VERONA, N.Y. – Oscar Collazo survived a hard-fought second round to successfully defend his WBO strawweight title for the third time against Gerardo Zapata.
Collazo won a lopsided decision in the match-up between the two southpaws, but was shaken by a heavy blow in the second round, before overcoming a tough stretch to turn the tide and ultimately win on the scorecards.
The Newark-born but Villalba, Puerto Rico-based champion won by scores of 119-109 (twice) and 117-110 to improve to 10-0 (7 KOs).
Zapata, a native of Managua, Nicaragua, finished with a record of 14-2-1 (5 KOs).
There was some great action throughout the opening session, with Collazo messing with Zapata with lead right hands and looking to land some over the top lefts.
Collazo was finding his rhythm and looking like the fighter he was advertised to be, when a powerful right punch sent him against the ropes and the champion nearly collapsed, but managed to get back to his feet, though he was left shaking violently in the final minute of the round and forced to retreat.
The fight started in the third round, when Collazo landed a left punch to the body, followed by a left uppercut, then was hit by a straight left, but Collazo dominated throughout the round.
Collazo looked good getting through Zapata's guard with some quick shots, and it was also impressive that he didn't stay in the pocket long enough to withstand the follow-up.
Zapata was moving forward, digging his hands into Collazo's body, but was losing the round.
Collazo, meanwhile, picked up the pace, circling and changing direction, mixing in attacks to the head and body, jabs and uppercuts.
Zapata didn't do much in the sixth inning, appeared hesitant to pitch, and received a verbal warning in the next inning for pitching low.
Collazo largely dominated the eighth round with his shot selection, forcing Zapata into a tough time on the ropes and the damage was beginning to take its toll on the challenger.
Little of significance happened in the ninth round, but there were signs that the fight might not go to the finish. At this point, Zapata was far behind on the scorecards, and a second-round victory feels like a distant memory. Collazo was in control again, and Zapata was unable to contain the champion's rapid flurry of punches.
Zapata looked relatively monotonous and came out aggressive at the start of the final round, but Collazo used his offense well to finish the bout in second gear.
It was a dominant win for Collazo, who has at times dazzled in the faces of Puerto Rican legends Miguel Cotto and Ivan Calderon, who held the title a few years ago and is in town this weekend for the upcoming International Boxing Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
“He caught me with a good punch,” Collazo told Boxing Scene after the fight. “I was caught off guard defensively, but we were able to box smart. It was a good punch, he caught me.”
“I knew I was in control from the fifth and sixth rounds onwards, and I knew he was going to catch me with one shot after he caught me with one shot, but I didn't let him do that.”
Collazo hopes to be back in action in September or October.
“I wasn't completely satisfied. [with my performance]”I boxed smart, we boxed smart, and I'm going to watch the fight again, see what mistakes I made, fix them and see how I feel about the fight.”
