Third time’s a charm? Edward Vazquez ready to shock ‘one-dimensional’ Rafael Espinoza
LAS VEGAS — Edward Vazquez has had to scratch and claw for his opportunities, but each time he’s gotten them as the B-side, he hasn’t been rewarded.
Vazquez has been on the wrong end of a highly disputed majority decision in a title shot against Joe Cordina in 2023 and a split decision versus Raymond Ford in ’22.
On Sunday, Vazquez (17-2, 4 KOs) will get another crack to evolve from snakebitten contender to crown holder when he clashes against WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs) at the T-Mobile Arena in an ESPN co-main event fight on the Naoya Inoue-Ramon Cardenas undercard.
“Going into this fight, from what I’ve learned, I’m already three rounds behind on the scorecards,” Vazquez told The Ring in an interview. “So if I don’t knock his ass out I have to at least beat him by three rounds or more and make it convincing. I’m locked in on that.
“This is what dreams are made of. This is everything. It’s a picture-perfect scenario — world title, Las Vegas, ESPN, Cinco De Mayo Weekend as a Mexican. It’s huge. I have a unique opportunity to change the trajectory of my life and my family’s life with a win over Rafael Espinoza. I’m going to leave it all on the line. And after that, the sky’s the limit, and we will continue to prosper.”
Vazquez, a 29-year-old from Fort Worth, Texas, is trained by Tony Cabello and Vincent Reyes and is coming off a fourth-round stoppage win against Kenneth Taylor in October.
Although Vazquez respects Espinoza, he’s not entirely impressed by his skill set.
“I’m better than him, I’m smarter than him, I have more rounds of experience than him, I’ve faced better opposition than him,” said Vazquez. “He hasn’t fought outside of Mexico too much or against an American fighter.
“It’s going to be different against me. I don’t think he has faced anyone like me. He’s very one-dimensional and hasn’t had to make many adjustments. You have to be put in those situations before you reach the pinnacle, in order to be able to make adjustments on a drop of a dime when it really matters.”
During a Friday press conference, Vazquez verbally jabbed at Espinoza and told him to keep the fight clean from errant elbows. Espinoza’s recent win in a rematch against Robeisy Ramirez was marred by some controversy when Ramirez quit in the sixth round and claimed an eye injury from elbows earlier in the fight.
“Espinoza is dangerous. He’s a dog,” said Vazquez. “I think he’s the toughest of the current 126-pound champions. Mexican fighters are different … He does some things that are good. He’s a world champion for a reason. We respect what he brings to the game, but he’s definitely a beatable guy. I 100 percent believe that I am the guy for it. I have the solution. I’ve learned to adapt, and all of that experience will come into play.”
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