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05/10/2006 Archived Entry: "New England Chatta - Collazo vs. Hatton"
New England Chatta
Does Collazo Have Enough To Stop Hitman Hatton’s Hit Parade?
By J. D. Vena
It was Friday early evening, approximately 20 minutes after Jose "el Gallo" Rivera of Worcester weighed in for the jr. middleweight title fight he won this past Saturday night. In the back of a function room at the Best Western Hotel in Westborough, MA, Rivera He spotted a familiar face signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. It was a face he had targeted with punches for 12 tough rounds. It was the face of Brooklyn’s Luis Collazo, the man that wrested Rivera’s WBA welterweight championship title from him a year ago. Collazo, the sportsman, was there in support of his one-time adversary. As they embraced, they immediately posed for a couple of pictures and Rivera announced, “Everybody, this man is the next undisputed welterweight champion of the world!”
Usually, a mutual respect is formed between two fighters when they engage in a tough battle. Rivera learned in their bout that Collazo had what it took to become a champion. In order to fulfill Rivera’s divination of winning all of the division’s belts, Collazo must defend his against the rugged Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton from Manchester, England at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston. Most expect Hatton to bring a quick end to Collazo’s reign on the strength of his stellar run last year.
The awesome Hatton (40-0, 30 KO’s) was voted by many publications, including the CBZ, as the 2005 Fighter of the Year for not only defeating the legendary Kostya Tszyu, but by making the eventual Hall of Famer quit on his stool. Though most observed that Hatton was the universally recognized world jr. welterweight champion he didn’t earn home all of the belts that night. In November, Hatton snatched the WBA jr. welterweight belt from Carlos Maussa when he blasted him out in nine rounds. Collazo’s hands are expected to be full, but those who know him are keenly aware that there is more to Collazo than his two fists.
Bob Goodman, the director of operations for Don King Productions has been around the fight game for a while. Since the days of his youth, when Rocky Marciano would squat down and catch Goodman’s screwballs or when he would travel around with Muhammad Ali, Goodman has been around some of the all-time great fighters. Over the years, Goodman developed a sense for the sort of qualities and habits a fighter needs to have or develop in order to be a good fighter. This wisdom is why he’s had an appreciation for Collazo, who has been under King’s banner for only a short while.
“He’s quick, he’s got great balance, he has great ring savvy, he gives you angles but most importantly, he always stays in shape,” said Goodman. “Years ago, fighters were always in the gym and wanted to fight every couple of weeks. Now it’s every 4-6 months and they’re rarely in the gym. They have to drop weight and sometimes it’s difficult for them. Luis is that blue collared, throwback fighter that everyone loves. He is always in the gym. That’s why he’s a champion and why will remain champion after this weekend.”
Goodman and King fell in love with Collazo when he chose to fill in for Thomas Damgaard, an undefeated Danish fighter that had pulled out of a title fight that was scheduled with Rivera. With just two weeks notice, few picked Collazo to pull off the improbable upset in Rivera’s backyard, but in a gut-wrenching performance, Collazo won a split decision.
“I’ve known many fighters, big name fighters that turned down these same opportunities,” said Goodman. “Hatton’s never fought a guy like this.”
So what’s in store for Hatton Saturday night? We know that he must be fighting a brave fighter but what skills will Collazo bring with him that can stop this relentless fighting machine? Let your writer help you out with this one. What do the names Winky Wright, Joe Calzaghe, Paul Spadafora and Chris Byrd all have in common? Despite not carrying the biggest punch in the world, they are slick southpaws that everyone had written off in big fights. Instead of following a script that had them laying down in these fights, they have displayed a knack for making opponents look plain foolish at times. Collazo is this kind of southpaw.
“It’s good to be a southpaw if you fight the right way,” Collazo told the CBZ. “If you’re a southpaw, it’s not to your advantage to bang with the other guy. That’s how you can get caught with big shots and most southpaws that try to bang with you, you don’t really hear about. If you’re slick and you can make your opponents miss, you’ll do okay.”
So far, Collazo has fit that mold. He’s 26-1 with 12 KO’s and has befuddled all but one of his opponents. In Collazo’s 15th bout, the 5’9 slickster was caught with a hard right cross in an exchange with 6’1 Edwin Cassiani. Cassiani jumped all over Collazo who though didn’t hit the canvas was halted when referee Jay Nady stepped in, some felt to be prematurely. Whether the stoppage was controversial or not, Collazo hasn’t looked back, responding with 12 straight wins, two of which being title fights.
If Jose Rivera’s dominating performance against Alex “Terra” Garcia this past weekend makes Rivera the best kept secret in boxing, that must qualify Collazo as the bestest kept secret in boxing.
“I don’t blame my critics for not knowing much about me,” said Collazo. “I didn’t have a promoter for most of my career. I was talking with Zab Judah on day and he told Don about me. They signed me, got me a few fights and I got a title shot in my fourth fight under his wing. I haven’t done much yet or nearly what I know I can do. I’m getting better and better with each fight and people will finally see what I can do when I beat Hatton.”
Though many don’t question whether Hatton can beat Collazo, many are wondering why Hatton chose to fight such an elusive opponent. Was it Hatton’s way of cornering Floyd Mayweather, Jr. into a dream fight?
“Not so,” Hatton told the CBZ. “I just thought it was a good move coming to the States and fighting a good meaningful fight. I don’t have any immediate plans of remaining at welterweight but there are a lot of good fights that can be made in this division. There is talk of the winner of Corrales-Castillo moving up to light welterweight. I’d meet either of them if a fight can be made. I’m just looking for the best fights for me, not necessarily whether they are light welter or welterweight fights.”
Though leading up to Saturday night’s fight he was saying all right things, like the “I’m not looking past…” and the “I’m only focused on who I’m fighting on Saturday night..,” it’s hard to imagine the Hitman taking Collazo to be a serious threat.
“I don’t care whether he’s done his homework or not,” said Collazo. “It won’t make a difference. I know that I’ve done my homework. It’s important to do that for every fight. Everyone has flaws. I’ve worked very hard in camp and I will find ways of beating him.”
So far the major chink in Hatton’s style is that he is prone to cuts over the eyes. Hatton showed another sign of vulnerability when he was floored in a 2002 fight by Irish rival, Eamonn Magee, a southpaw. Early in the first round of that fight, Magee caught an unsuspecting Hatton with a chopping left hand. Hatton hit the deck and appeared badly hurt, but recovered. Magee spent the rest of the fight on the ropes and Hatton beat him with his quickness. The edge in speed may not be to Hatton’s advantage this weekend.
“I’ve seen that fight many times, “said Collazo. “Had (Magee) kept putting the pressure on Hatton, the fight could have been different.”
Though a champion, Collazo is the unknown because his fights aren’t the phone booth wars that involve heavy artillery. Saturday night will mark the first time the shifty and crafty southpaw will be featured on center stage. Fighting at the Garden in front of Hatton’s loyal countrymen on HBO is the perfect stage to become a known commodity.
Before Joe Calzaghe beat the tar out of Jeff Lacy, he was the underrated Joe Calzaghe. Before Winky Wright embarrassed Felix Trinidad, he was just Winky Wright. Right now Luis Collazo is just Luis Collazo but if he is who Jose Rivera and Bobby Goodman know him to be, the boxing world may find out how special Collazo is on Saturday night.
Filling out the undercard Saturday night is an IBF featherweight title fight between Brazilian champion, Valdemir Pereira (24-0, 15 KO’s) against late replacement Eric Aiken (15-4, 12 KO’s) of Marysville, OH. In an 8 round jr. middleweight bout, Hatton’s younger brother, Mathew Hatton (27-2-1, 11 KOs) meets the always-exciting Jose “Stinger” Medina (9-6, 3 KO’s) of nearby Tilton, NH.
Other fights involving local fighters are one-time Medina conqueror and an amateur rival of Collazo, Jason “The Hammer” Lehoullier (19-0, 8 KO’s) of Portland, ME who faces Michael Melvin of Philadelphia in another jr. middleweight 8-rounder. In an interesting heavyweight bout, Boston City police officer, Tyrone Smith (5-1-1, 2 KO’s) faces Dorchester based Irish transplant, James Clancy (7-0, 1 KO) in a scheduled 6 rounder. Lowell’s fast rising light heavyweight “Irish” Joey McCreedy (4-0, 4 KO’s) and middleweight Chris Traetti of Quincy, MA are also slated to appear in separate bouts. Three other bouts featuring heavyweight Ernie Maczyc (3-0) of Columbia, SC, fierce punching jr. featherweight Carlos Oliveira (17-0, 15 KO’s) and Venezuelan jr. welterweight Patrick Lopez (6-0, 6 KO’s) round out what should be a spectacular card in separate bouts that New England fans shouldn’t miss.
Ticket prices are priced from $50- $500 and are available at: The TD Banknorth Garden Box Office, located on the West Side of the North Station Platform, to the right of the Pro Shop. Open Monday – fight time at 11:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. (The TD Banknorth Garden Box Office does not accept any incoming phone calls); and all TicketMaster outlets, by phone at 617-931-2000, and online at TicketMaster.com.
