SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO (June 5, 2023): Today, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) officially awarded the history-making Oscar “El Pupilo” Collazo (7-0, 5 KOs) his World Championship Belt at DISTRITO T-Mobile in his native Puerto Rico. The special belt presentation honored the pugilist for his meteoric rise in the minimumweight division. Collazo crushed a number of records in his victorious championship fight against former titleholder Melvin “Gringo” Jerusalem this past May 27 on the undercard of Rocha vs. Young, including shredding the record for the fastest to become a world champion from Puerto Rico.

Here is what participants of today’s presentation said:

OSCAR COLLAZO, MINIMUMWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION:

“I am extremely happy. I see this and I cannot believe it. I have worked very hard to obtain this title. I want to thank my family, my parents, my wife, and my team. To Miguel Cotto Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and the WBO for leading me the way they have. I am a champion and now I will work harder to defend it for the pride of my family, my town of Villalba and all of Puerto Rico.”

ERIC GOMEZ, PRESIDENT OF GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS:

“We are very happy with Oscar Collazo. He is a very special fighter. He made history for Puerto Rico, and we are proud to be a part of it. Soon we will be announcing the details of his first defense here in Puerto Rico.”

HECTOR SOTO, PRESIDENT OF MIGUEL COTTO PROMOTIONS:

“Oscar is a great and very special fighter. Without a doubt, he is the face of boxing in Puerto Rico. His way of working and training is unique. Oscar is writing his own story.”

PACO VALCARCEL, PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD BOXING ORGANIZATION:

“At the WBO, we are very happy with our new champion, a compatriot from Puerto Rico. He is a very talented young man, and it was demonstrated by defeating and winning the championship over Melvin Jerusalem of the Philippines in convincing fashion. Oscar Collazo is very talented, and we are just seeing him grow.”

WBO number-one ranked welterweight Alexis Rocha stopped Anthony Young in round five of a scheduled 12-round bout at The Fantasy Springs Resort in Indio, California.

In round five, Rocha dropped Young with a left. Young got to his feet, but was wobbly and the fight was stopped at 2:15.

Rocha, 146.6 lbs of Santa Ana, CA is 23-1 with 15 knockouts. Young, 146.4 lbs of Atlantic City, NJ is 24-3.

“I knew he was going to come in with the same energy he did when he fought Sadam Ali, and I was ready for that,” said Alexis Rocha. “I want the winner of the Spence-Crawford fight, and I am confident with the help of my amazing promoter, Golden Boy and Oscar De La Hoya, we’ll make it happen.”

Oscar Duarte stopped D’Angelo Keyes after round seven of their 10-round lightweight bout.

In round three, Duarte put Keyes down with a right hand along the ropes.

In round seven, Duarte scored another knockdown with a left hand to the forehead. Keyes showed toughness, but he took a lot of punches and the doctor stopped the bout after round seven.

Duarte, 135 lbs of Parral, MEX is now 26-1-1 with 21 knockouts. Keyes, 134.3 lbs of Houston, TX is 17-3.

“This was an amazing fight, with a great rival who was incredibly tough and very prepared,” said Oscar Duarte. “From the beginning, our plan was to break him down little by little. As I said in previous interviews, I wasn’t going to go looking for the knockout, I just knew it was going to happen naturally just based on how well I had prepared and how I have matured physically and mentally. I would love a fight against William Zepeda.”

Oscar Collazo won the WBO Minimumweight world title with a stoppage of Melvin Jerusalem after round seven.

Jerusalem started well, but Collazo came on and dropped Jerusalem with body shots in round seven. The fight was stopped in the corner following the round.

Collazo, 105 lbs of Villalba, PR is now 7-0 with five knockouts. Jerusalem, 104.6 lbs of Santos City, PHL is 20-3.

“We knew we had a solid challenge ahead of us, but thanks to my corner, they helped me stay calm throughout the fight,” said Oscar Collazo. “I knew I had to establish the pace with my jab, and by the fourth or fifth round we started to hit the body and he didn’t like it. We chopped the tree and we made history for Villalba. I will see you all in Puerto Rico in August, where I will make my first title defense.”

World ranked super flyweight John Ramirez had to eek out a 10-round split decision over Fernando Diaz.

Ramirez, 114.5 lbs of Los Angeles, CA won two cards 96-94, while Diaz took a card 96-94 and sis now 12-0.

Diaz, 114.8 lbs of Riverside, CA is 12-4-1.

Eric Priest remained undefeated with a eight-round unanimous decision over Ricardo Villalba in a middleweight bout.

Priest, 159.8 lbs of Los Angeles, CA won by scores of 80-72 twice and 79-73 and is now 10-0. Villalba, 160 lbs of Buenos Aries, ARG is 20-9-1.

In round five, Villaalba started to bleed from the bridge of his nose.

Johnny Canas made a successful pro debut with four-round unanimous decision over Jose Alvarado in a super lightweight bout.

Canas, 136.4 lbs of Santa Ana, CA won by scores of 40-36 and 39-37 twice and is now 1-0. Alvarado, 138 lbs of Puebla, MEX is 1-8.

Leonardo Sanchez stopped Uhlices Reyes in round two of their four-round super featherweight fight featuring undefeated boxers.

In round one, Sanchez dropped Reyes with a left to the body. In round two, Sanchez put Reyes down with a straight left hand. Sanchez landed a big left that sent Reyes backing up across the ring. He followed up with a flurry that sent Reyes down again and the fight was stopped at 1:01.

Sanchez, 130 lbs of Cathedral City, CA is 5-0 with four knockouts. Reyes, 129 lbs of Omaha, NEB is 1-1.

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO (May 17, 2023) – On his historic journey to become the fastest world champion in his division, Villaba, Puerto Rico’s Oscar “El Pupilo” Collazo (6-0, 4 KOs) hosted a media workout at Wolf Elite Boxing in his native Puerto Rico. Collazo will challenge current WBO Minimumweight Titleholder Melvin “Gringo” Jerusalem (20-2, 12 KOs) of Santos City, Philippines in a 12-round fight presented in association with Miguel Cotto Promotions on the DAZN Rocha vs. Young undercard. If Collazo wins this clash, he will become the fastest Puerto Rican world champion with only seven fights, previously held by Alex ‘Nene’ Sanchez who won the same belt, the WBO Minimumweight World Title, with a record of 11-0 at the time.

Doors to the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino’s Special Events Center will open at 4:00 p.m., the Golden Boy YouTube Channel will stream the preliminary fights beginning at 4:00 p.m. PT/ 7:00 p.m. ET, and the DAZN broadcast will begin at 6:00 p.m. PT / 9:00 p.m. ET.

Here is what the world champion contender had to say:

OSCAR COLLAZO, MINIMUMWEIGHT TITLE CONTENDER:

“I feel like never in my career, have we worked so hard for this fight. I have worked very hard for my dream and these big opportunities, and on Saturday May 27, I will become a world champion for my family and Puerto Rico.”

“I’ve been in camp for the past 4 months and I have done things the right way with my team, we have taken care of every detail. We have seen every aspect of Melvin Jerusalem and I can say that I am ready, ready to put on a show on May 27 and have a solid victory.”

“I have read several things that he has said. That he wants to knock me out, that I’m not up to the level, but he doesn’t know that I’ve come this far because I’ve worked for it.”

“I don’t take that ‘trash talk’ personally, but I take advantage of it and throw away mine. This is how things heat up. I want to tell Melvin Jerusalem to get ready. He thinks I’m just another fighter, but he’s going to find the match of his life. He is fighting with the best of Puerto Rico!”

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Rocha vs. Young is a 12-round NABO Welterweight Fight presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Hard Hitting Promotions. The fight is sponsored by Betonline, “BetOnline, Your Online Sportsbook Experts,” and Autozone, “Get in the Zone, AutoZone.” The fight night will take place on Saturday, May 27, live from Fantasy Springs Resort Casino and will be broadcast on DAZN worldwide.

Tickets for Rocha vs. Young are on-sale now and are priced at $95, $75, $55, $45 and $35 plus applicable fees. Tickets can be purchased at FantasySpringsResort.com or GoldenBoyPromotions.com.

Media interested in applying for a media credential can visit https://www.emccredentials.com/rocha_young Credential applications are due EOD May 22.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and www.DAZN.com. Follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing and @DAZNBoxing. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoy and https://www.facebook.com/DAZN. Follow on Instagram @GoldenBoy and @DAZNBoxing. Follow the conversation using #RochaYoung