Saludar loses to Collazo in title eliminator

A WORLD title shot for former two-time world champion Vic Saludar may just have to wait after losing to unbeaten Puerto Rican prospect Oscar Collazo in a World Boxing Association (WBA) minimumweight title eliminator on Sunday (PH time) at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.Collazo dominated the fight with his speed and combinations.Filipino judge Rey Danseco and American judge Pat Russell had identical scores of 116-112, while American judge Raul Caiz Sr. scored 118-110 all in favor of Collazo.The fight was competitive from the get-go with both warriors connecting with heavy blows.The 31-year-old Saludar was more accurate with his punches in the second round and bloodied Collazo’s nose.Saludar continued to score points in the third round with his counter punches.Collazo started to gain momentum in the fourth round and rocked Saludar with a solid left.Collazo continued to dictate the fight and connected with a left hook to the ribs that hurt Saludar and forced referee Sharon Sands to issue a standing eight count in the seventh round. Saludar quickly retaliated and dropped Collazo with a right uppercut to the jaw. Collazo beat the count and survived the round.Collazo hurt Saludar again with a left to the body in the eighth round. He also rocked Saludar with a right straight the following round.Even though the championship rounds were something new to Collazo, he did awesome job by using his speed and footwork to outgun Saludar.With the win, the 25-year-old Collazo is now the mandatory challenger of WBA minimumweight champion Erick Rosa.Saludar suffered his second straight loss and dropped to 21-6 with 11 knockouts, while Collazo improved to 5-0 with three knockouts.