By Vince D’Writer: On Saturday, May 27th at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California, live on DAZN, a bout on the Rocha-Young card became a historic event as Oscar Collazo defeated Melvin Jerusalem (20-3, 12 KOs) and won the WBO mini- flyweight title.
Back in February 2023, Amanda Serrano made history as she became the first undisputed Puerto Rican boxing champion, and three months later, Oscar Collazo added his name to the history books by defeating Melvin Jerusalem and becoming the fastest boxer of Puerto Rican descent to win a world title.
Collazo started his boxing career by competing as an amateur for a seven-year period, and during that time, he won five national amateur boxing titles. In 2019 he won a gold medal at the Pan American Games. He would go on to turn pro in 2020, and three years later, he landed a world title opportunity.
The 26-year-old southpaw, who is a current resident of Vilalba, Puerto Rico, came into the fight motivated and excited in regards to his chance to make history. On fight night, he started the 105-pound championship bout by pressing forward and working off the jab.
In the fourth round, Collazo displayed a balanced offensive attack as he landed solid shots to the head and body of his opponent. At the start of the bout, Melvin Jerusalem was boxing off the back foot, but by the fifth round of the fight, it seemed like Jerusalem was trying to survive off the back foot.
Collazo continued to aggressively attack his opponent in the sixth round, as the round was highlighted by the challenger landing multiple body shots and a sharp straight left hand. In the 7th round, Collazo landed a hard left and followed it up with a flurry of shots.
Throughout the 7th round of the bout, Oscar Collazo was landing at will, as he was connecting with pinpoint accuracy to Melvin Jerusalem’s body and head. At the end of the seventh round, Jerusalem’s corner requested that the referee put a halt to the contest.
As a result of the stoppage, the Puerto Rican mini-flyweight made history. During his post-fight interview, the new WBO champion spoke about his fight strategy.
“The game plan was to attack the body. By the fourth and fifth rounds, I could tell he was breathing harder and was slowing down. I just kept chopping the tree. Chop the tree. My corner helped me stay calm and stick to the game plan.”
The new champion verbalized his appreciation for the support his team gave him, and he also expressed the fact that he felt he was destined to be world champion. After winning the title, Collazo used social media to state his gratitude.
“I’M WORLD CHAMPION. Thank you all for the good wishes and for the support you have given. I achieved a dream, and I have to thank the Lord and my work team. THANK YOU.”
Oscar Collazo (7-0, 5 KOs) had a sensational night as he became a world champion and placed his name in the history books. However, Collazo’s celebration will be brief, as he plans to make his first WBO title defense in August.