Filipino challenger Jayson Vayson, nicknamed ‘The Striker’, is out to strike gold when he aims to pull off a massive upset against unified WBA and WBO minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo on Sunday, Sept. 21 at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio in Las Vegas.
Although the overwhelming underdog ahead of the fight, there was no sense of tension whatsoever in the face of Vayson during the pre-fight press conference early Friday, Sept. 19.
Cool, calm and collected, the 27-year-old pride of Veruela, Agusan del Sur vowed to give everything he got in the fight that serves not only as his US debut but also his first crack on not one but two belts.
“Ang masasabi ko sa labanan na ito ay gagalingan natin at ibibigay ko yung best ko para sa laban na ito,” said Vayson.
While the fight is inside the ring, the bigger battle for Vayson is happening way prior to that as he still had to shed some excess baggage after going down from the 112lbs division to 105lbs to get the rare title shot.
And there’s also the added challenge that the Filipino challenger is fighting in the minimumweight division for the first time in five years.
But Vayson isn’t wasting the opportunity as he and his team are confident to make the weight limit while preserving the strength and firepower that allowed him to compile a 14-1-1 record with eight knockouts.
“Hindi ko sasayangin yung opportunity sa laban na ito kasi nandito ako para manalo,” said Vayson.
Easier said than done though as standing in front of him is not only an undefeated Puerto Rican champion but also a fighter who had several Filipinos on his victims list including current WBC minimumweight title holder Melvin Jerusalem.
Collazo also packs the punching power that helped stay undefeated through 12 bouts with nine coming by way of knockout.
“He is a good fighter. He fought a lot of good opposition. He got a lot of hunger. He comes to fight and that is what we are gonna do, we come to fight and give a good bout to the people watching,” Collazo said of Vayson.
