Oscar Collazo has relinquished his World Boxing Organization (WBO) mini flyweight title ahead of the scheduled purse bid for a fight against the division’s interim champion Ryusei Matsumoto.
- Puerto Rican Collazo (14-0, 11 KOs) of Newark, New Jersey, still holds the WBA title at 105 lbs.
- Japan’s Matsumoto (9-0, 4 KOs) will be elevated to full WBO champion, and the interim championship designation will be terminated.
The WBO made the announcement on Tuesday.
WBO statement
“Earlier this morning, prior to the commencement of the scheduled purse bid proceedings for the mandatory championship consolidation contest between Collazo and WBO Interim World Champion Ryusei Matsumoto, the organization received formal written correspondence from Miguel Cotto Promotions and H2 Entertainment notifying the WBO of Collazo’s decision.
“Consequently, the purse bid proceedings scheduled for today at WBO headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico, were cancelled.
“The World Championships Committee will issue its corresponding ruling providing for the immediate elevation of reigning interim champion Ryusei Matsumoto (9-0, 4 KOs) of Japan to full WBO mini flyweight world champion status.
“Upon his elevation, the interim championship designation at 105 pounds will be terminated, consistent with the WBO’s longstanding policy of recognizing only one world champion per weight division.”
- Collazo won the WBO mini flyweight title in May 2023 by seventh-round RTD against Melvin Jerusalem. In his final, seventh defense this past March, the 29-year-old southpaw stopped Jesus Haro in the sixth round.
- In his previous outing in September, Collazo knocked out short-notice opponent Neider Valdez in the second round of their flyweight bout. He was then scheduled to challenge Ricardo Sandoval for the unified WBA and WBC 112-pound titles in October but withdrew due to injury.
Matsumoto won the interim WBO mini flyweight title by unanimous decision against Russell Acosta on the Inoue vs Nasukawa 2 card in September.