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It was Tuesday afternoon at the Urbina Westside Boxing Gym on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles. Down the street a remake of the 1940 movie "The Green Hornet" was being filmed, which is appropriate because Israel Vazquez has been a superhero to boxing.
Vazquez first exceeded the expectations of some by winning the super bantamweight world championship with a 12th-round stoppage of Jose Luis Valbuena in March 2004. Two years earlier Vazquez was stopped in the 12th round by Oscar Larios in an interim title fight, a bout that had many thinking Vazquez wasn't quite world champion material.
Vazquez won five more title fights after beating Valbuena - one of the victories was a third-round technical knockout of Larios - before embarking on a journey that took him through three fights with Rafael Marquez.
Vazquez was stopped after seven rounds in the first bout, regained his title by stopping Marquez in the sixth in the second one and then won the rubber match with a 12-round split decision.
It has been called one of boxing's great trilogies.
Vazquez unfortunately suffered a detached retina in his right eye in the third fight, which took place at Home Depot Center in March 2008. He has not fought since, but he will be back in the ring next Saturday to take on Angel Priolo (30-7, 20 KOs) of Colombia in the featherweight main event at Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live.
Vazquez (43-4, 31 KOs) was working hard. As he did sit-ups in the ring,
his manager, Frank Espinoza, talked about this special fighter.
"I see a lot of hunger in Vazquez," Espinoza said. "He's very confident. I see he really has the will to come back. He really wants to get back in the ring and prove to his fans that he has a lot left."
Vazquez, of Los Angeles via Mexico, has affirmed his worth over and over again.
"Yes, in boxing you have to prove to yourself that you are a genuine boxer, that you like this sport," said Vazquez, 31. "I proved it against Oscar Larios, I proved it against Jhonny Gonzalez (in a title defense), I proved it against Marquez.
Vazquez first exceeded the expectations of some by winning the super bantamweight world championship with a 12th-round stoppage of Jose Luis Valbuena in March 2004. Two years earlier Vazquez was stopped in the 12th round by Oscar Larios in an interim title fight, a bout that had many thinking Vazquez wasn't quite world champion material.
Vazquez won five more title fights after beating Valbuena - one of the victories was a third-round technical knockout of Larios - before embarking on a journey that took him through three fights with Rafael Marquez.
Vazquez was stopped after seven rounds in the first bout, regained his title by stopping Marquez in the sixth in the second one and then won the rubber match with a 12-round split decision.
It has been called one of boxing's great trilogies.
Vazquez unfortunately suffered a detached retina in his right eye in the third fight, which took place at Home Depot Center in March 2008. He has not fought since, but he will be back in the ring next Saturday to take on Angel Priolo (30-7, 20 KOs) of Colombia in the featherweight main event at Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live.
Vazquez (43-4, 31 KOs) was working hard. As he did sit-ups in the ring,
his manager, Frank Espinoza, talked about this special fighter.
"I see a lot of hunger in Vazquez," Espinoza said. "He's very confident. I see he really has the will to come back. He really wants to get back in the ring and prove to his fans that he has a lot left."
Vazquez, of Los Angeles via Mexico, has affirmed his worth over and over again.
"Yes, in boxing you have to prove to yourself that you are a genuine boxer, that you like this sport," said Vazquez, 31. "I proved it against Oscar Larios, I proved it against Jhonny Gonzalez (in a title defense), I proved it against Marquez.
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