Miguel Vázquez | |
---|---|
Statistics | |
Real name | Miguel Ángel Vázquez Bautista |
Nickname(s) | El Títere ("The Puppet") |
Rated at | |
Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
Reach | 72 in (183 cm) |
Nationality | Mexican |
Born |
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico |
January 6, 1987
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 41 |
Wins | 36 |
Wins by KO | 13 |
Losses | 5 |
Miguel Ángel Vázquez Bautista (born January 6, 1987), best known as Miguel Vázquez, is a Mexican professional boxer who held the IBF lightweight title from 2010 to 2014.
Vázquez made his professional debut on January 20, 2006 against Canelo Álvarez (who was just fifteen years old at the time) in a welterweight bout, losing a four-round split decision. He won his next eighteen bouts before losing to Timothy Bradley on July 27, 2007, in a bout for the WBC Youth super lightweight title. Bradley would go on to say "I knew the fight was going to be tough—he's Mexican. I give him a lot of credit. He's a good fighter." A rematch against Álvarez was fought on June 28, 2008, this time at light middleweight, in which Vázquez lost a ten-round unanimous decision.
On July 17, 2009, Vázquez became more well known in boxing circles when he won a ten-round split decision over then-undefeated Breidis Prescott.
On August 14, 2010, Vázquez fought Ji-Hoon Kim for the vacant IBF lightweight title. Vázquez beat Kim by unanimous decision to win his first world championship. His first successful title defense was against Ricardo Dominguez on November 27, 2010. Vázquez made a second successful defense on March 12, 2011 against then-undefeated Leonardo Zappavigna, defeating him by a wide margin over the twelve-round distance. During the fight, Zappavigna landed a solid overhand right to the champion early, but Vázquez responded by opening up a cut over the challenger's left eye.
On September 13, 2014, Vázquez faced Mickey Bey on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana II. In what was his first loss since 2008, Vázquez lost the IBF title in a split decision. The judges' scorecards were 119–109 and 115–113 for Bey, and 115-113 for Vázquez. Many ringside observers felt Vázquez had won the fight and criticized the decision.