to what I do best, boxing and using my skills.” Tudor landed 16 of 26 total punches for an eye-popping 62% connect rate, against a single punch landed by Livsey.

Sasha Tudor (right) made it two wins for the Tudor family Friday night in Verona, NY. Photo: Cris Esqueda, Golden Boy Boxing

Tudor’s younger brother Sasha Tudor (1-0-1, 1 KO) also won his fight on the undercard in the super welterweight division with a stoppage win against Manuel Moreira of Sheridan, Wyoming (1-6).

Williams and Stevens Win Light Heavyweight Contest

Mykquan Williams 10 needed just three rounds to score a knockout win over Willmark Brito. Photo: Cris Esqueda, Golden Boy Boxing

The light heavyweights threw down in the first two fights of the evening, to the delight of the fans present.

Light heavyweight “Marvelous” Mykquan Williams of East Hartford, Connecticut (21-0-2, 10 KOs) needed just three rounds to score a good-looking knockout victory over Willmark Brito of Rosarito, Mexico (12-6-2, 10 KOs). Williams was in control from the opening bell.

After a few rounds of loosening up, Williams unleashed a hard right hand near the end of the third round, dropping Brito. He bravely got to his feet, but referee Mark Nelson didn't hesitate to stop the fight at 2:57 of the third round. It was a nice bonus for Williams' manager, Jackie Kallen, who is part of the Class of 2024 to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this weekend.

David Stevens looked like he was headed for an early exit, but turned it around to knock out the way to an early exit when he knocked out Sergio Lopez. Photo: Cris Esqueda, Golden Boy Boxing

David Stevens of Reading, Pennsylvania (14-1, 10 KOs) appeared to be on the way to an early exit when Sergio Lopez of Buenos Aires, Argentina (14-6, 10 KOs) started blasting away from the opening bell. Stevens was pushed down to the canvas twice and legitimately knocked down a third time before the round was halfway over.

But Stevens still got a say and used his offense as defense, pushing Lopez back briefly before landing lights-out the right hook, dropping Lopez for a shocking turnaround and first-round knockout win at 2:13 of an all-action round. Golden Boy Boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya called it the Round of the Year on social media. It’s a worthy nominee. Take a look.