By Alex Prodromou: Wilfredo Vazquez Jr, 26, (22 – 2)15 KO’s is the former WBO Super Bantamweight champion. He lost his strap to Jorge Arce on the 7th of May 2011. As you saw in this fight Wilfredo had no inside game. This was because he only started taking boxing seriously 5 years prior to this at 21 years of age. This was when he started training with his dad, Vazquez Sr. who is a former three weight world champion. Before this Vazquez Jr had been studying law however he gave that up to pursue his boxing career.

As you see by my title he is fighting Jonathan Oquendo on October 6th 2012. My point is that Wilfredo must have an inside game for this fight otherwise he will lose. If he does lose it will be a great shame because Wilfredo has come such a long way in a very short space of time. Also I think Wilfredo has got to develop his footwork. I keep talking about footwork in a lot of my articles because footwork is a major part to the game today.

The best fighters on the planet today are only where they are because of their footwork. To be honest I think Wilfredo has decent footwork but he just looks to tense as he moves around the ring. He can go back and forward quickly but he has trouble pivoting quickly. This is probably because he had no amateur experience. A lack of amateur experience is the root to developing bad habits and not advancing in certain areas of the game.

I think because of this Wilfredo will have a hard night. The reason I say about the footwork is because he could stay out of range, then wait till Oquendo comes in with a jab or left hook and then jab and pivot out quickly to the left. This is the safety first option. If he tries to do this without better footwork he could get countered over his jab when pivoting out. Also Oquendo is only 1 inch smaller in height. Because of this footwork is more important as Oquendo’s punches are coming in a straight line at eye level which is why I said Wilfredo has to stay out of range. It’s not like the punches are coming from a lower or higher angle, so you have less time to react. Wilfredo needs to win this fight and if his footwork is not up to scratch, he can always try to fight on the inside which I wouldn’t advise as he has no inside game.

I think that if Wilfredo’s footwork isn’t better on the night, he should pop in and land combinations and then pop out at a different angle like Malignaggi done to Senchenko. In my opinion pressuring Oquendo from the outside like this will work, especially when he squares up or when he puts those ear muffs on. When he does this Wilfredo should finish his combinations on uppercuts.