Spanish featherweight to run it back with familiar foe.
Barcelona, Spain’s Cristobal Lorente is the undefeated European featherweight champion of the world.
That undefeated record is an odd one: 20-0-3 with 8 KOs. Three draws on an unbeaten ledger is not common, and two of those three draws came in Lorente’s last two fights.
Interestingly, Lorente won the European title by beating the 20-0-2 Mauro Forte. He then defended it against Francesco Grandelli, an Italian who had fought for the European title before.
Grandelli’s challenge for the title came against Scotland’s undefeated Nathaniel Collins, who beat him on points over 12. Just a few weeks after he claimed victory, Collins was rushed to the hospital and underwent an eight-hour surgery to correct a twisted bowel, something which could have killed him.
Collins was told he would never box again, but he would return 9 months later with a decision over Nicaraguan journeyman Darwing Martinez. Then in May of 2025, he would put on the performance of his career to stop Lee McGregor in an all-Scottish showdown on the undercard of Josh Taylor’s defeat to Ekow Essuman.
In his absence, the European title he had won against Grandelli had been picked up by Lorente, so a fight between Lorente and Collins was made in October in a bid to win back his old belt.
Lorente would prove to be made of tougher stuff than was previously thought, as he battled hard with Collins, and together, the two produced some absolutely terrific action.
When the time for the verdict came around, the judges couldn’t split them, and it was ruled a draw.
Now, according to BoxingScene, sources are stating that Collins-Lorente 2 is set to take place in Scotland once again on the 18th of April, with an announcement to come soon.
Collins is considered one of the best British fighters in the featherweight division and will hoping to impress in front of his people in a rematch of a fight that most thought he did enough to win.
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