Is Oscar Collazo leaving the minimumweight division?
The Puerto Rican pound-for-pound star faces Neider Valdez of Mexico in a flyweight bout at the Frontwave Arena on Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila) in Oceanside, California.
He was supposed to defend his two world minimumweight crowns but Valdez issued an advisory that he won’t make 105 pounds, leaving promoters with no choice but to downgrade the fight.
Valdez was actually the second fighter eyed by Golden Boy Promotions to challenge Collazo after original foe Joey Canoy of the Philippines could not travel to the US owing to visa issues.
Mexican Luis Castillo was also called up to step up but he had the same visa problem, leaving Collazo with no choice but to face off with Valdez.
The move to go up in weight could also be a sign that Collazo is soon campaigning in flyweight (112 pounds) or even at light-fly (108 pounds).
In the event Collazo goes up in weight, Filipino champion Pedro Taduran, who has been calling him out, will have no choice but to forget about him in the meantime.
But all is not lost since they could still end up tangling at 108 or even 112.