‘Golden Boy’ heaps praises on Vayson

LOS ANGELES — Grief instantly turned into joy for Jayson Vayson when Oscar De La Hoya came up to his corner to praise him for putting up a gallant stand against Puerto Rican star Oscar Collazo on Saturday night in the city of Indio.

Vayson, who was declared the loser by seventh-round technical knockout at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, was surprised to be standing next to the American boxing great.

“He was very nice and he told me that I have a very good chance of becoming a world champion someday,” Vayson told DAILY TRIBUNE the day after failing to dethrone Collazo as World Boxing Organization, World Boxing Association and The Ring magazine minimumweight king.

“He’s my idol that’s why I was so happy that he approached me and talked to me,” added the 27-year-old Vayson, whose quest to capture three titles went down the drain when his corner threw in the towel at 1:41 of the seventh round.

De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions is the lead promoter of Collazo, whose victory over the game and gutsy Filipino boosted his win-loss record to 13-0 with 10 knockouts.

But making a bid in the 105-pound class will now be abandoned as Vayson insists that he felt a bit drained.

Before challenging Collazo, Vayson was fighting in the light-fly class (108 pounds) the last seven years and while he managed to make the weight, his physical conditioning was not at optimum level.

In fact, rounds five and six were dominated by Collazo, who stormed back after being hurt by Vayson’s body blows in the fourth frame.