Luis Collazo vs Samuel Vargas Preview Mar. 17th
Veteran welterweight Luis Collazo of Brooklyn, New York will be facing Samuel Vargas of Bogota, Colombia in a 10-round bout in New York City on Saint Patrick’s Day, Sunday March 17th. The contest will be shown live in the USA on ESPN+ while fans in the UK can catch it on BoxNation. Collazo last fought in August when he beat Bryan Perrella by a 10-round majority decision. Vargas last saw action in December when he beat Gabriel Pereiro by 10-round majority decision to retain his NABA Welterweight Title.
Collazo vs Vargas Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Samuel Vargas +121
- Luis Collazo -141
My Pick
The 37-year-old Collazo is 38-7 with 20 Kos to his name and he may have some ring rust since this is just his third fight since 2015. He’s a solid veteran and former WBA world champion (2005) who can’t be taken lightly even though he’s in the twilight of his career. He also has plenty of experience against top boxers such as Keith Thurman, Ricky Hatton, Victor Ortiz, Andre Berto, Amir Khan and Shane Mosley. He lost unanimous decisions to Khan, Berto, Mosley and Hatton while he stopped Ortiz. He was stopped himself by Edwin Cassiani in 2002 and by Thurman in 2015.
He’s got a good chin though as Thurman was the first man to stop him in 12 years. Collazo can be an exciting fighter and is quite durable, but he doesn’t have the power needed to stop elite boxers. He’s a good southpaw who likes to land the lead right hook whenever he gets the chance. He can’t afford to leave himself open when attacking though or he’ll be tattooed with a quick barrage of punches. Collazo has 272 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2000 and his Knockout ratio currently stands at 44 per cent. He stands 5-feet-9-inches tall and has a 72-inch reach.
Vargas was born in Colombia, but now calls Toronto, Canada his home. He’s 29 years old and has a record of 30-4-2 with 14 Kos under his belt. Vargas turned pro back in 2010 and has 237 rounds to his name since then. Vargas is 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 72-inch reach, so is the same size as Collazo. He was stopped by Errol Spence Jr. in the fourth round in April, 2015, dropped a 10-round unanimous decision to Pablo Munguia in December, 2013, was stopped by Danny Garcia in the seventh round in November, 2016 and dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to Amir Khan last year his four losses.
Vargas’ draws were against Mauro Godoy last year and with Tebor Bosch in 2011. Other than Khan, Spence, Garcia and Ali Funeka, most fans won’t recognize any of Vargas’ other opponents. He doesn’t possess much in the way of power with a current knockout ratio of 39 per cent, but he did manage to drop Khan last year. Vargas is also a solid pro with a lot of heart. He’s had problems when stepping up in class, but there’s no shame in being stopped by Spence and Garcia. Since turning pro, Vargas has also captured the Canadian Welterweight and WBA-NABA Canada Super Welterweight Title.
Prediction…
This is an even matchup, but Vargas is eight years younger. In their primes, I believe Collazo would be the favourite. However, at this stage of their careers that’s probably no longer the case. Neither boxer is a power puncher, but has enough in their arsenal to stop their opponent. This is a tough one to predict, but I’ll go with Collazo here even though he’s pushing 40 years of age.
Collazo may have enough left in the tank.
Play: Collazo -141 @ BetOnline.ag
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Luis Collazo betting • Samuel Vargas betting