Oscar Collazo wants to stake his claim as the best fighter at 105 pounds.
Collazo earned another knockout win Saturday night, stopping Garen Diagan after the sixth round at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Collazo (8-0, 6 knockouts), who resides in nearby Villalba, successfully defended his WBO world title belt.
The 26-year-old dominated from the opening bell, outboxing Diagan, who was game, but was not able to fend off Collazo. After the sixth round, Diagan (10-4, 5 KOs), who resides in General Santos City in the Philippines, remained on his stool.
Saturday marked the first defense of the WBO title Collazo won from Melvin Jerusalem on May 27 in Indio, California. The outcome was similar as Collazo broke down the Filipino fighter, forcing Jerusalem to not come out for round eight.
Collazo is co-promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Cotto Promotions.
There are options for Collazo for his next fight. The world title defense against Diagan was a voluntary one as Diagan was ranked No. 9 by the WBO prior to Saturday night.
What would likely be next is a fight against mandatory challenger Luis Castillo (20-0-1, 13 KOs) of Los Mochis, Mexico. Castillo has not fought since August 5 of last year, knocking out Abraham Rodriguez in the sixth round.
There is the possibility of a unification fight against the other world titleholders at 105 pounds, but that may likely take place next year.
Collazo is living in the moment, and has enjoyed an impressive run thus far becoming a world titleholder and one of the best fighters at 105 pounds. He hopes for the opportunity to prove he is the best strawweight in the division.
“I want to thank God, my team, Miguel Cotto Promotions, Golden Boy, DAZN and all of Puerto Rico for the support to get to this victory,” said Collazo after the fight. “I knew he was going to break down eventually. We had the strong jab, the physical, and mental pressure that got us the victory.
“Puerto Ricans know how to celebrate, and we will do a lot of it (Saturday night).”
Collazo will likely return to the ring later this year, likely in late November or December.
In the co-feature, which streamed live on DAZN, Juan Carlos Camacho of Puerto Rico improved to 18-1, 7 KOs, dropping Mexico’s Jorge Luis Orozco (17-4-2, 11 KOs) twice, both on left hooks to the body, ending matters in the opening round.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene since September 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing