Keith Thurman vs Luis Collazo Preview July 11th
The Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series is back again this weekend as WBA Welterweight Champion Keith Thurman of Clearwater, Florida will be taking on veteran Luis Collazo of Brooklyn, New York on Saturday, July 11th at the University of South Florida SunDome in Tampa, Florida. The 12-round fight can be seen live in the U.S. on ESPN. The undefeated 26-year-old Thurman will enter the ring with a perfect record of 25-0 along with 21 Kos while the 34-year-old Collazo is 36-6 with 19 Kos to his name.
Thurman last fought in April when he dropped veteran Robert Guerrero in the ninth round and then went on to a comfortable 12-round unanimous decision triumph. Thurman isn’t exactly stepping up in class against Collazo, but he’ll be taking on a solid veteran who can’t be taken lightly. Thurman is regarded as a skillful boxer/puncher who combines speed and power to produce a fan-friendly style. He’s got the power to stop most opponents and the boxing skill to wins decisions if he has to go the distance.
Thurman possesses an effective jab which he often doubles or triples up on. He likes to back his foe up with the jab and then unleash power shots or combinations to the head and body. He’s also a good counterpuncher and is quite an intelligent boxer overall who can throw punches from a wide variety of angles. His hardest shot is the left hook and his mobility makes him one of boxing’s best young prospects at the moment. He’s not the easiest guy to hit, and so far his chin has appeared to be pretty solid.
Collazo isn’t really a boxing star himself even though he’s a former world champion, but he’s taken many of them on during his colourful career. He’s been in the ring with the likes of Ricky Hatton, Victor Ortiz, Andre Berto, Amir Khan and Shane Mosley, but dropped unanimous decisions to Khan, Berto, Mosley and Hatton while he stopped Ortiz. His last high-profile bout came against Khan in May of 2014 and he was dropped three times during his 12-round unanimous decision loss. He was last in the ring in April when he stopped Christopher Degollado in the second round and has won five of his last six outings.
Collazo can be an exciting fighter and is quite durable. He hasn’t been stopped in the last 12 years, but he doesn’t have the power needed to stop fighters such as Thurman. Collazo’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 the champion though or he’ll be tattooed with a quick barrage of punches. Thurman’s hand speed will give Collazo problems even though the challenger has a slight height and reach advantage.
Thurman turned pro in 2007 and has fought 105 rounds since then and owns a KO ratio of 81 per cent. Collazo has 249 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2000 and his KO percentage stands at 45. He has a three-inch reach edge over the champion at 72 inches to 69 while he’s also entering the ring with a 1.5-inch height advantage.
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Prediction
It’s too bad this matchup wasn’t made when Collazo was a little younger. He’s got a lot of heart in the ring, but his power and overall boxing skills fall short of Thurman’s. He should make it a competitive fight for the first five or six rounds, but the champion will then have the edge. I can see Thurman winning this fight via either a decision or stoppage in the second half. Either way, he’ll be keeping his title in Tampa.
Odds
Sportsbook 5dimes.eu has the latest odds on all of the big fights. The odds of a Thurman victory are currently listed at -6000 while a Collazo win is listed at +2750. Visit 5Dimes.eu to see up to date odds and to bet on this fight. You should also check out our recent boxing betting predictions to see how we’ve done.
Keith Thurman betting • Luis Collazo betting