Two world champions both ended their world title fights in lucky round seven on Saturday at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, Calif.
Unified minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo (13-0, 10 KOs) stopped the capable Jayson Vayson (14-2-1) of the Philippines in the seventh round when that fighter’s corner asked referee Thomas Taylor to stop the fight.
It was a shocking moment for fans who saw Vayson give Puerto Rico’s Collazo some troubling moments, especially with an effective body attack in the fourth round.
“He got me with a good body shot,” Collazo admitted.
Collazo started quicker than Vayson when he connected with a check right hook that floored the Filipino fighter in the opening round. But the going got tougher as Vayson began attacking the body.
Back and forth the two minimumweight fighters exchanged attacks with neither able to maintain the upper hand.
In the seventh round Collazo revved up the engine and mounted an assault that had Vayson backing up and looking for safety. That’s when his own corner yelled to the referee to stop the fight. Thomas Taylor, the referee, looked back and heard and saw the request and stopped the battle at 1:41 of the seventh round.
“They (his corner) thought I had been broken. But of course, I could fight but you respect the corner,” said Vayson about the fight being stopped by his own corner. “I felt the punches on my body, but I felt I could manage it.”
Collazo retains his WBA and WBO titles by knockout. It is his third consecutive knockout win
“I believe I had a good stoppage,” said Collazo. “That was the round we were going to throw more…he was slowing down.”
The Puerto Rican world champion expects a unification match or to move up in weight and challenge new flyweight world champion Ricardo Sandoval who also fights under the Golden Boy Promotions banner.
“I would really love to fight Ricardo Sandoval. A Puerto Rican and a Mexican that’s a really good matchup.”
Fundora Wins Too
In the co-main event undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora (17-0, 9 KOs) bulldozed Canada’s rugged Alexas Kubicki (13-2) to win by stoppage in the seventh round.
Kubicki’s game plan was quickly evident as she burrowed inside Fundora’s long reach and attempted to out-tough the slender and taller southpaw champion. It didn’t work.
“I expected her to come 1000 percent ready,” said Fundora whose brother is also a world champion as a super welterweight. “I just adjusted. The very punch I threw, I felt she underestimated me.”
Fundora showed off her ferocious attack and fought off Kubicki’s charges with accurate lefts and sweeping right hooks that found the target almost every time. Kubicki’s head snapped back several times. It was remarkable that Kubicki was able to survive the blows.
The shorter Canadian had her best round in the fourth round as she used lateral movement to actually have Fundora backing up. Still, Fundora used the separation to connect from long range.
Whether inside or outside, Fundora was deadly accurate. Kubicki withstood the battering assaults but just couldn’t find the solution to the champion’s accuracy and punishing blows. But the Canadian fighter never was knocked down despite the battering.
In the sixth round Kubicki was warned she was absorbing too much punishment. In the seventh round the battering continued as Fundora rained blow after blow. Referee Ray Corona stepped in and stopped the fight at 43 seconds of the seventh round. Fundora remains the undisputed and undefeated flyweight world champion.
“It was good to be back in Coachella Valley. I’m glad I got a knockout again,” said Fundora.
Following the knockout win, promoter Oscar De La Hoya said Fundora has multiple options including moving down in weight, or moving up a weight division. Both are viable he continued.
Other Results
Hot prospect Joel Iriarte (9-0, 8 KOs) needed only three rounds to knock out Eduardo Hernandez (8-5, 5 KOs) in their welterweight fight.
Iriarte floored Hernandez in the first round with a punishing left hook to the liver. In the third round the taller Iriarte connected with three successive left hooks all delivered from different angles. Hernandez was ruled finished by referee Taylor
Uzbekistan junior welterweight Ruslan Abdulaev (3-0) was able to defeat veteran Kevin Johnson (12-8) who competed strongly in every round, but fell short according to the judges, All three favored Olympian Abdulaev 79-73 twice and 80-72.
Middleweight Grant Flores (12-0, 9 KOs) rallied hard in the last two rounds to stymie Courtney Pennington (17-10-3, 7 KOs) to win the middleweight fight by unanimous decision after eight rounds.
Flores used his height and reach to keep the momentum, but late body work by Pennington took off the steam from Flores. Then Flores targeted the body too and that turned the momentum back toward him. The judges scored it 80-71 twice and 79-72.
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