Edward Vazquez and Daniel Bailey collide tonight in Houston at the crossroads
A lot is on the line tonight in a crossover battle between the junior lightweights.
Former world champion Edward Vazquez will face Daniel Bailey at the Red Owl Boxing Arena in Houston, Texas. The eight-round fight will headline the BoxFest IX card that will air live on DAZN (9 pm ET/ 6 pm PT).
At Thursday's weigh-in, Vazquez weighed in at the junior lightweight limit of 130 pounds. Bailey came in at 129.8 pounds.
The winner of tonight's Vazquez-Bailey fight could face other contenders in a heavyweight division rich in talent on the big stage later this year or in 2025.
Vazquez (15-2, 3 knockouts) has already fought elite fighters at 126 and 130 pounds. There are those in the sport who say Vazquez could still lose if it was close and he lost a unanimous decision.
In his last fight on November 4, Vazquez lost a decision to Joe Cordina, the holder of the IBF junior lightweight world title. The fight was back and forth, but some media and boxing insiders thought Vazquez did enough to win the fight.
On July 29, Vazquez, 28, defeated former contender Bryan De Gracia by unanimous decision at Rider Field in Frisco, Texas, not far from his hometown of Fort Worth.
Prior to Cordina's loss, Vazquez had won four fights in a row since losing by split decision to Raymond Ford, who now holds the WBA featherweight world title, in February 2022. Vazquez is promoted by Lou DiBella and managed by David Dubinsky and Jim Kurtz.
Bailey (13-1, 6 KOs), who lives in Miami, Florida, stopped Jerson Ortiz in the fifth round of his last fight on March 1. In his last fight on December 1, also at the Red Owl Boxing Arena. , Bailey defeated undefeated Malik Warren by majority decision.
The 27-year-old has won his last three fights since losing to Jonathan Fierro in February 2022.
In the co-feature, hard-hitting junior bantamweight prospect Ephraim Bui (8-0, 7 KOs) of Sugar Land, Texas, will take on veteran Ernie Cuevas (8-1, 5 KOs). of Greenville, South Carolina. with an eight-round belt.
In the super middleweight bout, top newcomer Lorenzo Simpson (13-1, 7 KOs) of Baltimore, Maryland will face Mexico's Noe Alejandro Lopez (11-5-1, 4 KOs) in a six-round fight.
Junior featherweight Emanuel Moreno (6-0, 1 KO) of Wichita Falls, Texas will square off against Mexico's Luis Alberto Lopez (6-2, 3 KOs) in a six-round fight.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has handled boxing in Southern California and internationally since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. They can be reached at [email protected]
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