Former WBA welterweight champion Luis Collazo has accumulated quite the record with 47 professional fights to date. 39 wins and 8 losses make up an impressive record that includes 5 world title fights.
He’s been in there with some of the very best, during a period where the 147 pound division has been the hotspot of boxing. Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley, Keith Thurman and Amir Khan are just a few of the stellar names that make up Collazo’s fight CV.
The man who faces Angel Ruiz Astorga on ProBox TV’s, Wednesday Night Fights, April 19, spoke exclusively regarding the difficult decision of ranking his; Top 3 fights.
3. Ricky Hatton - Loss, UD
“Hatton comes in at number 3 for me. He’s the guy who really put me out there. I know I lost, but the Ricky Hatton fight is the one that put me on another level. He gave me the exposure I needed to come into the boxing world. His first fight in America was with me actually, he had just signed a deal with HBO at the time. He was a rugged fighter and very aggressive, a little Tasmanian devil type fighter.
“It was quite easy to predict his punches because he telegraphed a lot. I was quite surprised by the fact I was not overwhelmed with the power he had, he was knocking a lot of people out. He had just moved up to the welterweight division though and maybe didn’t carry the power up so much.”
2. Jose Antonio Rivera - Win, SD
“The Rivera fight man! That was one of my toughest fights. He didn’t have a lot of speed, but was very aggressive, he just wouldn’t stop all night. He actually fractured one of my ribs. Man, I took that fight at two weeks notice. He really asked me the question, do you want it or you don’t want it? It could have gone either way. I could have folded, but I did what I did, and came out a champion.
“It was in his hometown as well. He came into really fight, he wasn’t going to just let another fighter come in and take what is his infront of his own people. We never met again, Don king had other plans. He moved up in weight to win another world title not long after he fought me.”
1. Victor Ortiz - Win, KO, RD2
“This was my best fight because of the preparation time I had. I did a nine week camp. For most people that is a normal camp, for me it was like ‘Oh, yes!’ All my fights were short notice, nine weeks to me was heaven. It shows from the result itself. At this level of boxing you got to be 110% all around the board, there is no shortcuts. You got to be on point with every aspect of it. Ortiz was a short night for me, but my best performance.
“It’s the best I ever felt going into a fight. I was unstoppable that night, nobody was getting in my way. I wish I had that much notice for all my fights. But things turn out in certain ways. I’m having another run right now, with full preparation. You might just see the best from me yet.”