by David P. Greisman, with translation help from a friend
Former junior featherweight titleholder Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 22 after an altercation with a couple that led to charges against all three involved, according to Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Dia.
The alleged incident happened this past Friday at a mall in Bayamon. Vazquez, a man named Joshua Cuadrado and a woman named Libniria Berrios Rivera each have been charged with one count of simple assault and one count of disturbing the peace.
Those charges carry a maximum penalty of up to six months in jail and/or a $500 fine.
Vazquez, 28, was quoted in the article as saying he didn’t attack the couple, but was entering an area of the mall at the same time as the couple when the woman yelled at him and said something to the effect of “Why don’t you go first, you [expletive], if you’re in such a hurry?”
Vazquez claims the woman also slapped his left cheek, and the man pushed him to the floor and held him there while the woman hit him.
He said he didn’t hit anyone. “I got them off of me because they were suffocating me,” Vazquez was quoted as saying in the newspaper. “I am incapable of hitting a woman or a kid because I’m Papito Vazquez. I’ve always been taught that I cannot use my hands to attack anyone. I cannot use my hands for my benefit to attack a person. I’m not going to throw my job away for two people that are nothing in my life.”
Vazquez last fought in February, losing a split decision to Nonito Donaire. The defeat dropped his record to 21-2-1 with 18 knockouts. He was scheduled to face Rafael Marquez this coming Saturday, but that bout has been postponed due to a hand injury Marquez suffered.
David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
