By Ian S Palmer
England’s Amir Khan returns to the ring for the first time in just over a year when he takes on southpaw Luis Collazo in a 12-round welterweight bout at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, May 3. The bout, which is for the vacant WBC Silver Welterweight Title, can be seen live on the Showtime pay-per-view network in America, on Viewers Choice pay-per-view in Canada and on Box Nation in the United Kingdom.
Khan, who will enter the ring at 28-3 with 19 Kos, was hoping to take on pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Saturday, but he’ll have to settle for the undercard as Mayweather decided to take on slugger Marcos Maidana of Argentina instead. Khan should actually take that as a compliment as his boxing skills could give Mayweather trouble. Collazo certainly isn’t in Mayweather’s class, but he’s a solid pro who’s on a bit of a roll at the moment.
The 27-year-old Khan is a former unified junior welterweight world champion who may now regret passing up a chance to take on former IBF Welterweight Champion Devon Alexander back in December. Shawn Porter ended up fighting Alexander and took his title by a unanimous decision. Khan will likely have some ring rust to deal with since his last action came in April of 2013 when he beat veteran Julio Diaz by a very close unanimous decision in Sheffield, England.
Collazo enters the bout with a 35-5 record along with 18 Kos. He recently made his way back in the boxing headlines when he beat former champion Victor Ortiz by a second round knockout on January 30. Khan has been working with top American trainer Virgil Hunter for the last year to try and improve his boxing skills, which were already above average.
Khan has always had some excellent skills such as hand speed, mobility and power, but has been plagued throughout his career by a questionable chin. The problem is, a boxer simply can’t work on that aspect of the sport in the gym. He’s already been stopped by Breidis Prescott in the first round in 2008 and by champion Danny Garcia in the fourth round in 2012.
The 33-year-old Collazo of Brooklyn, New York, has always been a solid contender, but has never been labeled an elite boxer. He realizes this could change if he beats Khan on Saturday night, but he said he’s definitely not looking past Khan. Collazo has good size for a welterweight and is a decent boxer-puncher.
He turned pro back in 2000 and is a former WBA Welterweight titleholder. He’s beaten the likes of Jose Luis Rivera, Miguel Angel Gonzalez and Ortiz. His five losses have been against Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley, Andre Berto, Edwin Cassiani, and Freddy Hernandez. All of these were by unanimous decision except the Cassiani bout back in 2002 when he was stopped in the third round.
Prediction
This is Khan’s first fight as a welterweight and he needs to be careful due to his chin. He has to utilize his superior boxing skills and stay away from toe-to-toe brawling. He’s the better boxer here and could even have more power than Collazo, but needs to use his speed and accuracy to get in and out as quickly as possible while landing multi-punch combinations. If it turns into a brawl then Collazo should have the advantage. This is basically Khan’s fight to lose, but if his chin holds out look for him to take a unanimous decision. If he can’t get past Collazo then Khan’s future as an elite boxer doesn’t look too bright.
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