By Jake Donovan
Unbeaten featherweight prospect Alexei Collado will make his stateside debut on March 15 in Kissimmee, Florida. The bout lands on the undercard of another rising featherweight, as Orlando Cruz headlines against Aalan Martinez in a bout that will air live on Telelundo.
An opponent has yet to be named for Collado (15-0, 14KO), who recently signed with Florida-based promoter Acquinity Sports. The former amateur standout – born in Cuba, but based out of Ireland – makes his stateside debut on the show.
“This kid is the real deal,” insists promoter Henry Rivalta. “He’s a big part of our trio of the best featherweights in the world, along with Claudio ‘The Matrix’ and Hylon Williams, Jr. We’re working on an opponent for his fight this month, but have big plans for him in the future.”
Collado was a huge amateur star in his native Cuba before joining teammates Luis Franco and Mike Perez in Ireland. All three made their debut in 2008 and remain unbeaten today, though ring activity has been hard to come by for the trio. None of them have fought since 2011, though Franco and Perez were at least able to enjoy their stateside debut before going idle.
That will soon change for Collado, who is ready to conquer Florida while his promoter begins to plan for the future.
“Alexei Collado, the Hurricane, can do it all,” Rivalta suggests. “As he moves up we’ll continue to match him against the best possible competition. Hopefully it won’t be too hard finding opponents for him now. The kid is a beast, he’s a knockout artist and ready for anyone.”
Jake Donovan is the Boxingscene.com Managing Editor, as well as a voting member of the Yahoo Ratings Panel, Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
