An undefeated young titleholder looks to start the new year off with a bang versus a battled-tested veteran in the 2009 premiere of the network’s hit late-night boxing franchise when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: ANDRE BERTO VS. LUIS COLLAZO is presented SATURDAY, JAN. 17 at 9:45 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT), from the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Miss., exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.
Luis Collazo
Berto vs. Collazo on January 17th
By Chris Williams: Talent, speed, and a brittle chin, World Boxing Council welterweight champion Andre Berto (23-0, 19 KOs) has all of them. The unvarnished truth about Berto is that he’s a talented fighter but one loaded with flaws, starting with his chin and ending with his limited 5’8″ size, small for a welterweight. Some people see him as a poor man’s Floyd Mayweather Jr., except that Mayweather was good at blocking punches and making his opponents miss.
Vitali-Gomez Reach Agreement; Cruz-Thomas, Berto-Collazo – News
World Boxing Council President Jose Sulaiman announced today that WBC heavyweight world champion Vitali Klitschko of Ukraine and official challenger Juan Carlos Gomez of Cuba/Germany have reached an agreement and signed for their mandatory fight. The purse offer, which was scheduled for tomorrow, has been cancelled.
Shelly Finkel, representing Klitschko, and Ahmet Oner, representing Gomez, told President Sulaiman about the agreement.
Gamboa-Gonzalez, Solis-Burnett, Berto-Collazo – News
Yuriorkis Gamboa and Odlanier Solis are ready to shine at the season premiere of ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” next week (January 9th) at Terrible’s Primm Valley Casino Resorts. The 2004 Olympic gold medallists had no spare time over Christmas or New Year’s but have been working hard at their training camp in Primm, Nevada. “They both did a great job and will be perfectly prepared for their fights”, states coach Ismael Salas. “Odlanier is fired up to show the US public what he is made of. And Yuri knows that this is his last step before going for his first world title. He knows that he has to be focused and concentrated to fulfil his great dream to become champion of the world.”
Berto-Collazo: Andre Faces His Toughest Opponent Yet
By Dave Lahr: Undefeated WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto (23-0, 19 KOs) will be facing his biggest test of his young, four year professional career against former WBA welterweight champion Luis Collazo (29-3, 14 KOs) on January 17th at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, in Biloxi, Mississippi. Berto, 25, has fought mostly limited opponents up to this point, and looked both good and bad in beating tough B-class fighters like Miguel Angel Rodriguez, Michael Trabant and Cosme Rivera. Berto, a former 2004 Olympian for the Haiti team, has a combination of excellent hand speed, power and high volume work rate.
Berto Defeats Forbes; Collazo, Jacobs Also Win – Latest Boxing News
By David Lar: Making his first defense of his WBC welterweight title, undefeated Andre Berto (23-0, 19 KOs) pounded out an impressive 12-round unanimous decision over Steve Forbes (33-7, 9 KOs) at the Staples Center, in Los Angeles, California. Berto, 25, rose to the occasion against arguably his best opponent of his career in the 31 year-old Forbes, a former IBF super featherweight champion and a former contestant on the reality television series The Contender. Forbes looked good initially, matching Berto’s hand speed with blazing speed of his own, and landing well in the first two rounds. Indeed, Forbes appeared to win both the first and second rounds with his fast left hooks which he landed often against Berto during this time of the fight.
However, Berto adjusted well, and then completely took over the fight with his explosive combinations to the head and body of Forbes. As the fight progressed, Forbes seemed to drastically reduce his own punch output to the point where by the 11th and 12th rounds, he was only attempting a handful of punches per round. Berto had a lot to do with that, because he punished Forbes badly, hitting him often with hard uppercuts and combinations and giving him a thorough beating.
Alexander Decisions Corley, Collazo Defeats Barros
Undefeated junior welterweight prospect Devon Alexander (14-0, 9 KO’s) had little trouble grinding out a 12-round lopsided unanimous decision against former World Boxing Organization junior welterweight champion DeMarcus Corley (31-8-1, 17 KOs) on Saturday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Aside from the opening round when the 33 year-old Corley appeared to land the harder shots, Alexander had smooth sailing for the rest of the way, as he used his jab and straight left hand to easily defeat Corley.
Luis Collazo Profile – Pro Boxer
Former World Boxing Association Welterweight Champion. Born on April 22, 1981, in Brooklyn, New York. … continue