Rafael Espinoza is confident in his victory over Edward Vazquez, when the pair square off on May 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Battling it out on Cinco de Mayo Weekend, the Mexican champion makes the third defense of his WBO featherweight title. The 12-round contest serves as the co-feature to Naoya Inoue vs Ramon Cardenas, live on ESPN.
Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs) is coming off a win via sixth-round TKO in a rematch against Robeisy Ramirez last December. Mid-last year, the Guadalajara, Jalisco native stopped Sergio Chirino Sanchez in the fourth round. The unbeaten 31-year-old landed his title in late 2023, dethroning Ramirez by majority decision in their first fight.
In his next fight, Rafael Espinoza is opposed by 29-year-old Vazquez (17-2, 4 KOs), who makes his second attempt to become champion. The native of Fort Worth, TX has won two fights since dropping a majority decision to Joe Cordina in his bid to claim the division’s IBF strap in November 2023.
Espinoza previously stated he was focused on the task at hand, but was also eyeing a potential showdown with Inoue. Following a recent training session in Guadalajara, Jalisco, the Mexican champion said he was going to “steal the show” and once again confirmed his interest in taking on the Japanese boxing star.
‘I’d like to show the Japanese people that I’m also ready for Naoya Inoue’
“Edward Vazquez is a great fighter. He’s going to come with everything. We chose him because we know it would make for an exciting fight,” Rafael Espinoza said. “This is an important fight for me. At the same time, I don’t like to predict knockouts or tell people how the fight will end. I’m simply going to do my job. If the knockout comes, then great. Either way, I’m scoring a win for my people.”
“I’m treating Vazquez as if he were an unbeaten champion. That’s how I’m taking things in my preparation, and that will ensure I don’t come in overconfident. Also, I know that it’s a huge opportunity for him, so he will come in the best shape possible.”
“It’s a great responsibility to fight on such an important weekend for Mexicans, so I see it as a source of motivation. I want to continue representing Mexico on these important fight dates.”
“The only thing on my mind is Edward Vazquez and defeating him on May 4. But at the same time, I’d like to show the Japanese people that I’m also ready for Naoya Inoue. That kind of fight would help me become one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.”
“I’m going to steal the show on May 4 and give all the Mexicans in attendance a great night.”
Atop the fight card, Japan’s four-division champion Naoya Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) defends his undisputed super bantamweight title against Ramon Cardenas (26-1, 14 KOs) of San Antonio, TX. Among the undercard bouts, Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) of Oxnard, CA meets Spain’s Juan Leon (11-2-1, 2 KOs) at super lightweight.