Nathaniel Collins and Cristobal Lorente walked away from their all-action DAZN main event with their unbeaten records intact.
The pair fought to a split draw in Saturday’s WBC featherweight title final eliminator at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. A panel of neutral judges delivered three different scores: 115-113 to Collins, 115-113 in favor of Lorente, and a 114-114 draw card. The consensus seemed to be that Collins had edged a close fight, but there was little complaint with a tie.
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Collins (17-0-1, 8 KOs) and Lorente (20-0-3, 8 KOs) both walked away with their regional titles intact, the European crown for Spain’s Lorente and the WBC silver belt of the hometown favorite Collins. Victory for either in their final eliminator, however, would’ve theoretically cemented their shot at world title honors. Collins remains the WBC’s No. 1-ranked contender at featherweight.
Collins started the fight aggressively, pushing the Spaniard back and establishing a fast pace. He found early success in the opening three rounds with his left hand at long range. The combination punching picked up for Collins in the second frame. Collins had a good spell with short punches in the final 40 seconds of Round 3, but it was here Lorente had his first real success in the bout — Lorente broke the guard with a right hand, left hook combination and followed up with another two-piece.
Lorente continued his success into Round 4, turning the tables and choosing to be the pressure fighter, rather than being driven back by the Scotsman. The change in strategy paid off instantly. The European champion dipped the legs of Collins with a right hand at the end of the fourth round, in what was the best connection from either man at that stage of the fight.
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Lorente went to work on the inside in Round 5 and landed an eye-catching flurry in the final 15 seconds to add another 10 points to his tally.
Collins, realizing the shift in momentum, decided he needed a big sixth round and produced just that. The hometown favorite hurt Lorente with a short left hand in the opening minute. Collins continued to land punishing blows, and at one point a stoppage seemed to be in play. Lorente, however, was not ready to go yet. He came straight back at Collins with a combination, firing when he was in trouble and pushing the Scotsman back. The pair continued to trade with power shots on the inside in what was a Round of the Year contender. Collins appeared to be close to a finish on several occasions, leading him to invest heavily in the round, which significantly depleted his energy in the second half of the contest.
With both men needing to recover in Round 7, the action predictably lulled. Collins controlled the pace and the distance and caught Lorente with counters every time he attempted to close the gap. Lorente rebounded to take the eighth round, landing with straight shots early and even connecting with a nice body punch. Both traded in the second minute of the eighth, but Lorente had the better work rate in the round as Collins was visibly fatiguing.
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Lorente continued his body assault in the ninth session. The inside work from the Spaniard and strong finish were thought to have nicked him the round. Collins did connect with some eye-catching work, including a pair of clean left hands early. Lorente knocked Collins’ head back with jabs in Round 10. Lorente’s lead left hand proved to be particularly fruitful in the round as Collins was running on empty. There was little action in Round 11, with Collins perhaps taking the round — and some believed the win — with the better work in a quiet period.
The pair left it all in the ring in a thrilling final round. They emptied the tank in the middle of the ring, going to war, much to the delight of the raucous Glasgow crowd. There was non-stop action until the final bell rang, when both men received a standing ovation and could be confident that they had left it all in the ring.
At the end of the 36 minutes, they couldn’t be split. Both men suggested an openness to a rematch in their post-fight interviews.
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Elsewhere on the card, light heavyweight contender Willy Hutchinson (19-2, 14 KOs) handed Mark Jeffers (20-2, 7 KOs) a second consecutive career defeat.
Hutchinson used his silky skills to outbox Jeffers throughout the contest. In the final minute of Round 7, the Scotsman buzzed Jeffers with a right hand. Insisting that he wasn’t hurt, Jeffers urged him on, but his legs told a different story. Hutchinson followed up with a combination, and with Jeffers unresponsive and losing his shape, referee John Latham called a halt to the action.
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It was Hutchinson’s first fight since losing to Joshua Buatsi in a WBO interim title clash in September 2024. Hutchinson called for a rematch with Buatsi, who is now also under the Queensberry Promotions banner and faces Zach Parker on Nov. 1.
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Louie O’Doherty (11-0, 3 KOs) captured the British lightweight title with a 10th-round TKO win over Regan Glackin (16-1, 3 KOs) in their England vs. Scotland battle of unbeatens.
Glackin’s corner threw in the towel in the final 30 seconds of Round 10 as O’Doherty was firmly on top and connecting with the more damaging shots in their clash for the Lonsdale belt. O’Doherty had consistent success on the front foot behind his right hand, which caused damage above Glackin’s left eye.
The Englishman got the better of the first four rounds of the contest, and although Glackin showed signs of turning it around in the fifth frame, the Scotsman’s successes were short-lived, with O’Doherty regaining control in the sixth and continuing to break Glackin down until Glackin’s team decided they’d seen enough in the 10th stanza.