Luis Collazo has yet again lost another boxing match, this time to WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman. Thurman retained his title with an eighth-round stoppage of Luis Collazo. The match, however, failed to live up to the hype it was supposed to.
Going up against the sport’s next big star, Collazo did manage to show some game with a few tricky moves. However, he quit after it was reported that a cut to his right eye resulted in a blurred vision and hence, Collazo couldn’t continue. Nonetheless, the boxer, who stands at a height of 5 feet 9 inches, was quick to address to his fans on twitter,
“Sometimes, by losing a battle you find a new way to win the war." #Boxing #boxeo #Brooklyn #NYC #PuertoRico”
“It was a great fight,” Thurman said. “This performance, we trained hard for this fight. Luis Collazo, I have to give him credit. He caught me with a great body shot. Luis Collazo has been a huge underdog his whole career, and he fought like a true champion, so did I.” Although not the greatest of matches, the video of the match has been viewed largely.
Collazo, who has a weight of 147 pounds, grew up in Brooklyn on Georgia Avenue and attended P.S. 290 and I.S. 302. Originally of Puerto Rican descent, he won the WBA Welterweight title on April 2, 2005 with a 12-round split decision victory over defending champion Jose Antonio Rivera. However, the WBA had elevated Cory Spinks to "Undisputed Champion" status before he had lost his titles to Zab Judah, so Collazo was not the definite champion of that organization. On January 7, 2006, Judah lost a 12-round decision to Carlos Baldomir in New York. Baldomir had chosen to pay the sanctioning fee of the WBC only, as a result Judah's WBA undisputed title was vacated. With Judah's loss, Collazo then attained recognition as the WBA's sole welterweight champion.
On May 13, 2006, he lost his championship title to Ricky Hatton in a very tight and controversial affair. On February 10, 2007 he lost a 12 round unanimous decision versus Sugar Shane Mosley in which he injured his hand early in the fight and continued on till the end. After working back from the injury through rehab and aggressive training, Luis fought on the Roy Jones Jr vs. Félix Trinidad card at Madison Square Gardens. He won a one-sided victory against Edvan Dos Santos Barros (9-5-1, 7 KOs), winning 100-90 on 2 judges' scorecards and 99-91 on the other.
On January 30, 2014, Collazo defeated Victor Ortiz in the first match up for Ortiz since his jaw was broken. Collazo landed a right hook to Ortiz in the last second of the second round which ended the match after the 10 count.
Luis Collazo also faced Amir Khan in 2014, only to be dominated in all rounds. After the thrashing, Collazo won a low-key affair with Christopher Delagaddo. Before turning pro on May 16, 2000, Collazo had a record of 97-25 as an amateur. Now at the age of 34, there is limited time for the Puerto Rican inside the ring. To top it off, the recent loss was his 7th in his career. Not a bad record considering his 36 wins. However, considering he was a champion, Collazo should hope it will be the last loss of his career.