Luis Collazo long ago earned the respect of those who know him for his dedication to family, boxing and his faith. But an international pay-per-view audience will finally take notice if the former welterweight champion from Brooklyn can beat Amir Khan May 3 in Las Vegas.
Collazo (35-5, 18 KOs) will face Khan (28-3, 19 KOs) in the one of the undercard bouts on Floyd Mayweather’s WBC welterweight championship defense against Marcos Maidana on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The Collazo-Khan winner figures to be in the discussion as a future Mayweather opponent or the main event of another high-profile bout.
“This fight is my whole career right in front of me,” Collazo said recently. “I believe if I beat Amir Khan, I have a bigger future in boxing and if I don’t, I have to start from the bottom again. I am not looking beyond Amir Khan. He is my main focus. From here whatever happens, happens. But Amir Khan is all I’m thinking about right now.”
Collazo turned 33 this week, so starting from the bottom again is not an attractive option. A former WBA welterweight champion, he earned the fight against Khan by knocking out Victor Ortiz in the second of their fight in January at Barclays Center. Ortiz was the favorite, but didn’t have Collazo’s heart, determination or punching power.
“On that night, Ortiz looked like the old man,” Collazo said.
Once an afterthought, Collazo now has a chance to get the kind of rich mega-fight that has eluded him since he lost his WBA welterweight title to Ricky Hatton in 2006. He subsequently lost title bouts to Shane Mosley and Andre Berto.
“To be honest, not being offered big fights was bringing me down,” Collazo said. “I was literally depressed. But times change. Last year was a tough one, but 2014 is turning out to be a blessed year.”
While Collazo has fought at welterweight his entire career, Khan is a former junior welterweight champion who will be fighting at 147 pounds for the first time.
“When you cut down and you kill yourself and make your weight, and you cut down to about 140 pound division, it used to kind of make me really weak,” Khan said. “I couldn’t hold energy, the power wasn’t there, and I used to walk into the fight literally, very weak. So, I think this weight is going to be perfect for me. I’m going to be exactly where I need to be, I’m going to be nice and strong.”
Khan thought he might get the fight with Mayweather and admitted he was upset when Maidana was chosen.
“Yeah, I was upset,” he said. “But look, I’ve got someone else in front of me now, Luis Collazo, who is going to be giving 100 percent in there. So, all of my focus is on that fight now. Whatever happened in the past, I just let it go. I’m just focusing on this next fight now.”
The fight could be a boxing match or a slug-fest, depending on who sets the tempo. Collazo will likely try to pressure Khan to take him out of his comfort zone and test a chin that has allowed two of his losses by knockout.
“If he takes me lightly, more power to him,” Collazo said. “But come fight night I’m just going to try to capitalize on all his mistakes. That’s, my main thing, and I’m just working my butt off. I’m working hard to give all fans what they want, a great and exciting show.”
Keith Thurman (22-0, 20 KOs) of Clearwater, Fla., will defend the WBA Interim Welterweight title Saturday night when he takes on former champion Julio Diaz (40-9-1, 29 KOs) of Coachella, Calif. Showtime will televise from the Stubhud Center in Carson, Calif. In other bouts Lucas Matthysse (34-3, 32 KOs) of Argentina meets John Molina (27-3, 22 KOs) of Covina, Calif., and WBC lightweight champion Omar Figueroa (22-0-1, 17 KOs) of Weslaco, Texas, defends against Jerry Belmontes (19-3, 5 KOs) of Corpus Christi, Texas.