"WV2"  

• Twitter: @WV2  Facebook.com/TopRankWilfredoVazquezJr
• Ranked WBO #3, at 122 pounds...
• Former WBO jr. featherweight world champion, two successful defenses...
• World championship fights: 3-1, 3 KOs...

At the age of 28, Wilfredo is a five-year pro. A former WBO junior featherweight world champion, he won the title in February, 2010, and made two successful defenses before losing the title in May, 2011.

He is the son and namesake of former three-time world champion Wilfredo Vazquez. Wilfredo Jr. was born when his father was was 23 years old and had a professional record of 17-1-1 with 14 knockouts. Wilfredo Sr. won the WBA bantamweight world title - his first world title - three years later in October, 1987. He fought professionally until the age of 42 and finished his career with a record of 56-9-3 with 41 knockouts.

Wilfredo Jr. challenged for the vacant WBO jr. featherweight world title in his last fight on February 4, but lost a 12-round split decision against former IBF flyweight and WBC-WBO bantamweight world champion Nonito Donaire - Wilfredo gave a very strong effort, but came up short on two of the judges' scorecards.

After Wilfredo's 10^th round TKO win against Zsolt Bedak in May, 2010, Fightwriter.com's Graham Houston reported [exerpts]: After two very impressive performances in a row, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. is looking like the genuine article, a gifted boxer-puncher with speed, savvy and physical strength. He dominated Hungary's Zsolt Bedak in what I had expected to be a much more difficult fight.

Although both men entered the ring with unbeaten records, Vazquez quickly showed himself to be the superior fighter. Bedak was game, tough and capable, but Vazquez was a class above him.

Bedak had the amateur background but Vazquez has the natural talent. Although Vazquez has no amateur pedigree, I am now thinking that his father and trainer, Wilfredo Vazquez Sr., probably had him in the gym sparring with experienced boxers for years before the son's professional debut. Vazquez handles himself in the manner of a boxer with far greater experience. [note: Wilfredo's only boxing experience before his debut was six months of training]

Vazquez moved and countered as Bedak took the fight to him. Bedak, it seemed to me, thought he could impose his will and break Vazquez's spirit. He tried to bring pressure, but Vazquez blocked many of his punches and slipped and ducked under others. His jabs, straight right hands, hooks and uppercuts were thrown with excellent form. Bedak fought hard but couldn't make any kind of significant breakthrough. When Vazquez buckled Bedak's legs with a big left hook in the fifth it was clear that there was no way that Bedak could win short of a minor miracle. He couldn't hurt Vazquez, even when he could hit him, and he was being hurt himself. In cases such as this, the outcome soon ceases to be in doubt.

Vazquez's control of pace and distance was almost perfect. He got his right hand up to block most of Bedak's hooks and always seemed a step and a thought ahead of his opponent. He's made me a believer. [End Houston item]

Co-promoter Tuto "Tutico" Zabala Jr., the son of deceased long-time Miami promoter Tuto Zabala Sr., said, "Wilfredo trains at the  Miguel J. Frau Gym in Bayamon. It's a municipal gym, his father runs it. His father doesn't like sparring too much - he's not one of those guys that wants you to leave it all in the gym. He just works on distance and speed and combinations - no wars in the gym.

"My father and I worked with Wilfredo Sr. since 1990, all the way until he retired. It was the best relationship that I ever had, or will have, with a boxer in my life.

"He called and said his kid wanted to fight. He wanted to keep the same team. He said, 'Please help me out.' So we ended up getting him to the ring.

"I've known the kid since he was born. I don't want to see him getting hit or nothing like that. He said, 'I'm going to do it anyway, so you might as well do it with me,' and that's how we started.

"I even told him, 'Let's get you some amateur experience.' He told me he doesn't need it - he can fight. He started training in May, 2006, and made his pro debut in December.

"His dad is very happy that he's fighting. He's teaching him a lot. He's a big part of his improvement. I always told him he could be a great trainer, but he never wanted to dedicate the time to it until his son started fighting.

"Wilfredo Jr. used to go to some of his father's fights with us. He used to go up in the ring with us. You can see him at the Eloy Rojas fight, the Orlando Canizalez fight. That little kid? That's him.

"He can fight - definitely, he can fight. He's a boxer, but he's also aggressive when he hurts his opponent. The best tool that he has is his patience. He doesn't go out there like he wants to kill the other guy and wants to run him over.

"He goes out there and takes his time and looks for where to land his shots. I think that helped, by not being an amateur, because he doesn't go out there and go crazy and throw a lot of punches."

Fight by Fight - 2012 - VACANT WBO JF WORLD TITLE CHALLENGE - in his last fight on 2-4-11 in San Antonio, TX, he lost a 12 round split decision against former IBF flyweight and WBC-WBO bantamweight world champion Nonito Donaire (27-1): the fight was co-featured with the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Marco Antonio Rubio main event; Wilfredo gave a strong effort, but Donaire dominated most of the fight; Donaire hurt his left hand early in the fight, but staggered Wilfredo with a left hook in the 3^rd round, generally outboxed him, and landed the sharper punches; Donaire scored a knockdown with a left hook in the 9^th, and won by scores of 117-110, 117-110 Donaire, 115-112 Vazquez; after the fight, Wilfredo said, "He's real quick. He caught me with some good punches. He surprised me by hitting me when I was off-balance. I thought I did pretty well. I was patient, but he is a great fighter."...

2011 - on 10-29-11 in Guaynabo, PR, he knocked out lefthanded former IBF mini-flyweight world champion Roberto Leyva (27-14-1): the fight was co-featured with the Ivan Calderon-Felipe Rivas main event, and Wilfredo quickly overpowered him; he scored a knockdown with a right hand in the 3^rd round, and Leyva was counted out at 2:59...

LOST WBO JF WORLD TITLE - on 5-7-11 in Las Vegas, NV, he was TKO'd against light flyweight, interim flyfweight, and super flyweight world champion Jorge Arce (56-6-2): the fight was co-featured with the Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley main event - it was fast-paced and exciting, and stole the show; Arce started fast - he pressed forward, outworked Wilfredo, and swept the 1^st and 2^nd rounds on all three scorecards; Arce was cut badly on the bridge of his nose in the 3^rd round, but won the round on two scorecards; Wilfredo scored a knockdown with a left hook that left Arce dazed in the 4^th round, but he came back and won the 5^th and 6^th rounds on two scorecards; Wilfredo rallied in the following rounds - he won the 7^th, 9^th, and 10^th rounds on two scorecards; but Arce finished the fight very strongly - he stepped up his pace, rallied in the 11^th round, and rocked Wilfredo with a series of right hands; Arce staggered Wilfredo with a series of punches early in the 12^th, his corner stepped on the ring apron to signal the end, and the referee stopped the fight at 0:55; after 11 rounds, the fight was scored 107-102 Arce, 1014-104, 104-104...

2010 - 2^ND WBO JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 10-16-10 in Kissimmee, FL, he TKO'd former NABF bantamweight champion and four-time world title challenger Ivan Hernandez (28-4-1): the fight headlined at the Silver Spurs Arena; Wilfredo was hindered in the early rounds by brand new boxing shoes that slipped on the canvas, and Hernandez started fast - he swept the 1^st round on all three scorecards and won the 2^nd on two, but Wilfredo rallied and won the 3^rd on two scorecards; then swept the 4^th round - his corner wrapped tape around his shoes for better traction after the round, and Wilfredo dominated most of the fight after that; he bloodied Hernandez' nose, which bled heavily for the rest of the fight, in the 5^th, then swept the 5^th and 6^th rounds; he won the 7^th on two scorecards, then swept the 8^th round and Hernandez' left eye was swollen badly; Hernandez rallied and swept the 9^th, but Wilfredo came back and swept the 10^th round; Wilfredo staggered Hernandez with a series of punches in the 11^th, and the referee stopped the fight at 0:50; after 10 rounds, Wilfredo led by scores of 97-93, 97-93, 96-94...

1^ST WBO JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 5-29-10 in Bayamon, PR, he TKO'd previously undefeated 2004 Hungarian Olympian Zsolt Bedak (15-0): the fight headlined at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez - Bedak started fast, and the first three rounds were close, but Wilfredo rallied in the 4^th round, steadily wore down Bedak, and dominated the fight after that; Wilfredo scored a knockdown with a right hand-left hook combination in the 10^th round - Bedak got up but was unsteady, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:12; after nine rounds, Wilfredo led by scores of 88-83, 88-83, 87-84...

WON WBO JF WORLD TITLE - on 2-27-10 in Bayamon he knocked out previously undefeated lefthander Marvin Sonsona (14-0-1): the bout headlined at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez; Wilfredo consistently landed the harder punches and dominated the fight; he scored a knockdown with a left hook to the body in the 4^th round, and Sonsona was counted out at 2:01; after three rounds, Wilfredo led by scores of 29-28 on all three scorecards...

2009 - on 11-20-09 in Kissimmee he TKO'd Genaro Garcia (36-7): the fight headlined at the Civic Center, and Wilfredo dominated; he scored two knockdowns in the 7^th round - the first with a series of right hands, the second with a series of rights and lefts - and the referee stopped the fight at 2:49...

On 7-17-09 in Kissimmee he knocked out Cecilio Santos (23-10-3): at 2:59 of the 2^nd round...

On 3-13-09 in Kissimmee he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Jose Beranza (31-14-2): scored 119-108, 120-107, 118-109...

2008  - on 11-21-08 in Kissimmee he knocked out Victor Martinez (14-3): at 0:29 of the 12^th round...

On 9-12-08 in Kissimmee he TKO'd Adolfo Landeros (20-10-1): at 0:45 of the 8^th round...

On 7-26-08 in Kissimmee he won by disqualification against Felipe Almanza (12-13-2): at 3:00 of the 4^th round...

On 5-16-08 in Kissimmee he knocked out Moises Carrasquillo (2-0): at 1:33 of the 2^nd round...

On 3-28-08 in Kissimmee he knocked out Corey Goodwin (7-4): at 1:18 of the 3^rd round...

2007 - on 12-15-07 in Cancun, MX, he had an 8 round draw against Jorge Cardenas (9-4-3): scored 77-75 Vazquez, 76-76, 76-76...

On 11-16-07 in Kissimmee he TKO'd Corey Goodwin (7-3): Wilfredo staggered Goodwin with two right hands in the 2^nd - Goodwin turned away in resignation, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:02...

On 9-14-07 in Kissimmee he TKO'd Benjamin Orozco (3-2-3): Wilfredo buckled Orozco's knees with a left hook in the 2^nd round, then rocked him with a series of punches in the 3^rd and the referee stopped the fight at 0:46...

On 8-25-07 in Bayamon, PR, he knocked out Anthony Chacon (2-1): the bout was on the undercard of the Ivan Calderon-Hugo Cazares main event at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, and was Wilfredo's first professional fight in Puerto Rico; he scored a knockdown with a left hook that dropped Chacon face first in the 1^st round, and he was counted out at 2:46...

On 7-20-07 in Kissimmee he knocked out Jaime Villa (5-1): at 1:03 of the 3^rd round...

On 6-1-07 in Miccosukee, FL, he TKO'd Catarus Hicks (debut): at 2:45 of the 1^st round...

On 4-20-07 in Miccosukee he TKO'd Juan Camacho (0-4): Wilfredo hurt Camacho with a body punch, then scored a knockdown with a right uppercut in the 1^st round and the referee stopped the fight in mid-count at 2:35...

On 3-23-07 in Kissimmee he TKO'd Daniel Esquivel (0-3): Wilfredo scored two knockdowns, and the referee stopped the fight at 0:45 of the 3^rd round...

On 2-23-07 in Miccosukee he won a 4 round unanimous decision against Daniel Lorenzana (1-0): Wilfredo scored a knockdown with a left hook in the 3^rd round, and won by scores of 40-35, 39-36, 39-36...

He debuted at the age of 22 on 12-8-06 in Kissimmee and knocked out Octavius Davis (debut): Wilfredo scored a knockdown with a left hook to the body in the 1^st round, and Davis was counted out...

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Wilfredo said through an interpreter, "I was born and raised in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, in the public housing project 'Jose Celso Barbosa.' I have two younger brothers. Israel is a boxer, he's a light flyweight. Noe hasn't started boxing yet.

"My dad used to have a gym at our house and I would go there and play all the time, but I never thought that I was going to be a boxer."...

Wilfredo turned pro at the age of 22 after having no amateur fights and only six months of training...

He said, "I was working in the casino at the Marriott Hotel here and I lost my job. My wife got pregnant and I thought, 'I've got to raise my child somehow.' I looked around me and I knew I had my dad and Tuto, and that they could help me out. So I decided to become a boxer so I could support my child.

"Angel Rosario, who's part of the team and used to be part of my dad's team, I asked him how to become a boxer and he told me, 'Start running.' I started running while I was still working at the casino, because I already knew I was going to get laid off. When I first saw my dad, he didn't believe me - he thought I was joking. He said, 'You never fought amateur. How are you going to fight?'

"So I decided to start running on my own, on the advice of Angel Rosario, and one day I got to the gym and my dad said, 'Here's some gear, here's some gloves, let's see what you have.' Look where I made it now. I'm very crazy.

"I'm naturally righthanded. My wife's name is Jacquilene, and we have a little girl, Lya. [pr. LIE-ah] She's four years old."...

STRENGTHS: Has good skills and movement...has good punching power...is patient and poised in the ring...has a strong family boxing background...

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 24 fights...126 total rounds...49 world championship rounds...

AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 5.25 rounds...

KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 85 %...

DISTANCE FIGHTS: 12 rounds - 4 (2-2)...11 rounds - 1 (1-0)...10 rounds - 1 (1-0)...