Collazo vs Vayson Predictions: And the Oscar goes to…

WBO, WBA and The Ring minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo defends his crown against Jayson Vayson this Saturday, September 20. The bout takes place at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California. The action will air live on DAZN.

Here are my Collazo vs Vayson predictions ahead of this world title match.

Collazo vs Vayson Odds

Collazo is 1/14 to get the victory in this sixth defence of his world title. Vayson is a 8/1 underdog to rack up a fifth consecutive win. You can back the draw at 20/1.

Collazo vs Vayson Fight Preview

Naoya Inoue and his feats of lower-weight wonder are the dividing line for a lot of casual boxing fans. Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez at flyweight and super flyweight has perhaps dragged the eyeline even deeper, but he still doesn’t have the man-on-the-street recognition of Messrs Usyk, Crawford and Canelo.

But if you’re a fan who has slept on the sub-bantamweight world, you could do worse than check out Collazo this weekend. The Puerto Rican firework is an exciting and effective fighter who serves as the clear divisional leader at 105lbs.

Collazo finished consensus number-two Melvin Jerusalem, the current WBC king, in seven rounds back in May 2023 to win the WBO belt. Of his six world title outings, only one has gone the distance. Collazo was stretched to the full 12 by Gerardo Zapata in June of last year. ‘El Pupilo’ won a unanimous decision by wide scores, proving his engine ran smoothly in longer fights.

There had been question marks over Collazo’s versatility in his only other 12-round decision win. Vic Saludar had him down in the seventh round of a title eliminator back in 2020. The Puerto Rican had knocked the ex-WBO champ down earlier in the round before eating a short counter shot seconds later. But Collazo, in only his fifth professional fight, continued to walk his man down and take a unanimous nod.

Collazo has continued to mature and he has logged five stoppages from six world title bouts. His style lends itself to excitement, as the schooled southpaw comes forward administering intelligent pressure. This is a man who looks to finish fights. The 28-year-old is as exciting as he is accomplished.

Vayson has had a troubled road to a world title shot. A 2022 fight with Tibo Monabesa in Jakarta ended in a hugely-controversial decision loss for the Filipino. So egregious was the result that the promoters and the WBC worked to have it overturned. The outcome was retroactively changed to a No Contest, but that turn of events obviously did not help Vayson’s cause as much as a win would have. Particularly with a WBC ranking belt having been on the line in the contest.

The next knockback came in a points loss at Korakuen Hall to Japan’s Seigo Yuri Akui. Far from a repeat of the hometown decision against Monabesa, Akui pitched a shut-out against Vayson on the night. Full marks for going into opposition territory, but Vayson came home empty-handed.

But Vayson was not deterred. He returned to the Land of the Rising Sun to knock out former world champion Ryuya Yamanaka in two rounds. This was followed by a 10-round decision over Takeru Inoue. A pair of knockout wins in Bangkok followed, landing Vayson a well-deserved title tilt. 

‘Striker’ is still an underdog coming in. Collazo is a superb fighter, though not infallible. You can read his strategy and capitalise on his habits. ‘El Pupilo’ leaves his chin out to dry when he throws the left uppercut on the inside. His head movement when on the offensive is often lacking or, at the very least, slow-to-react. 

But the unified champion has so many positives in his game that even finding the time and space to exploit his weaknesses is an almighty struggle. A struggle that has been beyond any of his opponents thus far.

Collazo vs Vayson Full Card

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Collazo vs Vayson Prediction

Collazo combines durability with strength and accuracy. A fighter who throws when he knows he will land, the Puerto Rican exhibits brutal economy in his work. Vayson will find openings if he knows where to look, but how do you keep Collazo off you?

The short answer is; you don’t. I do not think Vayson is the man to snap Collazo’s winning streak. I’m taking the champ at 1/14. But in search of a little more value, let's grab that 11/10 market for the fight being wrapped up in under eight rounds. All nine of Collazo's stoppages have come in or before the seventh round. I like the champion to add to that tally here.

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