Israel Vazquez-The Magnificent Slayer

[BoztheMadman]

Israel “El Magnifico” Vazquez was and is one of the best super bantamweights in history. This magnificent puncher and warrior captured a version of the world title three times and The Ring title once as well, and defeated some of the best in the division back then. His greatest wins were over Rafael Marquez, Jhonny Gonzalez, Oscar Larios, Jorge Eliecer Julio and Ivan Hernandez. He peaked rather early and because he was involved in some brutal wars (especially with Marquez), he also faded early, at 31. His quadrilogy with Marquez is one of the greatest and most beloved in recent boxing history. 
 

Israel Vazquez Castaneda was born 25 December 1977 in Mexico City. He stands 5’4 1/2 (164 cm) tall, with a reach of 66 1/2 (169 cm) and fought from orthodox stance. He made his pro debut at only 17, in 1995, first fighting as a bantamweight. He won his first 9 fights, scoring 8 knockouts and winning one by disqualification, before losing his tenth fight to Ulises Flores by TKO1, 5 October ‘95. He progressed and won two more fights by knockout, before facing his first big rival, Oscar Larios aka Chololo, 12 April ‘97. Larios was 20-0 and at 5’7 the taller man, but Vazquez dispatched him in one round by dropping him twice to score his first impressive and pivotal victory. Soon after, he moved up to the division where he would carve out his greatness, super bantam. He started fighting in USA and won a few fights before losing by split decision against Marcos Licona, 27 March ‘99 in Vegas. 
 

On 7 January 2001, he won the NABF title by stopping Don Don Concepcion by TKO3 and defended it once by KO2 against Ever Beleno before vacating it. He then got a shot at the interim WBC title, held by none other than Oscar Larios. The fight happened on 17 May 2002 in Sacramento and Larios did his homework this time and just outboxed him using his reach and height advantage. In the final round, a tired and beaten up Vazquez succumbed and was sent down twice by right hand punches and was stopped. Next year he rebounded by stopping the former WBO bantamweight champion Jorge Eliecer Julio of Colombia by TKO10, 22 May in San Antonio. He finally got a shot at the vacant IBF belt on 25 March 2004, which he won by stopping the former Marco Antonio Barrera-challenger Jose Luis Valbuena by TKO12 after dropping him in the fourth and the last round. His championship glory could now begin, after nine years as a pro. He made two defenses, first stopping the 14-0 Artyom Simonyan by TKO5 and then decisioning Armando Guerrero, before vacating the belt to challenge Oscar Larios again, who now held the main WBC belt and had made seven defenses of it.

On 3 December 2005, the two warriors met for the third and last time, at Mandalay Bay. The Ring belt was also at stake and Vazquez got off to a great start by dropping Larios in the first round. Larios made it out of the round but got seriously cut over the left eye soon thereafter and had to give it up right before the end of the third round, thus leaving El Magnifico as both the new champion and the winner of their trilogy. The new WBC and The Ring champion made his first defense against former WBO super flyweight champion Ivan “Choko” Hernandez, who had earlier scored a great upset against Mark Too Sharp Johnson, on 10 June 2006 in Atlantic City. Hernandez offered little resistance and was beaten into submission and retired in his corner after 4 rounds. Then came one of his most memorable fights, when he took on the WBO bantamweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez, who was also a tall bantam at almost 5’7 or 169 cm and a very good all around fighter. The fight was on MGM Grand on 16 September and Gonzalez, taking a page from Larios’ book, dominated the first half by using his reach and outjabbing and outboxing Vazquez. He also scored knockdowns in rounds 4 and 6 before El Magnifico stepped it up in round 7 and put Gonzalez down. He then scored one of the best come from behind victories when he sent a tiring Gonzalez down again with a left hook and a couple more punches in round 10, before the fight got waved off. 
 

After these triumphs came a sudden downfall as he took on the former IBF bantamweight champion, the amazing Rafael Marquez. Marquez was both a very good boxer and a big puncher and had stopped both Mark Johnson and Tim Austin. El Magnifico made his third defense against him on 3 March 2007, at Home Depot in Carson and after dropping Marquez in round 3, suffered a broken nose due to absorbing too many punches and had to retire after seven rounds. He would however reclaim his title in the rematch on 4 August in Hidalgo, California. Despite suffering cuts over his eyes, he went on to score his greatest victory when he dropped Rafa in the sixth and then stopped him on his feet, against the ropes. It was Marquez’s first loss in seven years. The third fight happened on 1 March 2008 and ended both men’s prime, especially Israel’s. In a great 12 round war, both men went down and the fight was very close, but Vazquez got the nod by a split decision and was now 2-1 against the younger Marquez brother. 
 

After this fight, Vazquez was inactive for 21 months and finally came back on 10 October ‘09, struggling against the 30-7 Angel Antonio Priolo for eight rounds before dropping him three times in the ninth to win. It was obvious he was no longer what he used to be. A fourth fight against Marquez was then made and happened 22 May next year at Staples Center. This time, Vazquez looked seriously over the hill and was easily destroyed in 3 rounds by the less faded Rafa. Thus, that rivalry ended 2-2. There were talks of a fifth match, but Vazquez realized he was done and pulled out. Thus, this proved to be his final fight and Israel Vazquez retired aged 32 and with a record of 44 wins with 32 knockouts and 5 losses, 4 by knockout.

 He has remained a popular person in the boxing community and is known for his friendly and charming personality. He now runs his own boxing gym in California. Israel Vazquez belongs to the same kind of mould as Wilfredo Gomez, Edwin Rosario, Ray Mancini and Carlos Zarate. In 2011, he did an interview with a boxing site which I was a member of, and I posted a question for him asking which fighter in history he would most like to have fought and he answered Wilfredo Gomez. A fan favorite till the end, he gave the boxing world so many great fights and exciting knockouts, that he must be included in the hall of fame, or deserves to. Although perhaps not a great technical or clever boxer, he relied on his killer instinct and pure guts to win against some outstanding fighters. Here’s to you, El Magnifico! 
 

[Ledhed1]

El Magnifico became a TV commentator on series such as Solo Boxeo and World Class Boxing. The glasses he wore made it clear his vision had been compromised from his wars in the ring. Great fighter indeed.