JAYSON Vayzon seemed to be holding his own against world strawweight defending champion Oscar Collazo for the first six rounds until the Pinoy’s own corner decided early in the seventh, after an early barrage by the unbeaten Puerto Rican, that the No. 1 Filipino challenger had had enough.
In what was a bitter pill for the top-ranked contender to swallow, Collazo claimed his 10th stoppage victim early yesterday morning (Saturday night in the US) to retain his World Boxing Organization and World Boxing Association minimum weight crowns with a seventh-round technical knockout win at the Spring Resort Casino in Indio, California.
Judges Rudy Barragan, Fernando Villareal and Zachary Young all saw Collazo ahead with identical scores of 59-54 when American referee Thomas Taylor halted the fight at the 1:41 mark of the seventh round.
Considered the man to beat in the crowded weight class, “El Pupilo,” who is also considered the linear champion by the venerable American Ring Magazine, extended his winning string to 13.
Making his American debut, the Pinoy “Striker” struck out for just the second time in 15 bouts plus one draw in an outcome that the commentators on DAZN, the official broadcaster of the fight, heavily criticized.
“My corner thought I was breaking. I wanted to fight,” Vayson, who sported a left blackeye, said glumly. “I respect the decision of the corner for my safety.”
When he was ssked if he felt the defending champ’s blows to the head when he was crowded at the ropes, he replied: “I felt the punches in the body, but I felt I could manage it.”
“I was putting a lot of pressure on him, digging in the shots. That’s the round we were going for the finish,” Collaso said.
“I knew I was going to apply pressure from the first round. … I was breaking him down. I knew I was going to get him,” he added confidently.
Although two inches shorter at 5-foot-2, the Puerto Rican southpaw seemed to set the tone early with his jab against his right-handed opponent.
Vayson countered in the second, delivering a clean hit that Collazo apparently felt.
Collazo picked up the pace in the third, scoring heavily with lefts to the head and body of his rival.
Vayson shrugged them off and returned in the fourth round, tagging his foe with stinging body shots, with the Puerto Rican responding in the fifth with jarring lefts that left their mark.
The Filipino seemed to be gaining his second wind in the sixth as he found openings, tagging Collazo with more head and body combinations until the fateful seventh, when his corner decided to throw in the towel in the middle of the round.
