Gibbons blasts Collazo for avoiding Taduran unification bout
CEBU CITY, Philippines — MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons recently took aim at reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) and World Boxing Association (WBA) minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo of Puerto Rico, accusing him of avoiding legitimate contenders, particularly International Boxing Federation (IBF) titleholder Pedro Taduran.
In an interview published by Ring Magazine, Gibbons criticized Collazo for repeatedly passing up opportunities to pursue a unification bout with Taduran, who has been openly calling for the matchup for months.
“Collazo, you can’t say you’re pound-for-pound and won’t even do a unification with Pedro,” Gibbons told Ring Magazine.
READ: Ancajas falls short in his Zuffa Boxing debut
Gibbons went further, questioning Collazo’s standing among the sport’s elite fighters.
“He’s an embarrassment to walk around and keep saying, ‘I’m The Ring’s pound-for-pound [No. 9-ranked fighter], the best at 105 pounds’ … you haven’t fought anybody. You fought one Thai [Thammanoon Niyamtrong] that was past his best, you ran from Pedro for years and his last three fights have been completely embarrassing. Pedro is ready to fight. I think Collazo should go to 112 because he’s embarrassed the division,” he added.
Earlier this year, Taduran appeared on course to finally secure a showdown with Collazo. The Filipino champion even began training camp and prepared for what would have been his United States debut.
READ: Perez beat Manny Pacquiao’s son Eman; now he hits back at critics
However, the anticipated unification bout never materialized, with Collazo opting for other opponents in subsequent title defenses.
Taduran later returned to the Philippines and was among the spectators during the IBF minimumweight title eliminator between Cebu-based Ian Abne and China’s DianXing Zhu at the Cebu Coliseum last May.
Zhu emerged victorious after a grueling 12-round battle, earning the right to challenge Taduran for the IBF crown.
READ: Kumong Bol-Anon 25 boxing event full fight card revealed
According to Gibbons, efforts to arrange a unification fight have been ongoing. He revealed that he had repeatedly reached out to Golden Boy Promotions and Cotto Promotions to discuss a Taduran-Collazo showdown, but negotiations failed to gain traction.
For now, the highly anticipated clash between the division’s top champions remains out of reach, despite Taduran’s continued willingness to step into the ring.
READ: Pacquiao-Mayweather rematch postponed indefinitely
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
