By: Sean Crose
Oscar Colazzo decided to step up to fly weight on Saturday night. His hard earned world titles weren’t at stake since he was the man moving up to a new division, but there was still a lot of at stake for the popular Puerto Rican fighter. Things were off a rough start before Collazo even slipped in between the ropes. For Neider Valdez, Collazo’s opponent on Saturday, was a last minute replacement. Collazo’s scheduled opponent for the 10-round affair, Joey Canoy, had visa troubles, and Collazo ended up subsequently having to jump up into another weight class. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but both Colazzo and Valdez were aware of the fact that fighters fight.
Bantamweight titlist Colazzo came out behind his southpaw jab in the first. Valdez, however, was not overwhelmed by the world titlist, firing and landing shots of his own. An impressive left from Palazzo put Valdez down in the first half of the second. With that being said, the man was able to quickly get to his feet, only to hit the mat once more. Another series of shots put Valdez down a third time. Once again he was able to get up but his corner thought better of it and stopped the fight.
The fight brief as it was was simply a showcase as to the difference between a champion and a last minute replacement. Valdez deserved credit for getting in there and trying his best, but he was wildly unclassed. One had to wonder if he would be able to even be representative of the flyway division. The DAZN broadcast team seemed displeased with the behavior of Valdez feeling that Valdez got out of the fight early. That may or may not have been true, but either way it was hard to imagine Valdez having a good night for himself .
“I feel great,” Collazo said afterward. He had good reason to. He successfully won his flyweight debut in under three rounds. ” I’m ready to make history,” Collazo added. “He’s the biggest little man in the world of boxing today,” said promoter Oscar De La Hoya.
There was no doubt Colazzo looked excellent, but the quality of his opposition was weak enough that one has to wonder how Colazzo would do against stronger competition in the division. Make no mistake about it, Valdez was a replacement opponent who wasn’t expected to have much of a chance to begin with. The chance was there for him to shock the world of course. But he simply wasn’t able to defy expectations in such a granted manner.
There’s no doubt Colazzo is an excellent fighter. He’s aggressive, hit’s hard and exudes confidence. He’s an easy out for no one. Indeed, he may be one of the tougher fighters to defeat right now in the sport of boxing. Oscar De La Hoya certainly had plans for him, snd it’s easy to understand why after his performance on Saturday. He’ll have a bright future ahead of him indeed if he keeps going it this rate.
Smaller fighters like Colazzo don’t always get a lot of love from boxing fans, but there’s a lot to like in these smaller divisions. Those who fight under featherweight employ yincredible skill sets and some very sharp and accurate punching. The pace is fast at the lower weights and there’s plenty of grit to be seen found within the fighters themselves. Fighters like Michael Carbajal, and even Manny Pacquiao have helped erase the image of the small fighter who no one wants to watch. Indeed, smaller weight divisions can be much see TV. Perhaps that’s why De La Hoya has such faith in Collazo.
