Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico-- In a back and forth seven round battle of junior featherweight contenders, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (22-2-1, 19 KOs) overcame a sharp and motivated Jonathan Oquendo (22-3, 15 KOs) to take a well-earned seventh round TKO victory in the main event of an independent pay-per view. Oquendo, in his first bout since the tragic ATV … [Read more...]
Redemption in Bayamon: Calderon and Vazquez Jr. look to get back on the main stage
Exactly two years ago, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. was a well-regarded, hotshot 26-year old prospect who had just captured his first world title and Ivan Calderon was a 35-year-old veteran cruising into the final stages of a Hall of Fame career. Two years can be an eternity in boxing. Since then, the two Puerto Rican stars are a combined 2-4 and have fallen from boxing's main … [Read more...]
Island Slaughter: Lopez, Martinez, Oquendo in Mismatch Squashes
Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico-- On a night of mismatches from Puerto Rico, fringe contender, Mike Oliver (25-3, 8 KOs) had a good 40-second spurt of energy, backing up the former featherweight titlist, Juan Manuel Lopez (31-1, 28 KOs), with a flurry of quick arm punches before settling into his role as opponent for the rebuilding boricua star. A minute after … [Read more...]
The Boricua Comeback?
2011 hasn't been a great year for Puerto Rican boxing. While faded boricua figurehead, Miguel Cotto, stopped Ricardo Mayorga in March, not even the fiercest of Cotto loyalists would argue that it was anything other than a trophy win from a critically weathered fighter. Cotto is far removed from being the fighter who once cut a violent swath through the ranks of … [Read more...]