Lorente vs Collins Predictions: ‘Nightmare’ Nathaniel can give champ a sleepless night

Scotland’s unbeaten featherweight Nathaniel Collins takes on European champion Cristobal Lorente this Saturday, October 4 at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow. The title clash will be screened live on DAZN.

Read on for my Lorente vs Collins predictions ahead of a quality continental contest.

Lorente vs Collins Odds

Collins is the challenger but enters as a firm favourite at 1/5. Lorente brings the belt into enemy territory and is 4/1 to prevail. The Spaniard would also get to take his title back on the return flight if he scores a draw, which we’ve got at 16/1. Lorente retained his belt by just that method in his last outing, while Collins has never scored a stalemate as a professional.

Lorente vs Collins Fight Preview

When previewing Collins’ previous scrap, against Lee McGregor in May, I dubbed the fight a “nip-and-tuck battle to crown the next Josh Taylor”. Collins won that fight and in a lovely piece of succession, now headlines at the same arena where ‘The Tartan Tornado’ stopped Ohara Davies.

Scottish boxing needs that new face more than I expected when I penned that piece back in spring. Taylor lost to Ekow Essuman that night at the OVO Hydro in a huge upset. The groundbreaking Brit, the first man from this country to win a four-belt undisputed title, retired in the aftermath due to an eye injury.

Having carved through McGregor on the undercard, Collins is now the highest-ranked male Scot in boxing. A very literal successor to Taylor in that sense, as well as a spiritual one. But the featherweight firework is his own man forging his own path. 

The next step on that road to glory is capturing the European featherweight crown, which currently resides with Lorente. Collins will be keenly aware that it is the one title he needs to complete ‘the set’. 

While American boxing is dictated by a disparate group of regional championships often regulated by the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF, British fighters have access to a more traditional path. The European title, along with the British and Commonwealth belts, have long been established as a route to world titles. Brits who claim all three are usually seen as on the cusp of a move to global level.

Dalton Smith is the most recent fighter to complete the triumvirate and is expected to face WBC super lightweight king Subriel Matias in early 2026. Cruiserweight Chris Billam-Smith held all three before winning his WBO title. So too Billy Joe Saunders, a two-weight world champion after winning the regional triplet. 

Scotland has form with a fighter capturing British, Commonwealth and European crowns before world honours. Alex Arthur held the big three before winning the WBO super featherweight strap. His son, Alex Arthur Jr, fights on the undercard. 

Collins could have skipped this step. He is the number-one ranked featherweight with the WBC. That position is complicated slightly with full champion Stephen Fulton being accompanied by interim incumbent Bruce Carrington. But there is a still a foothold on the championship climb there.

Nathaniel risks that steady footing for the right reasons, aiming to add another prestigious title to his mantle. He will fancy this, too. Lorente could only draw last time out with light-punching prospect Ruben Gil. The champion retained his belt and alleged he’d done enough to win, but I’ve seen as many accounts scoring it for the challenger as I have for the titlist.

But Gil is a quality operator who is well-built for this test. He hit the road to win this EBU title, beating previously-undefeated Mauro Forte in Albania. Gil left Spain again for his first defence, outpointing former Collins foe Mauro Grandelli in his Italian backyard. 

The road warrior story continues on Saturday, as Lorente walks into the Glasgow cauldron at the Braehead. Collins will have the crowd and the incentive. But Gil is unlikely to be daunted, at least by outside-the-ring factors. But the accomplished ‘Nightmare’ in front of him might be enough to make it a restless night for the Spaniard.

Lorente vs Collins Full Card

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Lorente vs Collins Prediction

Lorente will be up for this. I think he will box his way in early doors and perhaps surprise Collins with what he’s got. But I make the Scot a far more effective boxer than the champion and I believe, over the stretch, the favourite will carve out a fairly wide points lead. I like Collins on points at 10/11.

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