By Jake Donovan (photo by Jose Perez/PRBBP)

When his career first began, the question was whether Wilfredo Vazquez Jr could actually fight or if it was yet another next generation circus act riding on the coattails of his father’s success.

As his career progressed and it was proven that he can fight, the next question was whether he could actually live up to the lofty standards left by his father, former triple-division champion Wilfredo Vazquez Sr, who also serves as his trainer.

With more results like this, the next question to ask is, how long it will be before son actually surpasses father.

Such a scenario is still a considerably way off, but the younger Vazquez continues to turn heads with each performance. His latest achievement came Saturday evening, breaking down previously unbeaten and former Olympic boxer Zsolt Bedak en route to a tenth round knockout in a pay-per-view main event aired live from Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

The bout began similarly to most featuring Vazquez Jr – fought at a measured pace while seeking the best route to land his power shots. Bedak was there to be hit, but took the best of what Vazquez Jr had to offer and remained in his face throughout the early rounds.

Vazquez Jr began to close the gap towards the end of the second round, digging with his left hook and also landing an occasional right hand. Bedak grew hip to the game and decided to play a little bit of defense in the third, drawing in Vazquez Jr, making him miss and countering just enough to have perhaps tightened up things on the scorecards. 

What Bedak failed to do, however, was truly make his presence felt. Whatever shots he landed had little to no effect on Vazquez Jr, who came out pumping his jab and right hand to begin the fourth.

Also introduced for the first time in the fight was his infamous body attack, digging to Bedak’s sides whenever the two fought on the inside. Every combination by Vazquez Jr ended with a left hook, shots that were beginning to take its toll on Bedak.

A brawl erupted in the fifth round, igniting the crowd and slowly sapping the energy from Bedak, who was clearly out of his element as Vazquez unloaded. To his credit, the Hungarian showed a granite chin and a warrior’s fight, taking several left hooks and hard right hands from Vazquez but still fighting back every step of the way.

Unfortunately for Bedak, showing heart and being able to fight back are two separate matters. The sixth round was all Vazquez, as Bedak was beginning to bear the look of a beaten fighter. His face was swollen, his activity level dramatically dropped and he even turned his back on Vazquez at one point, literally running out of harm’s way after getting nailed with five consecutive left hands.

A straight right hand by Vazquez Jr drew a roar from the crowd midway through a seventh round that was all way one way in terms of action. Bedak appeared game, but just couldn’t pull the trigger as he continued to get peppered with jabs and right hands.

Bedak was very late to get off of his stool to begin the eighth, yet another that was all Vazquez Jr. The work was being put in to break down Bedak, who remained upright but was no longer fighting back save for sporadic moments and never more than one punch at a time.

The inevitable was delayed only because Vazquez decided to coast in a relatively tame ninth round. It proved to be a wise tactic, as the second generation champion came out with both guns blazing in the tenth round.

A left hook early in the round had Bedak in serious trouble, but still managed to stay on his feet and even offer a reactionary right hand in return. Still, it was clear that the end was near and Vazquez Jr didn’t waste any time in closing the show. An overhand right spun Bedak’s head before he collapsed on all fours to the canvas.

Referee Jose Hiram Rivera began to issue the count but waved it off midway through as Bedak’s corner and the ringside physicians had already made their way to the ring apron.

The official time was 1:12 of the tenth round.

Vazquez Jr improves – in every sense of the word – to 19-0-1 (16KO) with the win, his second of 2010. Bedak, a member of the 2004 Hungary Olympic boxing team, loses for the first time as a professional, as his record dips to 15-1 (5KO).

With each fight, Vazquez Jr continues to prove that he has no problems attempting to the fill the shoes of his fighting father, former three-division world champion Wilfredo Vazquez Sr. His last appearance in the arena served as the biggest win to date, violently stopping Marvin Sonsona to win his first major title as a professional, just over three years into his young career.

In getting past Bedak, Vazquez Jr now has his sights set on all of the other top 122 lb. fighters. Sadly, today’s list is nothing like it read a year or two ago, when the likes of Rafael Marquez, Israel Vazquez (no relation), Juan Manuel Lopez and Celestino Caballero were still roaming around.

Opportunities still exist, such as potential unification bouts with Steve Molitor and Poonsawat Kraatingdeangym, though there exists a strong possibility that someone will have to step up and become the bank in order for those fights to become a reality.

With more performances like his past several, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr is well on his way to becoming that very man.

MARTINEZ STOPS MUNGUIA IN A THRILLER

Roman Martinez made the second successful defense of his 130 lb. alphabet title with a thrilling fourth-round knockout win over Gonzalo Munguia of Nicaragua in their co-feature battle.

The bout was back and forth from the opening bell. Martinez boxed smartly in the opening round, only for Munguia to draw the Puerto Rican into a brawl in the second round.

The crowd didn’t seem to mind one bit, as they were treated to a Round of the Year contender in a high-contact third round that saw Munguia control the action early before Martinez came on very strong in the back half, rocking and nearly dropping his foe towards round end.

Martinez picked up where he left off when the bell rang to begin the fourth round, taking the fight to Munguia and never letting up. The crowd was on its feet in anticipation of a knockout, which came when Martinez landed a right uppercut to dump Munguia in the corner, where he remained for the full ten count.

The official time was 1:48 of the fourth round.

Martinez improves to 24-0-1 (15KO) with the win, and expressed a strong interest in unifying the titles in an otherwise anonymous 130 lb. division. All eyes have been on Martinez ever since he went to England to violently snatch the alphabet title from the clutches of Nicky Cook more than a year ago, and he has yet to disappoint.

Munguia watches his four-fight win streak come to an end as he falls to 17-7-3 (13KO).

PRELIMINARY ACTION

Twin brothers McJoe and McWilliams Arroyo – both of whom served on the 2008 Puerto Rican Olympic boxing squad – were successful in separate televised showcase bouts.

McWilliams Arroyo kept the crowd entertained throughout his brief affair, tearing through Samuel Gutierrez of Mexico en route to a second round knockout in their super flyweight preliminary bout.

A left hook, straight right combination sent Gutierrez into the ropes and down to the canvas, cupping his nose as if to suggest it was busted. A count was issued, but the referee recognized that Gutierrez wasn’t getting up and waved off the bout at 1:35 of the third round.

Arroyo improves to 3-0 (3KO) and is tentatively scheduled to fight on the undercard of countryman Ivan Calderon in New York City in two weeks, on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade. Gutierrez falls to 5-7-1 (0KO), losing for the second straight time against a 2008 Olympic boxer, having previously dropped a decision to Luis Yanez earlier this year.

McJoe Arroyo opened the telecast with a four-round decision over American journeyman Jairo Delgado. The bantamweight southpaw kept it professional throughout their four-round affair, sticking to boxing when it was evident early on that Delgado refused to go away quietly.

Scores were 40-36 across the board, all for Arroyo, who improves to 3-0 (1KO). Delgado falls to 3-7 (3KO), with all seven losses coming in his past eight fights.

Undefeated lightweight Jose Gonzalez received unexpected airtime and made the most of the opportunity, icing previously unbeaten Keivy Arce at 2:26 of the second round of their scheduled six-round lightweight bout.

The bout began as a chess match, which didn’t sit very well with the capacity crowd on hand, not hesitating to rain down boos over the lack of action. Gonzalez changed that in a hurry, scoring three knockdowns in the span of about a minute in the second round. The shot to end the fight was a right hand that put Arce flat on his back, prompting the referee to wave off the bout without a count.

Gonzalez, who fights out of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, improves to 10-0 (6KO). Arce falls to 3-1 (1KO).

In the first ever female title fight to take place in Puerto Rico, Sampson Lewkowicz-managed Hanna Gabriel successfully defended her junior middleweight strap with a 1st round knockout over fleshy Dominican challenger Gardy Pena Alvarez in a fight that never had a chance to get going and in all actuality never had any business of being made in the first place.

The official time was 0:20 of the opening round. An assortment of headshots landed for Gabriel, though it was a left hook to the body that proved to be the beginning of the end for Alvarez. The body shot caused a delayed reaction, as Alvarez turned away and searched for a soft spot on the canvas. Gabriel landed several more head shots before referee Luis Pabon saw that Alvarez wasn’t interested in fighting back, immediately waving off the contest.

With the win, Gabriel improves to 10-0-1 (6KO). Alvarez falls to 9-2-2 (6KO), having only posted one win in her past four fights. 

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.