By Jake Donovan
If Luis Collazo has any special plan for shocking the world in his upcoming showdown with Keith Thurman, he’s doing a good job of keeping it under wraps.
The welterweight title fight takes place on July 11 in Thurman’s hometown of Tampa, Florida. The event kicks off a long-term deal for Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series to air live in prime time on ESPN, replacing the long-running ESPN2 Friday Night Fight series.
“I’ve prepared well for this fight,” the 34-year old Collazo (36-6, 19KOs) insisted—repeatedly—during a recent conference call to discuss the upcoming event. “I just have to stick to my game plan.”
Thurman headlined—and won in—the very first PBC show, scoring a 12-round decision over Robert Guerrero in their March clash that aired live on NBC. The welterweight scrap played to an audience of 3.4 million viewers, peaking at over 4 million, both numbers good for the most viewed TV fight—cable or terrestrial—of 2015 to date.
His placement on the first PBC on ESPN card is proof that Thurman has become the go-to guy to pull in the home viewers. After all, he’s unbeaten, charismatic and almost always entertaining. As his star is on the rise, he now also gets to enjoy hometown advantage in his latest adventure.
All of that is fine with Collazo, who through 15 years in service is wise enough to know that all that matters is what happens once the opening bell sounds. The Nuyorican southpaw has ventured into hostile territory before and is ready to do so at least one more time.
“It has its negatives and positives, but I’m going in their to take care of business and give the fans some excitement,” Collazo promises. “Keith Thurman is the champion. If I have to go to his yard to win the title, then that’s what it is. Come July 11 it will be a heck of a fight.”
Collazo, a former welterweight titlist, comes in on the heels of a rust-shaking knockout win in Brooklyn this past April, following an uneven 2014 campaign. He resurrected his career with another win in Brookyln, knocking out fellow former welterweight titlist Victor Ortiz last January to set up a showdown with Amir Khan. The two met in May, serving as the chief support to Floyd Mayweather’s tougher-than expected win over Marcos Maidana in their first fight.
The prominent showcase was all that Collazo got out of the evening, suffering a lopsided loss to Khan in the evening’s chief support. His aforementioned knockout win earlier this year was his first fight back following an 11-month hiatus. With the win at home comes the road trip for perhaps the toughest fight of his career, if not his last big opportunity.
“I’ve been in this position before. I just have to stay prepared,” Collazo says of the title challenge. “I’m just going to out there to do what I do best.”
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
