Luis Collazo KOs Victor Ortiz, Eddie Gomez Coasts In Brooklyn
Photos by Hoganphotos for Golden Boy Promotions
by Gautham Nagesh and Sarah Deming
BROOKLYN–There is a cruel equilibrium that governs boxing. For one fighter to rise, another must fall.
Brooklyn’s Luis Collazo (above right) stopped Kansas native Victor Ortiz in a matchup of southpaw welterweights on Thursday night at Barclays Center. Collazo buckled Ortiz with a vicious right hook to the jaw the second round, from which Ortiz was unable to rise. The win cements Collazo as a real contender at 147 lbs., and may herald the end of Ortiz’s run as a premium fighter.
Bronx native Eddie Gomez (below left) hurt Daquan Arnett in the 7th round with a body shot, then coasted to an easy points win in a ten-round junior welterweight co-feature. Gomez looked a little sharper and more powerful throughout he fight, but may have punched himself out going for the stoppage. The TV openers was easy work for Capitol Heights, Md. featherweight Gary Russell Jr., who stopped Miguel Tamayo in the 4th round.
Gomez looked faster and sharper than Arnett in the early rounds, gradually increasing his edge until scoring the knockdown in the 7th with a left hook to the liver. But Eddie inexplicably took his foot off the gas from then on, and Arnett staged a small rally to salvage some pride and future status. Arnett has some tools, but he simply didn’t work hard enough to win this fight. He was also outgunned by the faster and harder-punching Gomez.
Gomez is good, perhaps very good. But there is no shortage of elite prospects at 147 and 154 lbs. For him to reach the top, he must keep improving, not resting in his laurels against lesser opposition. Beating Arnett was a quality step, and one that should only increase Eddie’s drawing power in New York. The fans stood and chanted his name at several junctures during the fight, generously showing their love. Next time Gomez needs to reciprocate by pushing for the stoppage down the stretch.
As for Collazo, he predictably called out Floyd Mayweather after the fight, which is practically a requirement for any welterweight that wins on TV. That’s some wishful thinking, but there are any number of quality fights to be made at 147, and Collazo has the benefit of Golden Boy’s standing date with Barclays to provide him with ample opportunities to showcase his talents.
It’s not hard to imagine Collazo facing the likes of Devon Alexander or Robert Guerrero on a card here later this year. After such dynamic and crow-pleasing performance, he has earned another shot at national TV. Fighting in Brooklyn again would simply be icing on the cake.
Sarah’s memory of the undercard is not of the crispest due since she wasn’t planning to write about it and had two glasses of sparkling wine on an empty stomach (Mums Napa, surprisingly nice for a stadium bar, only $11, and a nice, generous Brooklyn pour). But she has generously offered the following summary of the early part of the show:
In the first fight Rafi Vazquez landed a hard left hook that dropped “Bad” Brad Patraw, notable for his brightly-patterned underwear at the weigh-in. Bad Brad popped back up, only to be stopped by another hook about a minute later.
Zachary Ochoa’s opponent Jose Valderrama came to fight and we thought he might have pulled out at least one round, but all three judges saw it as a shutout. Not the most impressive performance from Ochoa on his Golden Boy debut, although he did show off fast hands and a commitment to body punching.
Emmanuel Gonzalez exploited his huge reach advantage to deliver an 8-round beating to brave little Victor Sanchez of Houston, who put up a great fight but was outgunned. Nice whipping uppercuts from the lanky Gonzalez.
“Sir ” Marcus Browne and Gary Russell, Jr. both had very easy outings. To be honest I was more interested in my loaded nachos, as it was apparent from the first exchanges that both fights would end in quick stoppage wins for the explosive Olympian southpaws. I look forward to tougher outings for both these gifted men and am seriously considering changing my name to Gary Sarah Russell.