Oscar Collazo ends Thammanoon Niyomtrong's perfect record with vicious knockout victory

Oscar Collazo delivered another scintillating statement as he blasted past Thammanoon Niyomtrong to become WBO and WBA unified minimumweight champion on the undercard of Chris Billam-Smith's fight against Gilberto Ramirez on Saturday night.  

The Ring Magazine champion unleashed a thumping right hook to floor his Thai opponent in a furious sixth round, before sending Niyomtrong stumbling to the canvas again with another crashing right in the seventh.

He eventually sealed the deal in emphatic fashion as he landed a brutal left uppercut to finish a valiant but tiring Niyomtrong, who saw his unbeaten record come to an end after the first defeat of his professional career to fall to 25-1.

Niyomtrong, known by his ring name of Knockout CP Freshmart, had held the WBA title since beating Byron Rojas in June 2016.

Collazo meanwhile moves to 11-0 as a professional with his eighth knockout win, underlining why he is regarded so highly around the world and exactly why he is expected to rise through the weights.

"A lot of people doubted me, much respect for the reigning champion, people said I only had 10 fights and couldn't make it, but look where we are now.

"I'm the king now at 105lbs for a little island called Puerto Rico!

"I listened to my team, waited patiently for the shot, he's a veteran so knew what to do. I heard my corner to get that right hook in and we got it.

"We started working on the body and wearing him out, when I saw him breathing hard the time was right."

Collazo was the dominant fighter from the first bell, commanding each of the first five rounds with superior speed, power and boxing IQ amid a mature and blistering performance against his savvy opponent.

Round six marked his opportunity to increase the tempo as Collazo launched a vicious assault amounting to a perfectly-timed shot to send Niyomtrong to the floor.

By now it was merely a matter of time, Niyomtrong unable to throw anything in return until his resistance finally broke in the face of a decisive upper-cut in round seven.

"I know I put the 105lb division on notice, I want all the belts next, I want to make history and be the first undisputed champion from Peurto Rico," added Collazo.

What had been billed as a one-sided affair turned into one of the fights of the night as William Zepeda overcame a knockdown to beat a disappointed Tevin Farmer in a split-decision victory.

It was hardly the overwhelming performance Zepeda had been hoping for in view of a prospective fight against Shakur Stevenson as the mandatory challenger for the WBC lightweight world title.

The Mexican was floored by a beautifully-timed left hand from Farmer in the fourth round as the American threatened to spring an upset.

But Zepeda showed grit and resilience to draw on superior volume and intensity that would turn the fight around over the second half of the contest.

"We always knew it was going to be a really tough fight," Zepeda said."I think it shows there are lot of things I have to perfect going forward but I'm happy with my performance tonight.

"He tried to close me down and not allow me to feel comfortable in there. We did try to get that body work in there.

"I think during the shot [that knocked him down], it surprised me a little bit, maybe knocked my confidence a little bit but what I had to do was draw on my experience to come through and win that fight."

Arnold Barboza Jr has his sights set on a world title shot after overcoming Jose Ramirez via unanimous decision after a contest short of flashpoints.

Barboza was awarded it 97-93, 96-94, 96-94 during a contest he insisted had been overdue.

"It's a long time coming. I've been waiting for opportunities like this," he said.

"11 years in the making. I was close to hanging them up a few years back.

"This was my championship fight," Barboza said. "This is the fight that I've been wanting."

Oscar Duarte emerged victorious in an unrelenting 10-round epic against Batyr Akmedov earlier in the night, clinching a unanimous decision with scores of 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94.

The Mexican improved his record to 28-2-1 in his second straight win after suffering a stoppage defeat to Ryan Garcia in December 2023.

"I know that my opponent Akmedov is a great fighter," said Duarte. "I knew that he is a great warrior.

"But I thought I did enough to win clearly," he continued. "I'm ready for anybody and I want to fight Devin Haney.

"And if it's not him I'd like to fight any of the best… I'm ready for the next opportunity."

Juan Garcia of Mexico opened the evening by holding Ziyad Almaayouf to a majority draw, one judging ruling it 58-56 in favour of the latter while the other two judges agreed on 57-57 in a tight contest over six rounds.

Watch IBF welterweight champion Natasha Jonas take on WBC titlist Ivana Habazin at the Liverpool Exhibition Centre on December 14, live on Insportly