One of the top pound-for-pound fighters in boxing kicks off his 2026 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, streaming live on DAZN.
WBA, WBO, and Ring Magazine minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo (13-0, 10 KOs) will defend his titles against top contender Jesus Haro (13-3, 2 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round fight on the main telecast of the Arnold Barboza vs. Kenneth Sims Jr. fight card. It’s a good fight on paper, and it will mark Collazo’s first title defense this year, as he continues to gain notoriety after making the Ring Magazine top ten P4P list.
The 29-year-old Collazo, who was born in Newark, NJ, but resides in Puerto Rico and is co-promoted by Golden Boy and Miguel Cotto Promotions, was oozing confidence at Thursday’s press conference in Anaheim. Draped in a personalized tracksuit and wearing a hat representing Puerto Rico’s baseball team, Collazo smiled as Oscar De La Hoya showered him with compliments and asked hypothetically why Collazo isn’t in the top two P4P rankings.
After the press conference, I caught up with Collazo, who was waiting to take press photos for the event. When asked about his approach for Saturday night, Collazo didn’t hesitate to answer, as he always aims to please the fans.
“My mentality is always the same: do my best and always stand out,” Collazo told FightsATW. “The minimumweight is below the others, and a lot of people don’t see us. I’m making a difference. That’s my mentality every time: go in the ring and give a phenomenal performance to make people notice me.”
Collazo has been successful as he continues to collect titles at 105, but there are two champions, Melvin Jerusalem (WBC) and Pedro Taduran (IBF), who have been difficult to get in the ring for a unification fight. Taduran currently has a title defense scheduled for April 3, while Jerusalem doesn’t have a fight scheduled yet but is expected to announce one soon. Both champions will be busy in the first half of the year, but that doesn’t mean they can’t schedule something with Collazo if he is successful on Saturday.
When asked what it will take for Jerusalem, the fight Collazo really wants, to step into the ring with him, Collazo said, “Or when he sees me fight, probably not (laughs). Let’s hope so. We are looking for that fight. It’s bound to happen, or Taduran. They are fighting this year too, so let’s see what happens.”
Saturday will not only be a big day for Collazo but also an important one for Team Puerto Rico, which faces Italy in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic (WBC). So, will it be a day full of victories for the island of Puerto Rico by the end of the night? “We are winning this Saturday,” said Collazo. “The Puerto Rico team is going to win, and we are going to win by knockout. We are going to get that dub!”
If you are a boxing fan but maybe haven’t seen any fights south of featherweight, Collazo is a guy to watch as he performs at a high level and delivers entertaining fights. Will he be able to secure the victory over Jesus Haro, or will it be an upset in Anaheim? Tune into the DAZN broadcast on Saturday night, as Golden Boy Promotions has filled it with some intriguing matchups.
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