Edward Vazquez views Misael Lopez as a slick boxer, but not the type of opponent who can dig deep to win their 10-round featherweight fight Friday night.
Lopez looked good in his most recent appearance, yet Vazquez (13-1, 3 KOs, 1 NC) considers himself a much more formidable foe than Orlando Gonzalez. Denver’s Lopez (14-1, 5 KOs, 1 NC) out-pointed Puerto Rico’s Gonzalez (19-2, 12 KOs) unanimously in their 10-rounder September 23 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Vazquez, 27, and Lopez, 26, will square off in a co-feature Showtime will air as part of its “ShoBox: The New Generation” series from Stormont Vail Event Center in Topeka, Kansas. The winner will ascend in the 126-pound rankings, where Vazquez believes he belongs in the top 15.
“I thought he fought very well against Orlando Gonzalez,” Vazquez told BoxingScene.com. “He let his hands go. He showed a little bit of showmanship. He showed a little bit of grit. I just think Orlando Gonzalez doesn’t really have that dog in him that I have. He does have good skills, but I think that’s it, just skills. Kind of like Ray Ford, you know, where these guys have a lot of skill, a lot of amateur experience. But in the pros, it’s a little bit different. You’ve gotta have a little bit more dog, and I think Lopez doesn’t really have that dog, nor does Gonzalez.
“I think that’s gonna be a big difference here, someone who’s not only gonna bring it to him, but I’m also gonna show my boxing skills. I think when it comes down to it, it’ll be me being right there in his face, when he doesn’t want me to, and I think that’s gonna make the difference. I’m coming to fight 10 rounds straight. I’m ready to brawl, and when I need to box, I’ll box. You guys are gonna see me out-dog him.”
Fort Worth’s Vazquez beat Ukrainian southpaw Viktor Slavinskyi (13-2-1, 6 KOs) by split decision in Vazquez’s last fight, an eight-rounder October 8 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Vazquez tested undefeated featherweight prospect Raymond Ford (13-0-1, 7 KOs) in his previous bout, but Ford won a questionable split decision last February 5 at Footprint Center in Phoenix.
“A lot of people say I dominated him,” Vazquez said. “I don’t think that’s true. I do think I beat him. I think it was close and there were things I could’ve done better, but I think overall I won the fight. I think one of the judges had to have been watching a totally different fight from the other two judges. So, that was fishy. Plus, Ray Ford is young, he’s a hot commodity for DAZN and for Matchroom, so I knew I had to go in there and completely dominate him from bell to bell. But it was a close fight. It is what it is, and I love this sport too much to let that deter my confidence moving forward.”
Vazquez would welcome a rematch with Ford. He is more focused, however, on topping Lopez and legitimizing himself as a contender in the featherweight division.
“I think we’re gonna steal the show,” Vazquez said. “I think that we’re actually the real main event of the card. I’m coming out to show the world that I belong in the featherweight division. A win over Lopez is gonna put me in title contention. So, I hope all those guys in the top 10 are ready for some Texas smoke.”
Showtime’s three-fight telecast is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET with an eight-round junior welterweight bout between Kurt Scoby (10-0, 8 KOs), of Duarte, California, and Australia’s John Mannu (7-0-1, 4 KOs). Junior middleweights Ardreal Holmes (12-0, 5 KOs), of Flint, Michigan, and Ismael Villarreal (12-0, 8 KOs), of the Bronx, New York, are set to meet in the 10-round main event.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.