Collazo calls out Miguel Cotto

[Hacienda]

maxboxing.com

Boxing’s equivalent of hitting the lottery is being a champ in a division that inherits a popular fighter. That division becomes the new darling, one where people take notice and that champ becomes an attractive prospect. In the case of the welterweight division, hitting the lottery doesn’t come close to describing how hot the division has become. With names like Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley and the winning ticket known as Floyd Mayweather all either plying their trade here or speculating about their transition into it, the division has become white hot.

All would seem rosy for a guy like former WBA welterweight champion Luis Collazo right? The man is a former titlist who gave a great account of himself in Ricky Hatton’s debut at welterweight. In fact, ask many who saw the fight in Boston and they will tell you Collazo won that night despite being on the wrong end of a decision.

Yet when people start to speculate about all the mouth watering matchups welterweight has to offer, rarely, if ever, is the name Luis Collazo brought up. The buzz around the division seems to either focus on the names coming into the division such as Mayweather, Mosley and Hatton or the young prospects of the division. First it was Columbian knockout specialist Joel Julio, who was being pushed into the spotlight as the possible next big thing. That was until he outworked by Carlos Quintana, who then became the new hot name. The latest is Paul Williams who earned his distinction as the “Next Big Thing” by beating the raw Walter Matthysse and current gatekeeper Sharmba Mitchell.

“We tried to do a Quintana fight but if I beat him, his team wanted a two fight deal on me,” said Collazo. “Now he’s the number two ranked fighter, scheduled to fight for the title against Oktay Urkal. Williams is the mandatory for Antonio Margarito. I’m still waiting for a fight. You really can’t tell what these guys are all about since they haven’t fought anybody. How are they going to be considered worthy of a title shot when they haven’t proven themselves?”

How overlooked has Collazo become? Consider that Boxrec.com has him ranked as the number 42 welterweight of the world, lower than Cosme Rivera, who we last saw on TV being obliterated by Zab Judah in three rounds; lower than Manuel “Shotgun” Gomez, who lasted all of one minute and 14 seconds in his fight with WBO Champ Margarito. One spot above him? Matthysse.

“I am ranked behind who?” asks Collazo. “It’s horrible man. I don’t know what it’s going to take to get the respect I deserve but it seems like all these guys are only interested in the money and not the match up. The politics in boxing are frustrating for sure.”

However, not all is lost for the Brooklynite. For the past month, Team Collazo has been trying to get Miguel Cotto’s attention in hopes that they can lure the Puerto Rico native to fight the New York based Puerto Rican, Collazo.

“I hear he is moving up to 147 so I would love to fight him. I want to expose him as the overrated fighter he is. Let Urkal and Quintana fight for the title. The Puerto Rican fans would definitely want to see a fight between me and Cotto. I know the fans in Puerto Rico would go for Cotto but I know I would get much love from the Puerto Rican fans in New York being Nuyorican myself. I know they would pull for me in Atlantic City.”

What does Collazo think about his chances against the hard punching Cotto?

“I would do the same thing to Cotto I did to Hatton when he came up straight from 140 to try for a title. After I exposed him you saw that he went back down to 140. Cotto would do the same thing. Who knows, maybe after I expose Miguel, he and Hatton can make that big fight at 140 they have been talking about.”

Even if a fight with Cotto doesn’t come off this year (it’s apparent that Cotto will instead fight Quintana in December), Collazo knows he has to stay active for the day when he actually has an opponent finally in front of him.

“I stay in the gym all year long. Nothing major, just to stay active and maintain that level for the time I get back in the ring”

Hopefully it’s not too much longer for him, or the next time we see him ranked he may end up lower than Kelson Pinto. I will let you search boxrec to see where Pinto is ranked.

[Hacienda]

Would be an excellent fight.

Collazo deserves a higher ranking than 43 and its a pity.

Don King should sort something out for the boy.

[Cortez The Killer]

Collazo definitely aint getting his dues. Can't imagine cotto taking a fight with him. How many of you heard of Collazo before the Hatton fight? That was the first I heard of him. Still, in the sport of boxing name can carry more weight than skill and Collazo is just going to have to reprove himself and try to take a round-about road back up. Not that its fair

[ICB]

after pushing one of best jr welterweights to there limits and pushing them further than they have ever been pushed he definetly derserves another crack at one of top boys

[Sf05]

after pushing one of best jr welterweights to there limits and pushing them further than they have ever been pushed he definetly derserves another crack at one of top boys

Agreed.

[Purist]

Collazo deserves his shot!

[amat]

Yeah this is a joke. I thought his Dec 3 HBO date was going to be against Urkal but I guess not. He also said he was going after Quintana. I don't get why everyone is avoiding him. He's an exciting fighter, and he is a better fighter then everyone thought he was (including me) before the Hatton fight. Young, Brooklyn born, exciting...it's not like it would be hard to market this guy.

He just has to stay busy, the worst thing he can do is go inactive. Get ANYONE in the ring, Rivera, Mitchell, Camacho, Julio, Judah ect, go after them all. He's only 25, he can be good for a long time if he doesn't go inactive chasing big fights.

[El Kabong]

I'd rather Cotto fight Collazo than Quintana

[Swice]

Collazo definitely aint getting his dues. Can't imagine cotto taking a fight with him. How many of you heard of Collazo before the Hatton fight? That was the first I heard of him. Still, in the sport of boxing name can carry more weight than skill and Collazo is just going to have to reprove himself and try to take a round-about road back up. Not that its fair

I was aware of Collazo since he won a controversial SD over Jose Antonio Rivera. He does deserve to be ranked higher though. But the question that remains in my mind after seeing his fight with Hatton was what did that fight say. Did it say that Hatton was overrated or that Collazo was a true contender. He did an excellent job in his fight with Rivera, even though I thought he lost that fight.

If I was him though I wouldn't waste my time calling out opponents that I know already have fights scheduled. He should be working to get on the undercard of some of these paperview fights so he can be seen. Regardless of who you think won his fight with Hatton the fact remains that it was scored a lost for him and most people didn't know who he was before that. So in the general publics mind he is just a guy who lost a close fight to Ricky Hatton, not exactly a ticket seller.

Too many fighters aren't making the most of their boxing life, content to just take the two fights a year instead of increasing their activity level. And for boxers who aren't well known it could be career suicide to waste your time calling out big name opponents from the comfort of the conference rooms and websites. If you want to get to the big names try putting yourself into a mandatory challengers position or get some serious fight credentials.

[frozensolid_702]

Yeah this is a joke. I thought his Dec 3 HBO date was going to be against Urkal but I guess not. He also said he was going after Quintana. I don't get why everyone is avoiding him. He's an exciting fighter, and he is a better fighter then everyone thought he was (including me) before the Hatton fight. Young, Brooklyn born, exciting...it's not like it would be hard to market this guy.

He just has to stay busy, the worst thing he can do is go inactive. Get ANYONE in the ring, Rivera, Mitchell, Camacho, Julio, Judah ect, go after them all. He's only 25, he can be good for a long time if he doesn't go inactive chasing big fights.

the last thing in the world that collazo needs to do is to get in the ring with zab judah.

collazo isnt close to being on zabs level and would probably lose a lopsided ud or get koed.


people are gonna start avoiding zab like the plague, cause hes gonna come back real strong in 07

[Purist]

Yeah this is a joke. I thought his Dec 3 HBO date was going to be against Urkal but I guess not. He also said he was going after Quintana. I don't get why everyone is avoiding him. He's an exciting fighter, and he is a better fighter then everyone thought he was (including me) before the Hatton fight. Young, Brooklyn born, exciting...it's not like it would be hard to market this guy.

He just has to stay busy, the worst thing he can do is go inactive. Get ANYONE in the ring, Rivera, Mitchell, Camacho, Julio, Judah ect, go after them all. He's only 25, he can be good for a long time if he doesn't go inactive chasing big fights.

the last thing in the world that collazo needs to do is to get in the ring with zab judah.

collazo isnt close to being on zabs level and would probably lose a lopsided ud or get koed.


people are gonna start avoiding zab like the plague, cause hes gonna come back real strong in 07

If Zab wants to come back strong he needs to get Emanuel Stweart as his new trainer

[CutMeMick]

maxboxing.com

Boxing’s equivalent of hitting the lottery is being a champ in a division that inherits a popular fighter. That division becomes the new darling, one where people take notice and that champ becomes an attractive prospect. In the case of the welterweight division, hitting the lottery doesn’t come close to describing how hot the division has become. With names like Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley and the winning ticket known as Floyd Mayweather all either plying their trade here or speculating about their transition into it, the division has become white hot.

All would seem rosy for a guy like former WBA welterweight champion Luis Collazo right? The man is a former titlist who gave a great account of himself in Ricky Hatton’s debut at welterweight. In fact, ask many who saw the fight in Boston and they will tell you Collazo won that night despite being on the wrong end of a decision.

Yet when people start to speculate about all the mouth watering matchups welterweight has to offer, rarely, if ever, is the name Luis Collazo brought up. The buzz around the division seems to either focus on the names coming into the division such as Mayweather, Mosley and Hatton or the young prospects of the division. First it was Columbian knockout specialist Joel Julio, who was being pushed into the spotlight as the possible next big thing. That was until he outworked by Carlos Quintana, who then became the new hot name. The latest is Paul Williams who earned his distinction as the “Next Big Thing” by beating the raw Walter Matthysse and current gatekeeper Sharmba Mitchell.

“We tried to do a Quintana fight but if I beat him, his team wanted a two fight deal on me,” said Collazo. “Now he’s the number two ranked fighter, scheduled to fight for the title against Oktay Urkal. Williams is the mandatory for Antonio Margarito. I’m still waiting for a fight. You really can’t tell what these guys are all about since they haven’t fought anybody. How are they going to be considered worthy of a title shot when they haven’t proven themselves?”

How overlooked has Collazo become? Consider that Boxrec.com has him ranked as the number 42 welterweight of the world, lower than Cosme Rivera, who we last saw on TV being obliterated by Zab Judah in three rounds; lower than Manuel “Shotgun” Gomez, who lasted all of one minute and 14 seconds in his fight with WBO Champ Margarito. One spot above him? Matthysse.

“I am ranked behind who?” asks Collazo. “It’s horrible man. I don’t know what it’s going to take to get the respect I deserve but it seems like all these guys are only interested in the money and not the match up. The politics in boxing are frustrating for sure.”

However, not all is lost for the Brooklynite. For the past month, Team Collazo has been trying to get Miguel Cotto’s attention in hopes that they can lure the Puerto Rico native to fight the New York based Puerto Rican, Collazo.

“I hear he is moving up to 147 so I would love to fight him. I want to expose him as the overrated fighter he is. Let Urkal and Quintana fight for the title. The Puerto Rican fans would definitely want to see a fight between me and Cotto. I know the fans in Puerto Rico would go for Cotto but I know I would get much love from the Puerto Rican fans in New York being Nuyorican myself. I know they would pull for me in Atlantic City.”

What does Collazo think about his chances against the hard punching Cotto?

“I would do the same thing to Cotto I did to Hatton when he came up straight from 140 to try for a title. After I exposed him you saw that he went back down to 140. Cotto would do the same thing. Who knows, maybe after I expose Miguel, he and Hatton can make that big fight at 140 they have been talking about.”

Even if a fight with Cotto doesn’t come off this year (it’s apparent that Cotto will instead fight Quintana in December), Collazo knows he has to stay active for the day when he actually has an opponent finally in front of him.

“I stay in the gym all year long. Nothing major, just to stay active and maintain that level for the time I get back in the ring”

Hopefully it’s not too much longer for him, or the next time we see him ranked he may end up lower than Kelson Pinto. I will let you search boxrec to see where Pinto is ranked.

I say fuck it bring him on..... Cotto wins late TKO rd. 9
Hook to the body.