Luis Collazo

Luis Collazo (born April 22, 1981) is an American professional boxer of Puerto Rican descent. He is a former WBA welterweight champion and multiple time world title challenger.

Amateur career

Before turning pro on May 16, 2000, Collazo had a record of 97-25 as an amateur.

Professional career

He grew up in Brooklyn on Georgia Avenue and attended P.S. 290 and I.S. 302. He is of Puerto Rican descent. Collazo won the WBA Welterweight title on April 2, 2005 with a 12-round split decision victory over defending champion Jose Antonio Rivera. However, the WBA had elevated Cory Spinks to "Undisputed Champion" status before he had lost his titles to Zab Judah, so Collazo was not the definite champion of that organization. On January 7, 2006, Judah lost a 12-round decision to Carlos Baldomir in New York. Baldomir had chosen to pay the sanctioning fee of the WBC only; as a result Judah's WBA undisputed title was vacated. With Judah's loss, Collazo then attained recognition as the WBA's sole welterweight champion. On May 13, 2006, he lost the title to Ricky Hatton in a very tight and controversial affair which went the distance. On February 10, 2007 he lost a 12 round unanimous decision versus Sugar Shane Mosley in which he injured his hand early in the fight and continued on till the end. After working back from the injury through rehab and aggressive training, by long-time trainer Nirmal Lorick, Luis fought on the Roy Jones Jr vs. Félix Trinidad card, January 19, 2008 at Madison Square Gardens. He won a one-sided victory against Edvan Dos Santos Barros (9-5-1, 7 KOs), winning 100-90 on 2 judges' scorecards and 99-91 on the other.