Eimantas Stanionis pounds Luis Collazo but has to settle for ‘no decision’
Luis Collazo might’ve been fortunate that his fight ended early because of an accidental clash of heads.
Eimantas Stanionis, the young welterweight contender from Lithuania, had landed dozens of damaging punches when the collision of heads in Round 4 rendered the 40-year-old New Yorker unable to continue Saturday at The Armory in Minneapolis.
The scheduled 10-round fight was ruled a no-decision because it didn’t go four full rounds, which is required to go to the cards.
Stanionis (13-0, 9 KOs) received resistance from Collazo, who didn’t fight like a quadragenarian who hadn’t been in the ring for almost two years. He was active, durable and determined to give his all.
The problem for him was that he couldn’t avoid Stanionis’ heavy blows, which busted up Collazo’s face even before the clash of heads. He demonstrated a good chin but it seemed only a matter of time before the younger man would wear down Collazo and win by stoppage.
Their heads collided with about 30 seconds remaining in the Round 4, causing a cut in Collazo’s right eyelid and forcing him to the canvas. He was able to get up but was badly hurt, which prompted referee Charlie Fitch to stop the action and give him time to recover.
However, it became clear after several minutes that Collazo, resting with his arms on the ropes, was finished.
“If you can’t stand up, I have to stop the fight,” Fitch said to Collazo. The fighter responded, “Do that.” And that was that.
The official time of the stoppage was 2:31 of Round 4.
Of course, the result will have been disappointing for Stanionis, who wanted to make a statement and continue his ascent in the welterweight division. Make no mistake, though: He looked sharp, landing his hard shots with regularity and accuracy against a crafty opponent.
He didn’t exit the ring with a victory but he probably enhanced his reputation, which a step forward. He’s not far from a title shot.
Collazo? The Brooklyn native, who has fought professional for more than 20 years, said beforehand that the fight might be his last. It’s difficult to imagine him coming back after taking so much punishment, including the fight-ending clash of heads.
Stanionis, 26, is just getting started. We probably have seen the last of Collazo.
