Unified minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo says he’s ready to defend his title in a rescheduled bout against Edwin Cano Hernandez. The pair square off on March 29 at Poliforum Benito Juarez in Cancun, Mexico. The contest serves as the co-feature to William Zepeda vs Tevin Farmer 2, live on DAZN.
28-year-old Collazo (11-0, 8 KOs) from Newark, New Jersey, makes his fifth world championship defense and the first defense of his unified WBA and WBO 105-pound belts. At a media workout, the Puerto Rican southpaw said he was feeling good and promised a “great show” against 27-year-old Mexican challenger Cano (13-2-1, 4 KOs), who he called “a hell of a fighter.”
Collazo unified the straps last November, stopping Thai champion Thammanoon Niyomtrong in the seventh round of his third fight of the year. Cano knocked out Michael Carmona in the fourth round last July and TKO’d Gerardo Sanchez in the seventh round last March.
“This camp is going great,” Oscar Collazo said. “As always, I am giving 150% in this camp. I am focusing on my strategy on this fighter that we were supposed to fight in November. I’ve done over 130 rounds of sparring during this camp. It’s been a very strategic camp. I’m feeling good.”
“My opponent is a good fighter. He is ranked No. 3 by the WBO. He wants to be a world champion like everyone else. This is my fifth title defense, and a lot of people have tried to dethrone me, so this won’t be the exception. Cano is a hell of a fighter, but this is my time.”
“It is a great rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico. This fight is just another one for the list. With Cano in Mexico with all his fans, they’re all out there waiting for me. It is going to be a great show for the Puerto Rico and Mexican fans out there.”
Atop the fight card, Mexico’s William Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) defends his interim WBC lightweight title in a rematch against Philadelphia’s former super featherweight champion Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs). Zepeda won their first fight last November, defeating Farmer by split decision.
On the Zepeda vs Farmer 2 undercard, Nicaraguan-born Costa Rican Yokasta Valle (32-3, 10 KOs) meets Marlen Esparza (15-2, 1 KO) of Houston, TX. The former world champions battle it out at flyweight.