Luis Collazo, Ex 147 Champ, Loses To Angel Ruiz, Announces Retirement

Vet Luis Collazo returned to the ring Wednesday evening in Plant City, Florida, against Angel Ruiz at Whitesands Events Center. The 41 year old lefty, who turned pro in 2000, got buzzed in the first, recovered, hit the floor in the third, came back, and stubbornly stayed in it. In round six, though, a nasty right to the body put him to the mat, and Collazo couldn't make the ten count.

“For boxing, I'm done,” the Brooklyn native Collazo told Claudia Trejos in the ring after the finish. “Now, I'll move forward and see what God has planned for me.” Ruiz took the hand of Collazo after that, and thanked him for competing with him.

Angel Ruiz so classy in thanking Luis Collazo for competing with him

A welterweight titlist in 2005, Collazo, who turns 42 on Saturday, came in 39-8.

The 25 year old Ruiz entered at 17-2-1, with impressive musculature.

Both men fight as southpaws.

It looked like the junior middleweight contest could be a short night, the power of Ruiz was apparent. He buzzed Collazo,  who now makes Florida home, who was stationary before he got his legs back. Replay showed that a jab scrambled Luis a bit.

Oh, but he did recover, and in round two, Collazo got warmed up. His hand speed was better now.

Then in round three, down went Luis Collazo. A one-two hurt him and a clipping left crossed had him to the mat. He beat the count. His corner asked him if he was OK to continue after the round, he said yes. “This is where you start to think about the old legs of Collazo, let’s see if he’s able to recover his legs,” analyst Paul Malignaggi said.

In the fourth, Collazo moved, smartly, and Ruiz waved at him to engage. He hung around, Collazo did, instead of saying hell with it, I can un-retire again, right now. He hoped that Ruiz’ gas tank would hit E, or closer to it, but in the fifth, the energy stayed high. “I don’t want you to get hurt in there,” trainer Willie Vargas said to Collazo before the sixth.

Luis Collazo went down at the start of the sixth, and he didn’t beat the count. Right hand to the bread basket, short, and none too sweet.

This is likely truly actually it for Luis Collazo. He turns 42 on Saturday and he can eat all the cake he wants, he deserves it.

In the streaming opener on ProBox Wednesday night, Ghana’s Prince Octopus Dzanie (23-0 entering) took on Mexican Jose Salas (11-0 entering), in a 122 pound scrap set for ten or less. Salas got the W, his smart movement and stamina and accuracy swayed the judges, UD10, by scores of 110-89, times three.

The 38 year old Dzanie at Whitesands Events Center had some luck landing the right hands, with smart timing early. The 21 year old Salas moved a lot, laterally, mostly, and his energy stayed strong as the rounds progressed. If you thought that he’d been hidden fighting in Tijuana–this was his first fight out of Tijuana–you figured out pretty quick that Salas is no stumblebum.

Analysts Paul Malignaggi and Chris Algieri and blow by blow man Mike Goldberg gave hey props to Salas, who did indeed look sharp as he got angles on Dzanie before the Luis Collazo fight.

Dzanie knew he needed to make up for lost rounds, and blazed his guns in round eight. And I take it back, the combos Salas was putting together, as he kept moving, impressed me.

It left me curious if Salas was presented sneakily as a more skilled than they let on B side. Dzanie ramped up again in the ninth, he pressed harder and yes, made Salas really hustle to keep his chin safe. Salas scored a knockdown at the tail end of round nine, a crisp left smashing bang on the forehead. Salas finished smart and strong, staying aware that Dzanie hadn’t thrown in the towel, in the tenth.

A welterweight-plus battle pitting Vadim Musaev (5-0, 2 KOs entering; from Russia, lives in Florida) against Martin Alvarez (from Mexico; 7-0, 6 K)s coming in) played out before the main event featuring Luis Collazo.

It was set for 8 rounds or less. This was the first fight outside Mexico for Alvarez.

In the first, a left dropped and stopped Alvarez. It was dropped smartly, too. Just before, Musaev threw a sharp looping left. Alvarez I think expected that, and Musaev cut it way down, using a downward motion ultra short left which discombobulated the loser. He beat the count, but stumbled when aloft, and the ref halted the scrap. The end, a TKO, came at 2:03 of round one.