Miguel Vázquez


Miguel Ángel Vázquez Bautista is a Mexican professional boxer who held the IBF lightweight title from 2010 to 2014.

Professional career

Early career

Vázquez made his professional debut on 20 January 2006 against Canelo Álvarez in a welterweight bout, losing a four-round split decision. He won his next eighteen bouts before losing a unanimous decision to Timothy Bradley on 27 July 2007, in a bout for the WBC Youth super lightweight title. Bradley would go on to say "I knew the fight was going to be tough—he's Mexican. I give him a lot of credit. He's a good fighter." On June 2008, Vázquez claimed the WBC FECARBOX light welterweight title, defeating veteran Aldo Valtierra by technical knockout after eleven rounds. The local commission later came under criticism by a ringside doctor, as the fight was too one-sided and risked the wellbeing of Valtierra. A rematch against Álvarez was fought on 28 June 2008, this time at light middleweight, in which Vázquez lost a ten-round unanimous decision.
On 17 July 2009, Vázquez won a ten-round split decision over then-undefeated world-ranked prospect Breidis Prescott. Prescott scored a knockdown early on but as the fight went, Vázquez accumulated rounds with his sharper boxing and ultimately got the nod over Prescott.

Lightweight title reign

On 14 August 2010, Vázquez fought Ji-Hoon Kim for the vacant IBF lightweight title. Vázquez beat Kim by unanimous decision to win the world title. His first successful title defense was against Ricardo Dominguez on 27 November 2010. Vázquez won the fight with another wide unanimous decision Vázquez made a second successful defense on 12 March 2011 against then-undefeated Leonardo Zappavigna, defeating him by a wide margin over the twelve-round distance. During the fight, Zappavigna landed a solid overhand right to the champion early, but Vázquez responded by opening up a cut over the challenger's left eye and outboxing him for most of the fight.
Vázquez made his third defense against Ammeth Díaz, scoring a knockdown in round 6 en route to another wide decision win. Vázquez headlined a show on HBO for the first, defeating Marvin Quintero via split decision. Vázquez notched a fifth successful defense against Mercito Gesta, whom he defeated by unanimous decision on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Márquez IV.

Vázquez vs. Burns cancellation

On January 14, 2013 it was announced that Vázquez will meet lightweight titleholder Ricky Burns in a unification bout on March 16, the card would take place at Wembley Arena in London. Warren announced that he would reschedule the bout for April 20th because Vázquez suffered a viral infection due to food poisoning. After weeks of rumors about the fight being in doubt it fell apart.
In February 2014, Vázquez decisioned Denis Shafikov on Macau.
During his title reign, Vázquez often was criticised for being a boring fighter, as he focused on controlling the distance and keeping opponents at bay through his footwork and jab, as well as employing "dirty" tactics like headbutts and excessive clinching to outmaneuver his opponents.
On 13 September 2014, Vázquez faced Mickey Bey on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana II. Vázquez lost the IBF title in a split decisio, being defeated for the first time since 2008. The judges' scorecards were 119–109 and 115–113 for Bey, and 115-113 for Vázquez. Many ringside observers felt Vázquez had won the fight and criticized the decision, especially the 119–109 by Robert Hoyle.

Later career

Vázquez bounced back with a wide unanimous decision win over Jerry Belmontes. However, in October 2015 he suffered another setback, losing another controversial decision to Argenis Mendez. Vázquez won his next four fights against outmatched journeymen. In September 2017, it was announced that Vázquez would face Josh Taylor for the WBC Silver light welterweight title at the Royal Highland Centre on 11 November. Although Vázquez's style seem to pose problems for Taylor early on, Taylor wore him down as the fight went on. Vázquez went down in round 9 from body shots, and he failed to beat the count. This was Vázquez's first stoppage loss.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
52 Lewis Ritson17 Oct 2020Utilita Arena, Newcastle, England.png" />
51Win42–9 Jesus VelascoTKO5 28 Dec 2019Matlapa, Mexico.png" />
50Loss41–9 Batyrzhan JukembayevUD1026 Sep 2019 Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec, CanadaFor vacant WBA Continental and IBF Inter-Continental light welterweight titles
49Loss41–8 Ohara Davies1028 Jun 2019 York Hall, London, England
48Win41–7 Ghislain MadumaSD1016 Mar 2019 Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
47Loss40–7 Thulani Mbenge9, 3:008 Dec 2018 Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
46Win40–6 Cosme RiveraUD1013 Apr 2018 Parque Revolucion, Culiacán, Mexico
45Loss39–6 Josh TaylorKO9, 2:3011 Nov 2017 Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, ScotlandFor WBC Silver light welterweight title
44Win39–5 Jose Daniel RuizKO4, 2:092 Sep 2017 Tlaquepaque, Mexico
43Win38–5 Javier MercadoUD81 Jul 2017 Arena Óscar Larios, Tonalá, Mexico
42Win37–5 Armando PatinoKO2, 2:3229 Apr 2017 Coliseo, La Barca, Mexico
41Win36–5 Erick BoneUD1028 May 2016 Cowboys Dancehall, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
40Loss35–5 Argenis MendezUD106 Oct 2015 Cowboys Dancehall, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
39Win35–4 Jerry BelmontesUD1013 Mar 2015 Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, California, U.S.
38Loss34–4 Mickey BeySD1213 Sep 2014 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Lost IBF lightweight title
37Win34–3 Denis ShafikovUD1222 Feb 2014 Cotai Arena, Macau, SARRetained IBF lightweight title
36Win33–3 Mercito GestaUD128 Dec 2012 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Retained IBF lightweight title
35Win32–3 Marvin QuinteroSD1227 Oct 2012 Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, New York, U.S.Retained IBF lightweight title
34Win31–3 Daniel AttahUD1016 Jun 2012 Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas, U.S.
33Win30–3 Ammeth DiazUD1221 Jan 2012 Coliseo Olímpico, Guadalajara, JaliscoRetained IBF lightweight title
32Win29–3 Marlon AguilarKO2, 1:4618 Jun 2011 Musica Hall, Toluca, Mexico
31Win28–3 Leonardo ZappavignaUD1212 Mar 2011 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Retained IBF lightweight title
30Win27–3 Ricardo DominguezUD1227 Nov 2010 Auditorio Municipal, Tijuana, MexicoRetained IBF lightweight title
29Win26–3 Kim Ji-hoonUD1214 Aug 2010 Energy Arena, Laredo, Texas, U.S.Won vacant IBF lightweight title
28Win25–3 Breidis PrescottSD1017 Jul 2009 Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
27Win24–3 Antonio ValenciaTKO3, 2:0028 Feb 2009 Polideportivo Centenario, Los Mochis, Mexico
26Win23–3 Manuel BocanegraTKO3, 2:3419 Dec 2008 National Western Complex Arena, Denver, Colorado, U.S.
25Win22–3 Rodrigo JuarezUD84 Oct 2008 Expo Forum, Hermosillo, Mexico
24Loss21–3 Canelo ÁlvarezUD1028 Jun 2008 Palenque Calle 2, Zapopan, Mexico
23Win21–2 Aldo ValtierraTKO11, 2:315 Jun 2008 Roots Magic Club, Mexico City, MexicoWon vacant WBC FECARBOX light welterweight title
22Win20–2 Jorge OrtizUD82 May 2008 Pharaoh's Casino, Managua, Nicaragua
21Win19–2 Francisco VillanuevaUD1223 Nov 2007 Coliseo Olímpico, Guadalajara, MexicoWon vacant Jalisco light welterweight title
20Loss18–2 Timothy BradleyUD1027 Jul 2007 Omega Products International, Corona, California, U.S.For WBC Youth light welterweight title
19Win18–1 Reyes SanchezUD824 May 2007 Salon 21, Mexico City, Mexico
18Win17–1 Juventino BarreraUD1230 Mar 2007 Arena Jalisco, Guadalajara, MexicoWon vacant Jalisco welterweight title
17Win16–1 Marco NazarethKO2 16 Mar 2007 Guadalajara, Mexico
16Win15–1 Victor MarquezKO4 16 Feb 2007 Guadalajara, Mexico
15Win14–1 Mario Alberto Altamirano BecerraKO4, 2:002 Feb 2007 Arena Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico
14Win13–1 Juan CarioKO1 19 Jan 2007 Arena Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico
13Win12–1 Juan Jose GarciaTKO2 8 Dec 2006 Arena Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico
12Win11–1 Juan AvilaUD824 Nov 2006 Arena Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico
11Win10–1 Javier ZavalaKO1 10 Nov 2006 Arena Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico
10Win9–1 Francisco Villanueva4 27 Oct 2006 Arena Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico
9Win8–1 Azael GonzalezUD613 Oct 2006 Arena Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico
8Win7–1 Luis RomeroKO1, 2:4729 Sep 2006 Tonalá, Mexico
7Win6–1 Leonardo Perez1 15 Sep 2006 Guadalajara, Mexico
6Win5–1 Baltazar MolinaUD618 Aug 2006 Arena Coliseo, Guadalajara, Mexico
5Win4–1 Alfonso EnriqueUD46 Jul 2006 Salon 21, Mexico City, Mexico
4Win3–1 Irving SidartaUD41 Jun 2006 Salon 21, Mexico City, Mexico
3Win2–1 Javier PrietoUD44 May 2006 Salon 21, Mexico City, Mexico
2Win1–1 Christian Juarez423 Mar 2006 Salon 21, Mexico City, Mexico
1Loss0–1 Canelo Álvarez420 Jan 2006 Guadalajara, Mexico