Oscar Collazo has every intention to honor the company-wide challenge set by his promoter, and also to force him to pay out the full-promised bonus once he hits that mark.
The unbeaten WBO strawweight titlist hopes to defend his title at least five times in the new year, with at least one unification bout included in the mix. Puerto Rico’s Collazo began his 2024 campaign with a third-round knockout of Nicaragua’s Reyneris Gutierrez this past Saturday on the Jaime Munguia-John Ryder DAZN show in Phoenix, Arizona.
A message was sent after the fight, that the diminutive Boricua didn’t forget about the social media post by his Hall of Fame promoter, Oscar De La Hoya offered to pay a $5,000,000 bonus for any Golden Boy boxer who fights five times in one year.
“I need that money he promised,” Collazo said through a laugh to BoxingScene.com after his latest win. “I know he tried to say something different (on air), but I’m gonna work hard to get those five fights and collect that five-mil that Oscar tweeted about.
“But mainly, we just want to fight as often as possible. We got this one out the way, now we looking to fight again hopefully in April, no later than May.”
Saturday marked the fourth fight in exactly 52 weeks for Collazo (9-0, 7KOs), all which have ended inside the distance. The run began with a fifth-round stoppage of Yudel Reyes last January 28, which set up his first major title bid. The 27-year-old New Jersey-born southpaw—who was raised in and proudly represents Villalba, Puerto Rico—dethroned then-WBO strawweight titlist Melvin Jerusalem after seven rounds last May 27 in Indio, California.
The first title defense saw a well-received homecoming for Collazo, who stopped Garen Diagan after the sixth round of their August 26 DAZN headliner from San Juan.
“It’s important to stay as active as possible,” insisted Collazo, who is co-promoted by Golden Boy and Promociones Miguel Cotto. “I know I can get those five fights this year but I need my promoters’ help to get there. I live, eat, sleep and dream boxing. I’m always ready whenever they can get me back in the ring.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox