I will try to give you guys an insight from what I see and how I feel each step of the way to the big fight on August 4th. I want you guys to experience it with me as it's an awesome experience!




First off let me give you a little history, so you can understand....




Israel Vazquez was a hot prospect when he was in Mexico, the word was the kid could "bang" and was worth taking a look at. We got a tape of Israel and he looked good! I remember this one knock out, he knocked out some guy named Oscar Larios and it was a huge knock out! Larios was out for 10 minutes.








Israel Vazquez (black trunks) Vs Oscar Larios I








Israel was definitely worth checking out, fortunately my dad was able to convince Israel to come over to the States and take a fight. My dad and I were very excited! If Israel had an impressive debut in the States, my dad could take a look at him and if he liked him he would sign him. That was not as easy as it sounds as Vazquez was being chased by the likes of Top Rank and by manager Fernando Beltran.... (Who now has Jorge Arce, Erik Morales and others).




So, Vazquez came over to the States for the first time, he had no where to stay so my dad insisted he lived with us. Israel trained over here and lived in my house for months, he was extremely polite and was fun to talk to, I didn't know much Spanish and he didn't know much English but we somehow got our message across and we usually were telling jokes and always laughing. I got to teach him some English as I got to learn some Spanish in return, I was a kid and it was cool to hang out with a fighter. We bonded pretty well!




My dad got Israel a fight against a fighter called Antonio Ramirez who was 2-10 (this was in 1998), he was known to be a tough guy but it was thought Israel should knock him out. Come fight night some of the Top Rank guys, my dad and I stood as we waited to watch Israel fight live for the FIRST TIME. Israel came out swinging and was trying to knock out Ramirez but Ramirez fought smart and made Israel look bad. Israel looked sloppy, had no defense at all and knew next to no boxing skills, he was just 100% brawler! What made it worse was Israel got knock down by this guy who was 2-10!!!! It was a horrible debut but Vazquez still fought his heart out and got the win. It was a close fight? Too close. Top Rank said they were not interested, Cameron Dunkin (another manager and close to Top Rank) said he was not worth the trouble and said "He will never be a champ, send him back to Mexico".... "He's only a club fighter".




It was a disappointing performance and Vazquez left more questions rather answers, is he the real deal? Can he be a world champion? Does he have a chin? Israel look so beat up it wasn't funny. His face was swollen and bruised up, my dad and I were disappointed. I was some what sad, because I got to know Vazquez very well and we bonded so well that I wanted to see him succeed. To make matters worse I could sense my dad was letting the guys from Top Rank get to him and I honestly sense he was seriously considering sending Israel back to Mexico but at the same time he was holding back. We all bonded with Vazquez and wanted him to succeed but MAN! it was hard after that horrible debut.




I talked to my dad on the way back home and told him how I felt, I told him not to listen to those guys, I remember telling him something along the lines...."Dad, I know Israel looked bad but look at the other side? Israel showed heart and balls! He got knocked down but he got up and kept fighting his heart out. He never gave up! We know he can punch he just needs to be taught how to box. He needs a new trainer, maybe with some boxing skills he can improve, he's still young. Hey... Felix Trinidad doesn't have the greatest chin but he's a world champion and he has heart, balls, a punch, and boxing skills. Maybe with some boxing skills, Vazquez can improve?. I tried my best to convince my dad... I really liked Israel and did not want to see him go back to Mexico. Somehow I convinced my dad to give Vazquez another shot and luckily he listened to his heart and dismissed Top Rank. We both had that "feeling" Israel would be a champ!




Israel got a new trainer and although it was hard for him to learn the boxing skills he kept trying and worked his ass off. For months Israel kept learning and kept trying then my dad got Vazquez a fight at the Anaheim Pond. He lined up a guy called Oscar Garcia who was 0-2. Israel came out boxing and looked good! He got a 4th round TKO but didn't look for the knock out, he let the knockout come to him. Israel looked impressive!!! Everyone who was there said Vazquez had talent and my dad, Israel, his trainer and I all celebrated. I remember walking Israel back to the locker room and right when we got in the room Israel put his hands up in the air and yelled!!!! He ran over and hugged me then kneeled to pray, it felt like he just won a world title! Deep down I think he knew... this was his last chance? If he looked bad again, that would be it. But he did it he came through!




Throughout the years....Israel has continued to work hard and always remained hungry, throughout out the journey he lost a few times but came back with a vengeance. Israel later became a world champion, people said he would never be a champ and he proved them all wrong! Not only was he a CHAMPION... he held TWO TITLES and THE RING BELT!!! Not bad for a club fighter?? Israel went from fighting in small ballrooms at local events to fighting on HBO and Showtime! He went from wishing to be in a big fight to now BEING in a big fight. Israel may have taken the long road to get to the top but he got there!!! I have been lucky enough to see Israel succeed and I'm glad my dad and I listened to that "feeling" that Israel would be a champ.




Vazquez has had some memorable fights that I have been fortunate to witness, the Valbuena, Artyom Simonyan, Larios (Trilogy) and Jhonny Gonzalez fights and much more! In each of those fights people said he would not win, people still doubted and I remember in the Larios rubber match... Vegas had him a 4 to 1 underdog but Israel and our team ignored it and went on to win. My dad even won $5000 as he took advantage of those odds!!




Now about Israel fighting Jhonny Gonzalez... when thesweetscience.com asked what were you thinking when Israel was knocked down twice?? My dad responded? "I never lost hope, after the second knockdown I knew we were far behind but Israel showed why he?s a champion." ... and it's true. My dad and I have always known what type a fighter Israel is, he has heart, balls, much better boxing skills than before as well as a better defense and punch. He showed us what he had inside of him in 1998 but when he fought in that horrible debut against Rameriz, despite getting knocked down he still fought his heart out, so of course when he got knocked down in that Gonzalez fight there was some deja vu. It's been a hell of a ride but it's not over yet....












Israel is now scheduled to fight Rafael Marquez on August 4th, he's coming off a loss and people are saying he won't win... They are saying Marquez is too good and although I know what type a fighter Marquez is.... (and yeah he's a hell of a fighter) I have that "feeling" Israel has that big win in him! Will it be against Marquez? I guess we will have to wait and see. But I will be there by his side win or lose.

Article By: Frankie Espinoza Jr.