Oscar Collazo celebrates after defending his world title against Garen Diagan in Puerto Rico. | Photo from Miguel Cotto Promotions Facebook page
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) world minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo easily defended his title against Filipino Garen Diagan on August 26, 2023 (August 27, Manila Time) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Collazo performed a masterful performance that was too much for Diagan, who refused to fight before the seventh round started.
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First defense
This was Collazo’s first title defense following his impressive victory last May against erstwhile champion Melvin Jerusalem in Indio, California, the United States.
The 26-year-old Puerto Rican, the first boxer from his country to win a world title in less than 10 fights improved his unbeaten record to eight wins with six knockouts.
Meanwhile, Diagan absorbed his fourth loss in 13 bouts.
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Champ controlling bout from the start
It was already clear in the opening round that Collazo was controlling the bout.
Collazo used accurate jabs to pile up points while tagging Diagan with power punches.
Diagan retaliated, but Collazo’s defense was too difficult to dismantle. Diagan’s punches were either missed or blocked by the Puerto Rican world champion.
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Diagan hopes to land haymaker but failed
Despite the inevitable loss, Diagan kept his composure and continued to press forward, hoping to land a powerful punch that could knock out the world champion.
However, Collazo upped his tempo in the ensuing rounds. He then managed to pin Diagan against the ropes numerous times and landed significant punches.
In the sixth round, Collazo banked on his counterpunches and excellent defense to win the round.
During the break, Diagan and his corner decided not to continue the fight, giving Collazo the victory.
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