Collazo wins in California – a controversial break-off causes discussion, while Flores and Abdullaev shine on the undercard.
Puerto Rico’s unbeaten world champion Oscar Collazo (13-0, 10 knockouts) has successfully defended his WBA and WBO minimumweight titles. At the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California, the 27-year-old prevailed by a controversial stoppage in round seven against Filipino challenger Jayson Vayson. The event was organized by Golden Boy Promotions under Oscar De La Hoya and broadcast live on DAZN.
Referee Thomas Taylor officially stopped the fight at 1:41 in the seventh round. While Vayson took some body shots in the corner of the ring, he didn’t look badly hurt at all. Nevertheless, his own corner decided to end the fight – much to the displeasure of the boxer himself. The decision was the subject of controversy. Commentators on DAZN criticized the action in Vayson’s corner, as the Filipino even looked more effective than Collazo at times.
On the undercard, unbeaten super welterweight Grant Flores (12-0, 9 knockouts) impressed, defeating Courtney Pennington (17-10-3, 7 knockouts) unanimously on points. Pennington also suffered a knockdown in round seven. The judges scored the fight 80-72, 80-72 and 79-72.
Amateur world champion Ruslan Abdullaev (3-0, 1 knockout) also extended his flawless professional record. He clearly dominated Kevin Johnson (12-8, 8 knockouts) on points over eight rounds. The verdict was 79-73, 79-73 and 80-72 in favor of the Uzbek.