Oscar Collazo Vacates WBO 105-Pound Title Hours Before Purse Bid; Ryusei Matsumoto Set to Be Elevated

The purse bid was on the calendar. The envelopes never got opened. Oscar Collazo gave up his WBO 105-pound title on Monday, Nov. 2, just before the San Juan purse bid for his mandatory defense against interim champion Ryusei Matsumoto. The WBO called the bid off.

Miguel Cotto Promotions and H2 Entertainment told the WBO in writing Monday morning, per El Vocero. Matsumoto (9-0, 4 KOs) will be elevated to full champion once the WBO's championship committee issues its ruling. The WBO's own words: Matsumoto "will be elevated to full WBO World Champion status, subject to the corresponding official ruling."

The money that never got bid

According to BoxingScene, Japan's Teiken Promotions was ready to bid $501,000 for the fight, which almost certainly would have landed in Japan. For more on how these auctions shake out, see our explainer: The purse bid is boxing's last free market.

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The reign

Collazo (15-0, 12 KOs), 29, won the WBO belt in May 2023, stopping Melvin Jerusalem in the seventh round. He made seven successful defenses. He still holds the WBA and Ring Magazine titles at 105, per Boxing News 24/7.

His last few months have been rough on the schedule. Collazo was set to move up to 112 and challenge Ricardo Sandoval on Oct. 10, but a rib injury in training forced him out. Sandoval then lost by fifth-round TKO to Sergio Mendoza.

The Kimster's read: Neither Collazo nor the WBO has said why he let the belt go, so I'm not going to guess. What I do know is that Matsumoto becomes a full world champion without throwing a punch at the guy who held it. That's not how he'd have drawn it up, either.

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