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For the fighter named Israel , getting to boxing's Promised Land was not easy. But, even as he waited for his chance and endured doubters, Israel “Magnifico” Vazquez never lost faith in himself. The Sycuan Ringside Promotions boxer always believed he would become a world boxing champion.
And he was right—and not just once, but three times.
Vazquez became the International Boxing Federation junior featherweight champion during 2004 and added the World Boxing Council super bantamweight championship the next year.
But the biggest win was his most recent, on Aug. 4, 2007 in Hidalgo, Texas when he regained the WBC 122-pound title with an devastating sixth-round knockout of Rafael Marquez.
The win in what many consider, to date, “The Fight of the Year” has earned Vazquez rankings among the top 10 in most “ Po und-For-Pound” ratings.
“To be the best you have to fight the best, and that’s what I did when I fought Rafael Marquez twice,” said Vazquez. “And that’s what I’ll be doing when we fight again.”
The incredible win over Marquez avenged his loss of March 3, 2007 in Carson, Calif. when both stood toe-to-toe in a classic battle that was, until the rematch, the leader for “Fight of the Year” honors.
“I said the real Israel Vazquez would be show the second time around,” said Vazquez.
Vazquez, promoted by Sycuan Ringside Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions, got inside on Marquez from the opening bell and never stopped throwing or landing punches.
Vazquez eventually wore down Marquez, dropping him early in the sixth round and then halting him at 1:16 of that stanza.
“We’re were confident Israel would turn the tables in the rematch,” said Scott Woodworth, vice president of Sycuan Ringside Promotions. “But it wasn’t easy. This pairing has all the earmarks of becoming one of the greatest trilogies in recent boxing history.”
"Israel has always been a man on a mission," said Willie Tucker, exexcutive vice president of Sycuan Ringside Promotions. "Now, more than ever, that’s the case as evidenced by his tremendous win over Marquez in their rematch."
“The fight was tremendous,” said Glenn Quiroga, president of Sycuan Ringside Promotions. “It was like (Marvelous Marvin) Hagler-(Thomas) Hearns only 38 pounds lighter.”
“This was the greatest fight I’ve ever seen,” said Woodworth. “It was just brea thtakingly unreal. Both Vazquez and Marquez are true warriors, ultimate warriors.”
In their first fight Vazquez dropped Marquez in the third round and slowly but surely was breaking down the body of and slowing the then-IBF bantamweight champion, a strategy that could have paid big dividends later in the bout.
But that “later” nev er came to be. Vazquez, who had sustained a broken nose in the first round, couldn’t breath because of the injury and the close and intense bout had to be stopped after seven rounds.
“That’s part of boxing,” said Vazquez. “Anybody who knows me, anybody who’s ever seen me fight knows there’s no way I wouldn’t go on if I could have. But, I just couldn’t breathe.
“I was questioned for taking the rematch so soon after the nose injury,” said Vazquez. “But it was never a factor or a problem in the fight.”
The 29-year-old Vazquez, from Huntington Park , Calif. , who has a record of 42-4 with 31 knockouts, won his first championship, the IBF junior featherweight title, March 25, 2004 in Los Angeles with a 12th-round knockout of Jose Valbuena.
Vazquez, who is managed by Frank Espinoza and now trained by Rudy Perez, defended successfully his IBF 122-pound crown twice, halting Artyom Simonyan in the fifth-round on Dec. 28, 2004 at the Sycuan Resort & Casino in El Cajon, Calif. and then with a 12-round unanimous decision over Armando Guerrero on May 31, 2005, in Lynwood, Ill. Vazquez voluntarily relinquished his IBF championship before defending again.
Vazquez won the WBC super bantamweight championship for the first time Dec. 3, 2005 , in Las Vegas when he destroyed highly touted Oscar De La Hoya protégé Oscar Larios, knocking him out in the third round. Vazquez dropped Larios in the first round, carved him in the second and stopped him in the third.
Vazquez defended successfully his WBC 122-pound with a fourth-round knockout of Ivan Hernandez June 10, 2006 in Atlantic City , N.J. Then three months later on Sept. 16, 2006 , in Las Vegas he defended successfully his WBC 122-pound title again by stopping World Boxing Organization bantamweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez in the 10th round in a bout many lauded as the “Fight of the Year” for 2006.
“Israel got to the top by ducking no one and fighting every tough character around,” said Espinoza. “We wouldn't have had it any other way, and it won’t be any different in the future.”
There’s no doubt that this Israel intends to reside to boxing's Promised Land. |
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