Keith Thurman brought his considerable talents into the ring. But Collazo proved to be harder to get out of there than anyone expected?
Saturday night at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida, in the inaugural Premier Boxing Champions fight card on ESPN, WBA World welterweight champion Keith Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs), from Clearwater, Florida, successfully defended his title by stopping former welterweight champion Luis Collazo (36-7, 19 KOs), from Queens by way of Brooklyn, New York, between rounds seven and eight.
Fighting out of the red corner in burgundy and white trunks, Thurman brought his considerable talents into the ring. He is fast and athletic. He is serious and skilled. But Collazo, fighting out of the blue corner in red trunks, an underdog way past his prime, proved to be harder to get out of there than anyone expected.
Collazo knew better than to trade with Thurman in the first. He was moving, using the ring, using his veteran?s wiles to keep away from the stalking champion. The lack of action in the opening round was a reflection of what was to come.
The challenger continued to play it safe in round two. Collazo is not only eight years older than Thurman. He?s more shopworn and fought accordingly. ?One Time? was landing single shots, a lead right, a hook, another right, a left to the body. But even a three-punch combination at the bell failed to elicit the reaction it perhaps deserved.
Round three was a perfect demonstration of Thurman?s gifts and liabilities. He fought carefully, He fought thoughtfully. He was picking his spots. He was making Collazo miss. But for all that, Thurman is not an exciting fighter. He was getting the better of his opponent, as expected, causing his left eye to swell and discolor, but he has a dangerous tendency to leave himself open when he punches, which a younger, more skilled fighter will happily exploit if given the chance.
The fourth round was a carbon copy of what preceded it. Thurman was too fast, too athletic, too youthful, too in his boxing prime for Collazo. It wasn?t that Collazo was out of it, per se, as much as he was gradually busting up without doing any significant busting in return.
Thurman continued sharpshooting in the fifth. He as moving around the ring, Dancing out of harm?s way, insofar as Collazo was capable of harming him. But then something strange happened. Collazo saw an opening and he went for it. He landed a beautiful left hook to the body that hurt Thurman and bent him in half. The champion went into survival mode. He managed to avoid getting nailed for the remainder of the round. But the man who?d been anointed as the ?next big thing? was looking vulnerable.
Taking a page from the Sam Langford playbook (?I hit the body ?cause the head got eyes?), Collazo opened round six with a right downstairs. Thurman was keeping away and using the jab. But he is flatfooted, he doesn?t fight on his toes, and one of these days it?s going to catch up with him. Those 26-year-old legs will take him far, but not as far as he might like. Look at Roy Jones. Look at Ali. Or listen to Willie Pep. (?First your legs go. Then you lose your reflexes. Then you lose your friends.?) Thurman, fortunately, is still young. After Collazo landed a four-punch combination, Thurman landed a straight right hand, followed by a big right at the bell. Collazo was now bleeding from a cut above his right eye.
Thurman continued to assault Collazo in the seventh. His face was a mess and Thurman was stopping and popping him with a variety of punches. Collazo?s moment in the sun was brief, albeit dramatic. But Collazo?s moment had past.
Between rounds seven and eight there was much ado in the challenger?s corner. Cut, dinged and bruised, Collazo was asked by the referee if he wanted to continue. He said, ?I can?t see.? The ref asked, ?Do you want me to stop it?? Collazo replied, ?I can?t fight.?
It was a disappointing end to a somewhat disappointing fight.
Taken on his own terms, Thurman is a good fighter. One doesn?t become world champion without being a good fighter. But he has been so lauded, so celebrated, so lionized, that expectations have risen accordingly. And those expectations, the lofty standards we apply to the kings of the ring, must of necessity be applied to Thurman, if the praise is to have any meaning at all.
He may be a work in progress, but he?s been at it since he?s been seven, so chances are the Thurman we see is the Thurman we get. It may be foolish to expect him to be a natural like Guillermo Rigondeaux. It may be way over the top to hope that he?ll meta like Mayweather. But if Thurman is Thurman, that should be enough.
