Keith Thurman Beats Luis Collazo by TKO

In its debut on ESPN television, Premier Boxing Champions had an eventful night. In the main even Keith "One Time" Thurman retained his WBA Welterweight championship after he beat Luis Collazo by TKO one second into the 8th round. Collazo had his corner stop the fight because he couldn't see due to a cut he sustained in the 5th round. “The second cut on the top of my right eye was the worst. I couldn’t really see and was constantly wiping the blood away. If I would have come out of my corner again I probably would have gotten caught with some unnecessary shots, and I didn’t need that.

Thurman admits that Collazo hurt him with a body shot but he was able to overcome it: “He caught me with a left hook uppercut hybrid shot in the fifth and knocked out almost all of my wind. It was an excellent shot by Luis (Collazo). I endured like a champion though."

Overall, Thurman was happy with his performance: “My team is happy and I’m very happy with my performance. I’m looking to continue this incredible streak. I’m 26-0. If you can beat me then beat me."

Before the stoppage of the fight all 3 judges had Thurman ahead on the score card. Thurman improves his record to 26-0 and he knows that he survived a good test and he's ready to fight anybody, including Floyd Maywether.

“We want anybody that we can get at the top of the welterweight division; Mayweather, Pacquiao, Porter, Khan, Bradley, Maidana."

In the other televised fight, Willie Nelson scored an upset victory by knocking out Tony Harrison in the 9th round. After an explosive press conference, this was the fight that everyone was waiting for. Most of the fight was a disappointment due to the lack of action. The crowd booed heavily in the 7th and 8th round. But in the 9th round, Nelson, caught Harrison with a right to the head that knocked him out.

Nelson was very happy after the fight: