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Luis Collazo Loses Technical Decision to Kudratillo Abdukakhorov

Mikey Williams/Top Rank

It was a good ol’ fashioned slug fest between former Welterweight champion Luis Collazo (39-8, 20 KOs) and Kudratillo Abdukakhorov 17-0, 9 KOs). 

The contest took place at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia Pennsylvania and aired live on ESPN.

From the moment the opening bell rang, it was bombs away from both men. With Abdukakhorov stepping up in class for the first time in his career, many wondered if he would be level to step into the ring with a former champion. 

Collazo tested the young fighter right away. He pressed forward in the fight and landed some huge shots. Abdukakhorov did well to respond with his own monstrous shots.

The former champion however, walked through his shots. Conditioning wasn’t an issue for either man as they had their foot on the gas all night long. 

In the sixth round, Collazo seemed to be suffering from a cut. It wasn’t a bad one, but it was something that began to impair his vision as he constantly pawed at his eye to remove the blood.

Seeing red did nothing to slow down the pace of Collazo as he kept pressing forward. Abdukakhorov did a marvelous job of moving and not getting stuck on the ropes. 

In the final round of the contest, Collazo continued his aggressive game plan. He paid for it on a few occasions as Abdukakhorov tagged him a few times. When it seemed as though the contest was going to go the distance, both fighters had an unusual exchange.

The result ended up with Collazo suffering from a head butt. The former champion was unable to continue as he stumbled across the ring. 

Following the unfortunate head butt, the judges were called to give their scorecards. 

The final scores were as followed–99-91, 97-93, 98-92–all in favor of Abdukakhorov who took the win by technical decision and remained undefeated.

Final Grade for Abdukakhorov: C-

Abdukakhorov may have won but he really didn’t. He really struggled with an agains fighter.

This fight was for the IBF Welterweight mandatory position. What that means is that Abdukakhorov is now in prime position to take on Errol Spence Jr. 

He’s not even close to ready for a fight like that.

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