Hernandez upsets Collazo by unanimous decision

Hard-hitting Freddy Hernandez floored his rival with an eighth-round body shot on the way to scoring a 10-round,  unanimous decision upset over former welterweight titleholder Luis Collazo, winning 96-93 on all three judges cards at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Collazo-Hernandez took place on the non-televised undercard to the main event featuring RING and WBC light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins against Chad Dawson on HBO Pay Per View.

Collazo (31-5, 16 KOs), of Brooklyn, once held the WBA's welterweight belt. The 30-year-old southpaw had suffered his previous loss by close unanimous decision against current IBF welterweight beltholder Andre Berto in January of 2009.

The 32-year-old Hernandez (30-2, 20 KOs), of Mexico City, was coming off a first-round knockout loss to Berto in November of last year. Hernandez had won 12 straight fights, six by knockout, since losing a split-decision to Golden Johnson in February of 2005.

Collazo entered the bout having consecutively scored knockouts over David Gogichaishvili and Franklin Gonzalez in the sixth and third rounds, respectively.

Collazo had earned the WBA title following a split-decision that dethroned Jose Antonio Rivera in April of 2005, and defended that crown with an eighth-round stoppage of former world titleholder Miguel Angel Gonzalez in August of that year.

Collazo was dethroned following a unanimous decision loss to Ricky Hatton in May of 2006, and lost a subsequent bid for the WBC's interim belt by unanimous decision to Shane Mosley in February of 2007.

Photo by Tom Hogan, Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions

Lem Satterfield can be reached at lem.satterfield@gmail.com