Miguel Vazquez continues his quest in search of at least one more title shot.
The former IBF lightweight titlist from Guadalajara will enjoy his second straight headliner at Verite Social Venue in Monterrey, Mexico, where he picked up a win this past April. Vasquez returns to face former title challenger Oliver Flores, with their bout due to headline a card set for October 2, airing live on ESPN+ in the United States. The event will be presented by MTK Global’s Latin America operation in association with Miura Boxing, marking the third collaboration between the two entities.
"At the beginning of the year, Miura Boxing and MTK Global joined forces to present our first card, which was a resounding success,” Mariana Caballero, former boxer and now head of Latin America Operations for MTK Global told BoxingScene.com. “We are sure that the event we will present [on October 2] will be even bigger and better.”
Vazquez (43-10, 17KOs) picked up a seventh-round stoppage of Isai Hernandez Renteria this past April at this location. The fight was his first since landing on the wrong end of a highly questionable twelve-round, split decision defeat to Lewis Ritson last October in Peterborough, England. Most observers had Vazquez winning the fight with room to spare, though a viewpoint only shared by judge Marcus McDonnell (116-113). Judges Michael Alexander (115-113) and Terry O’Connor (117-111) were scrutinized for their scorecards in favor of Ritson.
The 34-year-old Vazquez held the IBF lightweight title for more than four years before losing the belt to Mickey Bey in 2014. Interestingly his career gained later notoriety as former rival Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez emerged as one of the sport’s elite talents. Vazquez lost a four-round decision to a then 15-year-old Alvarez in his January 2006 pro debut, suffering a repeat loss to his countryman in their June 2008 rematch.
Flores (30-3-2, 19KOs) has won his last three starts. However, the Nicaraguan southpaw has not fought since September 2019. The current win streak comes after suffering back-to-back defeats to Takashi Uchiyama and Felix Verdejo, both of whom were undefeated at the time. Uchiyama held the WBA junior lightweight title at the time of their December 2015 clash in Tokyo, the lone title bid of Flores’ 15-year career.
The eleven-bout card features unbeaten Neslan ‘Pitbull’ Machado (17-0, 8KOs), a Cuban junior featherweight based out of Miami who has long sought to take his career to the next level. Machado, 25, makes his first appearance in Mexico, as he will face Mexico’s City Alan Salazar in a scheduled eight-round contest at a catchweight.
Also on the show: unbeaten heavyweight Brandon Moore (9-0. 5KOs) versus locally-based Jesus Angel Nerlo (15-9-1, 6KOs) in a scheduled ten-round bout; undefeated Mexico City-based prospect Jimerr Espinosa (10-0, 9KOs) versus Zapopan’s Jose Luis Melendez (14-7-2, 8KOs) in a junior welterweight bout scheduled for eight rounds; and rising Puerto Rican featherweight Jonathan Lopez (4-0, 2KOs) versus Durango’s Jorge Amaya (6-1, 3KOs) in a scheduled eight-round bout to open the ESPN+ portion of the show.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
ADD COMMENT VIEW COMMENTS (1)