Collazo won't fight Dzinziruk; Ricardo Mayorga to step in?

Former welterweight titlist Luis Collazo has declined an opportunity to fight 154-pound beltholder Sergiy Dzinziruk on October 2, which was to be part of a rumored triple-header on HBO. The public reason, as Brickhaus explained in the Arreola-Quezada thread, is that Collazo has been out of the ring for a year and would like a tune-up fight. But Collazo's contract with Don King expires at the end of the year, and word is he would prefer it lapse so he can sign with someone else. As we've seen in the past, King (and other promoters, too) will often hold a fighter hostage, so to speak, at the end of their contract by getting them a good fight, but only if they'll extend their deal. Collazo has no interest in extending, it would appear.

Today Pablo Freight of notifight.com reports at BoxingScene.com that another King fighter, Ricardo Mayorga, is going to step up and fight Dzinziruk on October 2. Rosendo Alvarez, Mayorga's trainer and new business manager, says that after failing to make a fight at 160 with Felix Sturm, Mayorga will now fight Dzinziruk. This is the first heard of the agreement, so it'll need an official announcement of some sort to cement it, but right now it looks like it's good to go.

Mayorga (28-7-1, 22 KO) has not fought since September 2008, when he was knocked out clean with one second remaining in his fight against Shane Mosley. He tried to fight in MMA earlier this year against veteran Din Thomas, but on the day of the show, miraculously, Don King Promotions took it to court and had Mayorga taken off the card. The entire show was then canceled.

Mayorga has been in the news mostly for legal issues that stem from his financial troubles the last few years, so it would seem he could definitely use the money. Dzinziruk (37-0, 23 KO) would be a tough go for even the best Mayorga, and now the Nicaraguan bad boy is aging (he turns 37 on October 3) and presumably quite rusty. But I'll admit I have a tough time ever turning down a Mayorga fight. He is what he is, and he always fights pretty damn hard, even at his own peril.