By Glenn Wilson

The WBA Welterweight title will be on the line Saturday night when Luis Collazo defends his WBA Welterweight title against World Junior Welterweight Champion Ricky Hatton, not only will the WBA belt be up for grabs, but more importantly each fighter will be trying to cement his reputation as one of boxing's best young champions.

The fight will take place in Boston and televised live on HBO. The exposure is sure to be a boost to both fighters, with both hoping to silence critics who have said that they are somewhat overrated. This writer believes that just the opposite is true and that both fighters have been flying under the radar despite both having had outstanding years in 2005.

Luis Collazo, 25, of Queens, New York, is 26-1 with 12KO's, the 5'9 Collazo will be defending his WBA Welterweight title that he won last April with a split decision victory over tough Jose Antonio Rivera in Rivera's hometown. He then defended his title by knocking out veteran Miguel Angel Gonzalez last August.

Luis has been seen as more of an opponent than a champion, so this fight is exactly what Collazo needed. In beating Rivera, Collazo beat a fighter who applied constant pressure, that could have  prepared him for Hatton more than any amount of sparring he had leading up to this fight.

Collazo will have to use his boxing skills and 7" reach advantage to offset Hatton, who is considered the premier pressure fighter in the game today. A win Saturday propels Collazo into boxing's limelight and he will no longer be thought of as just a good Welterweight.

Luis thinks of himself as a pure boxer, a boxer who relies more on quickness and movement and less on brute strenght. He has refered to himself as a matador, using his handspeed and foot movement to offset an attacking fighter.

Luis will definitely have to be on his "A" game Saturday night if he hopes to retain his crown, if he does expect to hear other big name fighters proceed to call him out.

Ricky Hatton,27, of Manchester, England, is 40-0, with 30KO's. Like Collazo, Hatton is coming off of his best year as a pro, in June 2005 he upset Junior Welterweight kingpin Kostya Tszyu. While the fight was not a thing of beauty, Ricky proved that he could stand up to and outmuscle one of the strongest Junior Welterweights in boxing history.

Hatton's pressure finally prevailed when the swollen faced Tszyu quit on his stool after round 11.

In November Hatton took the WBA Junior Welterweight belt from gangly Carlos Maussa. Mausssa's upright, awkward style frustrared Hatton early, after the fight Hatton admitted to being left hook happy, abandoning much of his famous body work. Eventually Hatton did catch Maussa with a left hook to end the fight.

Hatton is still looking for the respect that he should command, but his critcs point out that most of his fights have taken place in his own backyard, what these critics fail to say is how convincingly Ricky has beaten his opposition, he has run roughshod over any opponent put in front of him in recent years.

He could be in for one of his toughest fights when he faces Collazo, who is much more of a boxer than Ricky has faced as of late.

Both have been showcased on Showtime, however with the fight being televised on HBO, both will have their best shot at silencing their critics and making believers out of the American boxing fans.

Each wants the recognition as much as they want the belt. Come Saturday night, one man will be on to bigger and better things and will have finally received the credit they have so long deserved.

   

And Oscar

Also on Saturday, the people that didn't shell out for last week's pay-per-view, will get their first look at Oscar De La Hoya's dismantling of Ricardo Mayorga.

   

This is probably not Oscar's greatest victory, but it certainly may be his sweetest. In the months leading up to the fight, Mayorga challenged everything from De La Hoya's heritage to Oscar's manhood.

With his career winding down, Oscar may have more options than ever before, he wants Mayweather, but it would be easy to see him taking on a name opponent first and then retiring early next year following the Mayweather fight.

Welcome back Oscar.