There was no way that Oscar Collazo was going to let Reyneris Gutierrez hang around any longer than necessary.
The 27-year-old Boricua made quick work of his overmatched challenger. Collazo dropped and subsequently dropped Nicaragua’s Gutierrez in the third round of his WBO strawweight title defense Saturday evening at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
“We were looking for the knockout,” Collazo openly admitted to BoxingScene.com. “We had to make a statement. To fight in this arena, as the co-main event on a big stage, we had to make a statement.”
A left hand floored Nicaragua’s Gutierrez (10-2, 2KOs) inside the final minute of the third round. Collazo subsequently went on the attack and forced referee Chris Flores to stop the contest at 2:37 of that round.
The win was the fourth stoppage in a row for Collazo (9-0, 7KOs), a New Jersey-born southpaw who was raised in and proudly represents Villalba, Puerto Rico. The four-year pro last went the distance in a twelve-round, unanimous decision over former titlist Vic Saludar in a July 2022 WBA title eliminator.
A logjam to wait for the title prompted Collazo to go the WBO route, where he has since been a knockout every time out. The run began with a fifth-round stoppage of Yudel Reyes last January 28, exactly 52 weeks to the day of his most recent victory.
Saturday marked the second successful title defense for Collazo, who forced the Philippines’ Melvin Jerusalem to retire on his stool after the seventh round of his WBO title-lifting effort last May 27 in Indio, California. Wedged in between was a well-received homecoming last August 26, when Collazo stopped Garen Diagan after the sixth round of their DAZN headliner from San Juan.
The magnitude of his chief support slot to Jaime Munguia’s ninth-round stoppage of England’s John Ryder was not lost on Collazo. Much of the announced crowd of 10,836 was on hand to cheer on Tijuana’s Munguia (43-0, 34KOs). Collazo’s job was to prime the crowd and he expertly handled that mission.
“By the end of the first round, I knew I was going to get that punch in,” Collazo insisted. “It was a matter of time. I had to sit down on my punches. Then I got to the third round, I was a bit more calm. I found that opening and got the knockout.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox