This time as the favorite, Clay Collard scores a TKO win on ESPN

On a Top Rank card on ESPN on Tuesday, July 14, middleweight boxer Clay Collard (8-2-3) (seen above winning an earlier bout) continued his winning streak with a second round TKO over Lorawnt T. Nelson (5-4). It's Collard's fourth win of the year. His activity in this pandemic-plagued year has boosted the Utah/Idaho boxer to a near cult status in the boxing world.

His win over Nelson in Las Vegas, and on ESPN, was the semi-main bout of the card. It was also the first fight in a long while where Collard was the favorite going in. Nelson, a South African living in Colorado, like Collard, is a professional MMA fighter, with Bellator experience. He also has fought professionally as a kick boxer, with success on Glory promotions.

As a boxer Nelson had won three of his previous four bouts prior to July 14. His three losses in the sport had come against boxers with a combined record of 26-1. Nevertheless he was no match for Collard, who has won 7 of his last 8 bouts.

After 90 seconds of a feeling-out period, Collard walked right through his overmatched, one-dimensional opponent, flooring Nelson once in round one and hurting him just before the bell. In round two, Collard floored Nelson with a right hand punch, and then Nelson hit the canvas again from a counter left hook from Collard. With Nelson groggy and bleeding, the referee stopped the fight at 1:57 of round two.

Afterwards, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum announced Collard would be fighting again on a Top Rank card in August. The former UFC MMA fighter, unorthodox but effective as a boxer (with strong ring generalship), has gained quite a following. Nine months ago only this blog was noting Collard's success barnstorming the nation, defeating or drawing with opponents in their home towns or "home" promotions. But after his success on TV this year, Collard is a welcome fan favorite. Here's an ESPN feature by Steve Kim and a Sports Illustrated feature, both published very recently. Let's' give a nod to Collard's trainer, Ryan Ault, for his great work of late guiding his career.