Keith Thurman stops Collazo in seven to retain welterweight title

Eliezer Serrano | July 12, 2015 | 0 Comentarios/ Comments

Photo From Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions

Tampa, FL – Premiere Boxing Champions on ESPN treated boxing fans to an exciting night of boxing at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, FL. The night was headlined by undefeated welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs) from nearby Clearwater, FL facing former world champion Luis Collazo (26-7, 19 KOs) from Brooklyn, NY.

Keith Thurman was coming off a dominant unanimous decision victory this past March over former world champion Robert Guerrero while Collazo was coming in with a record of 5-1 in his last 6 outings suffering his only defeat in that span to current WBC Silver Welterweight title holder Amir Khan in May 2014.

The fight started with Thurman being the aggressor and controlling the pace early by forcing Collazo to the ropes and landing some heavy shots to the head and body. Collazo on the other hand was trying to find his distance by continuously moving and keeping his jab busy to help keep the champion at a distance.

In the third and fourth round the action began to pick up as the roles were reversed. Collazo became the aggressor and began landing his jab, timing his straight left and when on the ropes, attacked the body but Thurman moved well and for every moment Collazo had, Thurman countered with clean power shots and combinations that seemed to force the former champion to stop his attack and reset.

Photos From Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions

In the final 30 seconds of the fifth round, it seemed like the momentum and direction of the fight had a chance to shift after Luis Collazo landed a devastating left hand the body that momentarily buckled Thurman’s knees. The champ appeared to have had his wind knocked out of him and began to pedal back in survival mode. Luis picked up his pace but unable to score a knockdown as the bell rang and stopped his attack.

“It was a beautiful left hook that he threw. I was extended and my elbow was not able to come back on time to block the shot. I would say 95% of my wind was gone. I thought about taking a knee but the champion that I am and some other little voice in me told me, you’re stronger than that boy and you could keep fighting” – Keith Thurman said at the post fight conference.

In the sixth and seventh round, although the roles continued with Collazo being the aggressor and Thurman moving, Thurman seemed to be getting the better of the exchanges. During the seventh round, Thurman caught Collazo with a clean shot that open a cut above his right eye. After the seventh round concluded, Collazo told his corner that he couldn’t see from his right eye and his corner stopped the fight.