Collazo vs. Valdez Final Press Conference Quotes
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 19 Jun 2026
CARLSBAD, Calif. (June 18, 2026) — With only days remaining until fight night, undefeated WBA, WBO, and Ring Magazine Minimumweight World Champion Oscar “El Pupilo” Collazo (14-0, 11 KOs) of Villalba, Puerto Rico, and newly announced opponent, rising Mexican contender Neider Valdez (15-3-3, 12 KOs) of Monterrey, Nuevo León, hosted a final press conference in Carlsbad ahead of their 12-round world championship showdown. Collazo vs. Valdez will stream live worldwide on DAZN on Saturday, June 20, from Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Calif., and is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Miguel Cotto Promotions.
In the co-main event, hard-hitting Chihuahua, Mexico native Yair “Manotas” Gallardo (11-0, 9 KOs) will look to extend his knockout streak when he takes on Surrey, Canada’s Buneet Bisla (14-1, 7 KOs) in a 10-round light heavyweight clash. Gallardo enters the fight fresh off an impressive stoppage victory over Elio Heraldo Trosch in Puerto Rico and now faces the tough Bisla, whose only professional defeat came more than three years ago.
Also featured on the DAZN broadcast, undefeated Uzbek Olympian Ruslan Abdullaev (4-0, 2 KOs) will face Las Vegas’ Orestes Velazquez (8-1, 7 KOs) in a 10-round super lightweight showdown. U.S. Olympian Joshua “The Rocket” Edwards (6-0, 5 KOs) of Houston, Texas, will return in an eight-round heavyweight fight against New Orleans’ Garreth “Da Lion” Payton (7-2, 4 KOs). Opening the DAZN telecast, Coachella’s fan-favorite Cayden Griffiths (8-0, 7 KOs) will battle Guadalajara, Mexico’s Alan Crisosto (12-6, 8 KOs) in an eight-round super welterweight bout.
In preliminary action, Denver’s Daniel “Junebug” Garcia (13-0, 10 KOs) will put his undefeated record on the line against Miami’s Christopher Rodriguez (13-2-1, 11 KOs). Kicking off the night, fellow Denver native Lorenzo Garcia will make his professional debut against Columbus, Ohio’s Tylan Smith (1-0-1) in a four-round super lightweight fight.
Tickets for Collazo vs. Valdez are priced at $100, $75, $50, and $30 plus applicable fees and are available for purchase at AXS.com and GoldenBoy.com.
Here is what the fighters had to say:
OSCAR COLLAZO – WBO, WBA & RING MAGAZINE MINIMUMWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION:
Beto: You must’ve been stressed this week?
“Not really because I don’t let that affect me. Golden Boy did the work. They told me to stay relaxed. I did my job, made weight, and stayed relaxed. When we’re in camp, we don’t exactly train for the fighter (opponent). We spar lefties, we spar righties, we spar aggressive fighters, we fight people in the back foot. So things like this don’t bother me. We could do the same strategy with each fighter. Give me one or two rounds, and I got them.”
*On Potential fight with Ricardo Sandoval*
“We’re in the same promoter. He had a long layoff. Hey, we’ll see. Mexico and Puerto Rico, it will be one of the best fights in the world.”
YAIR GALLARDO – LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT PROSPECT:
Beto: What kind of fight are we gonna get?
“We’ve been working a lot in the gym. We know our opponent, we’ve been watching him. We’ve been working on my distance, so expect fireworks this Saturday. A lot of pressure is gonna go on.”
RUSLAN ABDULLAEV – SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT PROSPECT:
Beto: How excited are you for this weekend?
“Super excited. I want to thank Eric, Oscar, and Golden Boy for having me here. I’m super pleased and excited to be back.”
Beto: Who do you want to fight?
“I only want to fight for the world title. Whoever has those titles, Oscar tells me and I’m going for it. It doesn’t matter. I’m ready to fight anyone.”
JOSHUA EDWARDS – HEAVYWEIGHT PROSPECT:
Beto: As a heavyweight Olympian, you have a bullseye on your back, don’t you?
“Yeah, big bullseye, but there's no pressure. I know what I was born to do. I've been doing this since I was six, seven. So, it's no pressure when they're looking for the next big thing in the American heavyweight division. It’s just setting myself up at the right times to make moves and continue to get better.”
CAYDEN GRIFFITHS – WELTERWEIGHT PROSPECT:
Beto: You want better competition, don’t you?
“The higher the opposition, the more you’re gonna learn. Easy fights are great and everything, but I feel like I’m ready to take a step up now. I want to showcase that I can do more than just can-crush. One step at a time, but we want to make our way towards the top. Anybody that they want to put in front of us, we’re willing to take.
Beto: At the end of the day, you want to be known as one the best fighters. How hard do you work?
“As hard as it gets. I'm a fighter who's on social media - I'm not a social media fighter. I put a lot of time and effort into training. The knockouts I get are just a reflection of that. I promote myself through social media because it’s a part of the game. If you could promote yourself on social media, you could make it to the top. As long as I keep performing and training hard, getting in there and doing what I do best, knocking people out, I’ll be there.”
DANIEL GARCIA – LIGHTWEIGHT PROSPECT:
Beto: How do you put on a show Saturday night?
“Everybody likes knockouts, so of course you want to do that. But just staying sharp, consistently getting better. You want to learn each fight, but if you see something open and you can land a big shot, people like knockouts. That’s just another statement. This dude has a pretty good record, so I'm excited to get in the ring and learn more, and show my talents.
Beto: How cool is that for the family? *Brother making pro-debut on same card*
“I know how hard he's been working. He’s been working with me in my camps, so I definitely knew when he got the call, I knew he'd be ready. I want to give a big thank you to Eric, Oscar, Golden Boy, and everybody involved for giving both of us this opportunity to perform.”
ERIC GOMEZ – PRESIDENT OF GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS:
*On finding a replacement fighter for Collazo*
“Trust me, not too many people are running to fight Oscar Collazo. He's a bad man, in a good way. It’s always gonna be hard to get someone to fight a world-class fighter last minute. It’s not like you can just pick up opponents from a book and get a list of fighters and call them and they’re ready to go. It takes a lot. So, we’re lucky, very, very lucky to be able to do this. I want to thank our partners at Cotto Promotions, Hector and Brian, thank you. Razo, our matchmaker, as well, Devin. The last 48 to 72 hours, it was crazy, but we were able to get a replacement. Oscar’s gonna fight and that’s the most important thing.
*Gomez on Collazo*
“You don't become one of the best fighters in the world, or pound for pound, by chance. He’s ready for anything. He’ll fight anybody, even if he has to go up in weight. Which is one of the things we've been discussing. Maybe going up in weight a little bit because there's more opportunities out there. He really is a great fighter, and it's again not by chance that he’s pound for pound one of the best.”
*Gomez on Collazo fighting Ricardo Sandoval*
“One of the things we talked about is maybe him moving up and fighting Ricardo Sandoval at 112. Collazo does want to unify and get all the belts. I don’t think it will be next, but we have talked about it. I mean, I get excited just as a fan, to be able to see that fight. The skill level is so high for both fighters. It would be a great fight to watch.”
*Gomez on Ruslan*
“We came very, very close, believe it or not, in having him fight Arnold Barboza at the Honda Center earlier this year. He wanted to fight, he accepted it, Arnold accepted it. That's the kind of fighter he is, he wants to fight anybody. He’s kind of like Lomachenko part two. That's how good he is. He's got the skills, he's got the credentials, and we're very excited for Ruslan.”
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Collazo vs. Valdez is a 12-round fight for the WBA, WBO and Ring Magazine World Championship presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Miguel Cotto Promotions and Paco Presents. The event will be available worldwide to all subscribers on DAZN, both live and on demand.
For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and DAZN.com. Follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing and @DAZNBoxing. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoy and https://www.facebook.com/DAZN. Follow on Instagram @GoldenBoy and @DAZNBoxing. Follow the conversation using #CollazoCanoy
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