Oscar Collazo wanted to make his world title defense a memorable one.
Collazo battered Garen Diagan before Diagan did not come out for the seventh round Saturday night before a partisan crowd at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The 26-year-old, who resides in nearby Villalba, improved to 8-0, 6 KOs. Collazo successfully defended the WBO world strawweight title.
From the opening bell, Collazo stalked Diagan in the clash between southpaws. Collazo would attempt to walk Diagan down, but Diagan was able to counter Collazo to the head and body.
As the bout progressed, Collazo was successful in closing the distance, ripping right hooks to the body and head. Diagan attempted to counter Collazo, with wide left crosses to the head.
The action was at times sloppy, which favored Diagan, but Collazo was still able to demonstrate his pedigree for most of the fight, connecting with left crosses behind one or two jabs to the head of Diagan.
By the middle rounds, Collazo began pinning Diagan in a corner, where he would connect with an array of hooks and crosses to Diagan’s head.
After the end of the sixth round, Diagan remained on his stool, not wanting to continue and take further punishment from the hard-hitting Collazo, who was born in Newark, New Jersey.
“All I knew was I had to put pressure and he was going to break down,” said Collazo after the fight. “He began to feel those punches (I threw). He’s a good fighter, but the jab and the mental pressure was too much for him.”
Collazo was making the first defense of the WBO world strawweight title he won on May 27, stopping Melvin Jerusalem of the Philippines in Indio, California.
In his previous fight on January 28 in Inglewood, California, Collazo knocked out Yudel Reyes of Mexico in the fifth round.
Diagan, who resides in General Santos City in the Philippines, falls to 10-4, 5 KOs. The 27-year-old had won his previous two bouts, including a knockout win over Simpiwe Konkco on October 1.
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