Looking nothing like a future boxing star, undefeated featherweight Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (9-0-1, 8 KOs), the son of boxing great Wildredo Vazquez, fought to a 8-round majority draw with Mexican Jorge Cardenas (9-4-4, 2 KOs) on Saturday night at the Plaza de Toros, in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The final scores were 77-75, 76-76 and 76-76. Going into this bout, there were some had Vazquez pegged as a future featherweight champion, perhaps thinking that he had many of the same ring skills as his father. However, all hopes were essentially dashed as Vazquez struggled badly with the mediocre Cardenas, often spending much of the fight running from him and taking sustained beatings on the ropes.
In truth, Vazquez looked more like a C-level fighter than any kind of future star, as he seemed to lack a large variety of important factors that would make him successful in boxing, namely power, stamina, and a sense of courage.
In the first round, Cardenas, 25, had Vazquez looking confused as he switched constantly from orthodox to southpaw repeatedly, giving Vazquez a variety of different looks. When the two would get in close, more often than not, it was Cardenas who would come out on top, digging fast shots to the ribs and head of Vazquez and generally outworking him. Though Cardenas didn’t possess the same power as Vazquez, he seem to more than make up for it with his high volume punch output. Still, I gave the first round to Vazquez due to his superior power, even though he was getting hit almost 2-1 by Cardenas.
The 2nd round was much like the first, with Vazquez landing hard body shots, then dancing away while Cardenas chases after him. It looked bad, however, the running on Vazquez’s part, because it made him appear afraid to mix it up, and it seemed more like running than actual boxing. In the third and fourth, Cardenas completely took over the fight, landing a large number of shots whenever he could catch up to Vazquez, who by this time was already looking tired. For a featherweight, Vazquez looks soft, like he’s carrying around a fifteen pound coat of fat around his body that he needs to shed.
Not sure if it was that which caused him to grow fatigued so early on, but whatever it is, he needs consider losing a little weight and perhaps moving down to the bantamweight division. In the fifth and sixth rounds, Cardenas continued to dominate the action, hitting Vazquez with nonstop shots and bulling him into the ropes.
However, in the 7th and 8th rounds, Vazquez appeared to catch his 2nd wind, allowing him to land some good shots in both rounds. I gave Vazquez both rounds. I, too, had the fight scored a draw, as neither fighter distinguished themselves as the clear winner, although if I had to pick one of the two to give the fight to, I’d have given it to Cardenas due to his constant aggression in the fight. Without him, the fight would have been mostly Vazquez hitting and running, and stinking up the joint.
Clearly, Vazquez’s stock goes down after this showing, and if he gives one or two more similar fightings in the future, I’m guessing he’ll not be included on the undercards of any more big fights.