Collazo takes Rivera's title on hostile turf!

Karmazin tops Holmes to earn shot at Ouma

02/04/2005

Collazo takes Rivera's title on hostile turf!

Luis Collazo W12 Jose A. Rivera... Little-known New Yorker Luis Collazo took a welterweight title fight on short notice in the champion's hometown and came away with a split-decision win. After a thrilling final three minutes of action, Collazo was awarded a victory over hometown hero Jose A. Rivera by scores of 115-113 (twice) and 113-115.  Boxingtalk agreed with the verdict, scoring it 115-114 for Collazo.  Rivera came forward for most of the fight but Collazo was very effective with counterpunches.  The win brings Collazo the WBA regular title at 147 pounds.  Rivera, still a contender but no longer a titlist, must now ponder whether turning down a lucrative non-title fight vs. Ricardo Mayorga last year was the right thing to do.  source: G. Leon @ ringside

Roman Karmazin W12 Keith Holmes... Perennial prospect Roman Karmazin finally fulfilled some of the promise that American fans have heard coming out of Europe for years. Karmazin defeated former middleweight world titlist Keith Holmes by majority decision in Worcester, Massachusetts on Saturday to become Kassim Ouma's mandatory challenger for the IBF junior middleweight title. Official scores were 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112.  Karmazin is rated #22 by Boxingtalk, which has drawn plenty of complaints from his fans. Today's win means Karmazin will move into Boxingtalk's top ten.  source: G. Leon @ ringside

Steve Cunningham W12 Guillermo Jones... Cruiserweight Steve Cunningham defeated Guillermo Jones by split decision in Worcester, Massachusetts on Saturday.  Cunningham won two scorecards, 97-93 and 96-94 while one favored Jones by 97-93.  Entering the bout, Cunningham was rated #12 and Jones #11 in the Boxingtalk ratings.  source: Kirk Lang @ ringside