Melvin Jerusalem ceded his WBO mini-flyweight crown to Oscar Collazo, losing via seventh round stoppage. Cris Esqueda, Golden Boy Promotions.
Filipino Melvin Jerusalem failed to defend his WBO World mini-flyweight title against Puerto Rican Oscar Collazo on Saturday (Sunday, Manila time), at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California.
Collazo banked on landing body shots on the Bukidnon native starting from the fourth round, and Jerusalem admitted to not having the capacity to stay in the match much longer.
"I gave my best but I couldn’t move anymore. First 3 rounds, I was ok, but I couldn’t move anymore. I’m sorry I gave my best," he said after his first world title defense.
Jerusalem's corner asked referee Ray Corona to stop the fight after the seventh round.
This is the seventh win of Collazo's young career in as many matches, allowing him to be one of the fastest to become a world title holder. He also has five knockouts on his record and plans to defend his title in August in Puerto Rico.
The 29-year-old Filipino on the other hand, now posts a 20-3 record, 12 of which coming from knockouts. Jerusalem previously won his match against Japan’s Masataka Taniguchi in two rounds last January to win the WBO world title.
-- With a report from Steve Angeles, ABS-CBN News North America
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