Photo By Ed Mulholland
Luis Collazo (35-5, 18 KOs) knocked out Victor Ortiz (29-5-2, 22 KOs) in the second round of a scheduled twelve-round Welterweight fight. The fight was the main event of a card presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Fox Sports 1.
In what was a crossroads fight for both fighters, Ortiz began the fight too anxiously, taking the center of the ring and desperately trying to remove the memory of two back-to-back knockout losses and an 18-month layoff.
Collazo used Ortiz’s over-anxiousness to find his rhythm and create openings, which he was able to do by the end of the first round.
“I wanted to stay focused, stay on my game plan, and see where he came from,” said Collazo, when asked by Paulie Malignaggi about the game plan going into the fight.
Indeed, in the second round, Collazo maintained his composure and used a shoulder roll defense that worked well in deflecting and countering against a fellow southpaw in Ortiz. It was a counter right hook, in fact, that eventually hurt Ortiz after missing a looping left hand.
The counter hook nearly spun Ortiz a full 180 degrees. Although there was only one minute left in the round, Ortiz did not seem as if he wanted to get up. Ortiz’s body language suggested that he no longer has the fighting spirit.
Ortiz did not get the return fight he expected and, after three consecutive knockout losses, it seems as if it might be time for Ortiz to hang up the gloves. Collazo, on the other hand, was ecstatic about his performance.
When Maligaggi asked Collazo about his future plans, he stated,”I want what the fans want. I want big Floyd in New York.”
A Floyd Mayweather fight is obviously unfeasible at this stage of his career, but with a knockout win over Ortiz in second round, Collazo is officially in the upper echelon of the Welterweight division.
In the co-main event, Eddie Gomez (16-0, 10 KOs) earned a unanimous decision over Daquan Arnett (11-0, 7 KOs) in a ten-round Junior Middleweight fight. The fight’s early rounds were competitive as both fighters sought to situate themselves into their respective game plans.
By the fourth and fifth rounds, however, Gomez began to take control, landing right hands from long range and in the pocket. Gomez even scored a knockdown in the seventh round.
Arnett was dropped by a body shot that Gomez landed after throwing a combination, stepping around during the counter, and aiming for the body.
Gomez took his momentum into the tenth round and did not allow Arnett to have any opportunities to take the fight away. The judges scored the bout 98-91,98-91,97-91.
In the nights first televised bout, Gary Russell Jr. (24-0, 14 KOs) knocked out Miguel Tamayo (15-8-2, 13 KOs) in the fourth round of a Super Featherweight fight. Russell has been continually criticized for fighting unknown and under-qualified opponents and tonight was no different.
Tamayo leaves the fight with eight losses while Russell remains undefeated in 24 fights.
[slideshow_deploy id=’12719′] Photos by Maddie Mayer/Getty Images
