Israel Vázquez Castañeda (December 25, 1977 – December 3, 2024) was a Mexican

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

who competed from 1995 to 2010. He was a three-time

super bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanct ...

world champion, having held the IBF title from 2004 to 2005; and the WBC, ''The Ring'' titles twice from 2005 to 2008. Vázquez is best known for his series of four fights against fellow Mexican

Rafael Márquez Rafael Márquez Álvarez (; born 13 February 1979) is a Mexican football coach and former player who played as a defender. He is currently the assistant coach of the Mexico national team. Nicknamed '' El Káiser'', he is regarded as the bes ...

Professional career

In 1995, Vázquez made his professional debut in the

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

division at the age of 17. He stopped his first nine opponents before suffering a knock out loss himself. Fighting mainly in the U.S. and at

junior featherweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanct ...

, he beat 11 opponents, most notably

Óscar Larios Óscar Larios (born 1 November 1976) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2009. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC super bantamweight title from 2002 to 2004 and the WBC featherweight ...

(20-0), before losing a split decision to Marcos Licona. Vázquez scored 12 consecutive victories, and in 2002, he met Larios in a rematch for the interim WBC Super Bantamweight Title . This time, he was outboxed and stopped in the 12th round. Vázquez rebounded with a stoppage of ex-world title holder Jorge Eliecer Julio and won the vacant IBF Junior Featherweight title against southpaw Jose Luis Valbuena in 2004. In the first defence of his IBF title he knocked out undefeated

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

Artyom Simonyan in the 5th round. In 2005, Vázquez opted to fight WBC champion Óscar Larios for a third time with the WBC belt on the line instead of defending his IBF belt. He won the rubber match by technical knockout in the third round — after the fight was stopped due to a large cut over Larios's left eye, thus becoming ''

The Ring The Ring may refer to: Arts and entertainment *The Ring (franchise), ''The Ring'' (franchise), a Japanese horror media franchise Literature * ''The Ring'', a 1967 novel by Richard Chopping * ''The Ring'', a 1988 book by Daniel Keys Moran * ''The R ...

'' and Lineal Junior Featherweight champion and ending Lario's streak of nine consecutive title fight victories. On June 10, 2006, Vázquez defeated former champion Ivan Hernández (23-1-1). Vázquez defeated the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

Bantamweight champion

Jhonny González Jhonny González Vera (born September 15, 1981) is a Mexican professional boxer.. Retrieved 26 September 2016. He is a two-time former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBO bantamweight title from 2005 to 2007, and the WB ...

on September 16, 2006 in a bout where Vázquez was knocked down twice before coming back to win the match by 10th round TKO.

Vázquez vs. Márquez

In his next bout, on March 3, 2007, Vázquez lost his title to the number one ranked Bantamweight

. Although Vazquez scored a knockdown in the third round, he retired on his stool at the end of round seven because of breathing problems arising from a broken nose. In a rematch on August 4, 2007, Vásquez regained his title. Despite suffering cuts over both eyes, he scored a knockout against Márquez in the sixth round in a fight that was named Ring Magazine's fight of the year for 2007. The third round of this fight was also named

Ring Magazine round of the year ''The Ring'' magazine was established in 1922 and has named a Round of the Year since 1945, which this list covers. The award is based on the magazine's writers' criteria. Rounds of the Year by decade 1940s *1945: Willie Joyce vs. Ike Williams, ...

. He fought Marquez for the third time on March 1, 2008, rising from a fourth round knockdown to prevail by split decision in another great fight. Márquez was docked one point for low blows in round ten and received an eight count in the final seconds of round twelve. The fight was named 2008's Fight of the Year by The Ring Magazine and the fourth round was named Ring Magazine round of the year. The Vázquez vs Márquez rivalry has been widely heralded as one of the best boxing rivalries in recent years. On December 18, 2008, Vázquez was stripped of his WBC Super Bantamweight Championship after not defending the title for a certain period of time due to a

detached retina Retinal detachment is a condition where the retina pulls away from the tissue underneath it. It may start in a small area, but without quick treatment, it can spread across the entire retina, leading to serious vision loss and possibly blindness. R ...

he had suffered during his third fight with Márquez. Japanese fighter

Toshiaki Nishioka is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2012. He held the WBC super-bantamweight title from 2008 to 2012, and challenged for the WBO and ''The Ring'' super-bantamweight titles in his final-fight. Nishioka is known for ...

's WBC Interim title was promoted to actual championship status after his victory over

Genaro Garcia Genaro (from the Latin Januarius, meaning "devoted to Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as havin ...

. After undergoing three surgeries, Vázquez was medically cleared to resume training on May 15, 2009. Vázquez fought Marquez for a fourth time on May 22, 2010. The bout took place in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division and was held at the

Staples Center Crypto.com Arena (originally and colloquially known as Staples Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Los Angeles. Opened on October 17, 1999, as Staples Center, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along F ...

in Los Angeles, California, United States. The match was appropriately titled "Once and Four All" and carried live by

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

. Marquez scored a third round TKO victory over Vázquez to even their series at two wins each. Afterwards, Marquez stated: "The fifth one could be a possibility if the fans vote for it. That is what I live for. Israel Vázquez is a great fighter." However, it was felt by some observers that the much faded Vázquez should retire.

Frank Espinoza Frank, FRANK, or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a Germanic people in late Roman times * Franks, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusa ...

, Vázquez's longtime handler, stated that his "career is over". The fourth installment of the Vázquez-Marquez rivalry was the last fight of Vázquez' career.

Personal life and death

In October 2024 Vazquez was diagnosed with stage 4

sarcoma A sarcoma is a rare type of cancer that arises from cells of mesenchymal origin. Originating from mesenchymal cells means that sarcomas are cancers of connective tissues such as bone, cartilage, muscle, fat, or vascular tissues. Sarcom ...

; he died from cancer in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on December 3, 2024, at the age of 46.

Professional boxing record

References

External links