Premier Boxing Champions on ESPN ‘Thurman vs. Collazo’ Results & Play-by-Play

Tony Harrison vs. Willie Nelson

Round 1

Nelson storms out with a series of left jabs but they fall short. After tasting a left hand on the inside, Nelson backs off. Harrison is starting to land more from a distance but Nelson comes back hard. Good action late, punctuated by a hard left hand by Nelson. Harrison fires back with a flurry at the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Harrison.

Round 2

Harrison charges out of his corner with a triple jab. Nelson is composed and returns the fire, though nothing clean lands from either man. Harrison tags him with a sneaky right hand, but Nelson answers with a left and then a right. Both junior middleweights are throwing hard shots at the midway point, both looking for a knockout. Nelson forces his foe into the ropes and nails him with a right cross and it’s hard, but Harrison storms right back with a left hook and then a right to the face. They slug away on the inside but Nelson rattles his head with a right uppercut. They go toe-to-toe for the final 15 seconds. Excellent action. 10-9 Nelson.

Round 3

Harrison fires off a few stiff jabs early as Nelson backs up. Willies tags his counterpart with a decent right/left to the head, but Harrison comes right back with a left hook. The action has slowed a little bit but Harrison is the aggressor, stalking him around the ring. With a little more than a minute remaining, they trade left hooks in the center of the ring. Harrison continues his attacks with the jab, nullifying Nelson’s offense a bit. Hard right hand down the pipe from nelson, his best punch of the round, though it’s not enough to win it late. 10-9 Harrison.

Round 4

Nelson is a bit cautious to start the round as he tentatively backs up while Harrison follows him with the jab. Nelson finally opens up with a ferocious left hook to the gut but his follow-up left to the skull misses. Harrison is unfazed, throwing more jabs and then a right to the head. After a brief exchange, Harrison is now backing up, looking to set a trap. Two nasty jabs to the stomach from Harrison, who is starting to heat up late. They clinch a few times late in the round as Nelson appears to be a little unwilling to exchange. 10-9 Harrison.

Round 5

Nelson tags his man with a nice double jab to open the frame. They go forehead-to-forehead in the center of the ring and deliver blows to the head and body, but most of the attacks are blocked. They split and trade jabs and after a minute of a lull, Nelson begins walking him down, nailing him with the jab. Nelson continues to walk forward until he steps into a fierce right hand, but he takes it well. Decent action late. 10-9 Nelson.

Round 6

They trade sporadic jabs throughout the first minute of the round and the lack of mayhem is starting to make the crowd a little restless. At the midway point, boos begin to litter the arena. The two fighters are oblivious as they continue to peck away with jabs. Nice right to the body and then a right to the head by Harrison with a minute left. Nelson is unhurt, but he can’t catch his foe with a counter. Nelson is not active at all late in the round while Harrison eventually backs him into the ropes and digs a few shots upstairs and down. 10-9 Harrison.

Round 7

Harrison lands a few nice jabs to the body and head before moving out of harm’s way. Nelson is walking after Harrison, but Willie can’t get any of his shots off. The action remains sparse, but Harrison is in control with his jab and distance. Again, the crowd is restless and spewing its displeasure into the air. Nelson goes to the body late but Harrison counters him with a jab and then a right cross to the head. 10-9 Harrison.

Round 8

They exchange hard uppercuts to the body before Nelson cracks him with a left hook to the jaw. Harrison backs off but he’s not hurt. He creates some space and then pops Willie with a few jabs before crashing a lead right to the belly. Nelson returns the fire with a series of jabs, but Harrison dodges them all. The crowd is restless again, even though the action is the best it’s been in several rounds. They clinch and grapple a few times, but neither 154 pounder has the edge. Harrison misses with a sizzling left hook but his follow-up right cross is a beauty. 10-9 Harrison.

Round 9

Referee Frank Santore stops the action as soon as the round begins to fix Nelson’s trunks/cup but he fails to call time. Roughly 20 seconds tick off the clock; we’ll see if that comes back to haunt one of these combatants. When the fight resumes, Nelson throws a few jabs before clinching. Harrison lands a few decent shots to the head and body, but Nelson comes right back with a nice right hand to the face. Harrison looks to be tiring out late in the round as Nelson is starting to pour on the offense. He lands a nice right hand and then a left. Nelson nails him with a hard right hand. Harrison freezes up and then crumbles onto his back and into the ropes when a powerful follow-up right lands on the ear. Harrison is in serious peril and struggles up to his feet with about 10 seconds remaining. Harrison beats the count but he’s out on his feet. Santore reaches eight and when asking if he can go on, Harrison stumbles into the ropes. Santore waives it off just as the round is about to end. Huge come-from-behind stoppage for Nelson.

The Official Result

Willie Nelson def. Tony Harrison via TKO (2:57) R9

Keith Thurman vs. Luis Collazo

Round 1

Collazo backs away from Thurman as soon as the fight starts, not looking to engage early. Thurman stalks him down, pawing with his jab. Collazo continues to back away, not letting his hands go. Thurman isn’t overly aggressive, finally throwing some hard shots to the body some 70 seconds into the contest. Collazo finally tosses out a few jabs form his southpaw stance but they are blocked. Thurman pins his challenger into the corner and unleashes a left/right to the body but his follow-up left hook misses. Collazo continues to back off, not willing to engage. 10-9 Thurman.

Round 2

As soon as the round begins, Collazo is on his bike. Thurman chases him down but can’t land anything. “One Time” tags him with a right to the head before Collazo quickly escapes out to his left. Collazo is riding his bike like he’s competing in the Tour de France, completely unwilling to engage. Thurman remains patient, though he is forced to chase after his foe. Collazo backs into the ropes and eats a right hand and then a left to the body. Nice left hook from the champ as soon as Collazo decides to fight. The shot hurts the Brooklyn fighter. Thurman follows that up with a flurry at the bell. It’s all Thurman. 10-9 Thurman.

Round 3

Collazo comes forward to start the frame and throws a few jabs. Thurman backs away as Collazo misses two sweeping left hands. Collazo reaches with a right hand, misses, and pays for it with a three-punch combo to the head. Collazo takes it well and continues to walk forward, looking to brawl now. Thurman moves well and rakes his opponent with the jabs and then digs a powerful right to the body. Hard right to the head by Thurman, who counters a left cross. Thurman follows it with a left hook and then some shots downstairs. Another right by Thurman late and almost immediately Collazo’s left eye begins to swell. 10-9 Thurman.

Round 4

Thurman begins the round with a series of jabs and then cracks him with a right. Collazo tries to answer, but “One Time” nails him three times to the head. Two fierce rights to the gut from the champ. Collazo misses with a wild, murderous left-handed bomb and Thurman makes him pay with a short right hand. Collazo digs a right to the body but Keith retaliates with another flurry. Collazo is walking right after Thurman, who is backing away nicely with his jab. They trade some lethal leather late in the round, but Thurman is too accurate. Collazo’s left eye is swelling more severely now. 10-9 Thurman.

Round 5

Thurman storms right out of his corner and tears into his foe’s ribs. Collazo takes the punishment but the body shots hurt. Thurman is all over him until Collazo finally escapes to regroup. Nice lead right from Thurman and then another. Collazo tries to come forward with a fury, but Thurman ducks away and makes him pay with a combo upstairs. Thurman is very mobile as Collazo chases after him, but Thurman continues to rake him the jab and right hand. Collazo tags him with a sweeping left hand but Thurman is unfazed. Thurman backs into the ropes and Collazo unloads a hellish left to the body, by far his best punch of the night. Thurman is hurt badly and Collazo goes right after him. He digs several more powerful shots to the ribs and Thurman is in trouble. He tries to tie him up but is forced back into the ropes. The bell saves Thurman. 10-9 Collazo.

Round 6

Thurman comes out but he still seems a bit crusty. Collazo goes right after him with shots downstairs. Thurman ties him up. Collazo nails him with a right hand to the head. Collazo, whose left eye is swelling almost shut now, continues to stalk the retreating champ. At the midway point, Thurman seems to be healed up and is pawing with the jab again. They clinch but Collazo again crushes a pair of hooks to the gut. Thurman lands a right to the body but Collazo follows suit with a more sinister shot to the midsection. Collazo is in terminator mode now as Thurman is on his bike again. Collazo is trying to make it a war. A left hook from Thurman late opens a cut around Collazo’s right eye. Good action late. Very close round. 10-9 Collazo.

Round 7

Between rounds it’s noted that the cut on Collazo is from an accidental clash of heads. Thurman takes a right to the body but answers with a right to the head. Collazo continues to press forward; Thurman’s jab is not as effective anymore. The blood is streaming down Collazo’s face now but he’s undeterred. Collazo forces Thurman into a slugfest, but Keith quickly escapes. Nice right to the body/left to the head from Thurman with a minute left. Collazo is chasing him down but he’s not letting his hands go enough, allowing Thurman back into the fight. Very close round again. 10-9 Thurman.

Round 8

Between rounds, Collazo is telling the doctor that he can’t see anymore. They discuss stopping it. After a short exchange, the doctor decides he can’t continue and referee Telis Assimenios waives it off before the ninth round starts. Thurman jumps up and runs all around the ring in celebration. Now there’s confusion because the cut came from a clash of heads, but since Collazo technically quit, it will be a TKO for Thurman. There is some deliberation but the official ruling is a TKO win at :01 into the eighth round. Even though the cut came from a clash of heads, since Collazo opted out of the fight – essentially quitting on his own – Thurman gets the win via TKO and not a possible technical decision win.

The Official Result

Keith Thurman def. Luis Collazo via TKO (cut) 0:01, R8