On January 29th, 1981, a young man by way of Bayamon, Puerto Rico made his pro-boxing career debut. He lost that first bout, a points decision to William Ramos. Well, William Ramos’s career didn’t amount to much after that win; he won seven bouts, three by way of knock-out, and lost six, of those six losses four were by way of KO. But the young man of Bayamon, Puerto Rico would later become the “Pride of Puerto Rico” Wilfredo Vazquez, a three division champion. Wilfredo Vazquez became WBA champ in both the Bantamweight and Super Bantamweight division and finally the Featherweight division. He retired with a second round KO win over Eddie Saenz on October 11th, 2002 in his hometown of Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

Nearly 18 years later, from the time Vazquez Sr. claimed the WBA Super Bantamweight title with a TKO win over Raul Perez, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. finds himself in similar title contention circumstances against the hard hitting Philippine sensation, “Marvelous” Marvin Sonsona. Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., or “WV2” as he is also touted and promoted, wants to make his mark in boxing, but he understands that he has big shoes to fill. Junior hits hard, 14 of his 17 wins are by way of KO. He’s undefeated and only has a controversial draw that “blemishes” his record. But Junior has no amateur experience, he has said in various interviews here on the island that his, “experience comes from the streets and from the time he spent in the gym with his dad”. Sr. is in Jr.’s corner and has served his son well up to this point, but can they both put together a plan to derail the surging Sonsona, who hails from Pacquiao country and probably with similar status as the “heir apparent”?

With a nickname like “Marvelous”, the undefeated 19 year old with a professional record of 14 wins, 12 KOs and only 1 draw, is an authentic threat to Vazquez Jr. Sonsona already had pounded on battletested Jose “Carita” Lopez and stripped him of his WBO Super Flyweight title. Vazquez Jr. is another native son of Puerto Rico, but this time two divisions up north, that Sonsona is looking to topple on his way up to “Super Star” status… just like another reigning Philippine pound for pound fighter that we all know.


WBO 122 lb. World Title Bout – 12 Rounds
Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (17-0-1, 14KOs) vs. “Marvelous” Marvin Sonsona (14-0-1, 12KOs)
 

In the 1st round the “Marvelous” one started out strong and very aggressive, putting together his combinations, but Vazquez Jr. was able to deflect the majority of the punches with his tight and high guard. Moments of the first round had both fighters holding back a bit on using their heavy artillery. The 2nd round was totally different from the first, where now Junior was more aggressive and bombed Sonsona with powerful right crosses that pushed the Philippine fighter towards the ropes, the near capacity crowd went wild. The ropes were Sonsona’s enemy as Vazquez Jr. continued the pressure in the 3rd round and took advantage of every moment that the “Marvelous” one put his back upon them.

Marvin had his moments but he was being overwhelmed by a Vazquez Jr. who pays close strict attention to his dad’s input. The 4th round was history in the making. A vicious straight right snapped Sonsona’s head back, past the ropes, and Junior followed suit with a bomb left hook to the body. Delayed reaction as Sonsona would crumble to the canvas in 2min:01sec of the before mentioned round. Wilfredo Vazquez “WV2” Jr. became the WBO Super Bantamweight champ with KO victory and improves to 18-0 with 15 KOs. Just like his dad.

Other Notable News…

Former Olympians, the Arroyo twins, made their professional debut on the undercard. Here are the results:

4 rounds – 118 lbs.
McJoe Arroyo (Pro-Debut) vs. Giovanni Rivera (0-2)
 

McJoe clearly outclassed Giovanni and laid down the law, and then laid him down period, in :25 sec of 2nd round. McJoe Arroyo wins his pro-debut, 1-0, 1 KO.

4 rounds – 112 lbs.
McWilliams Arroyo (Pro-Debut) vs. Eliecer Sanchez (Pro-Debut)

Compared to his twin brother’s opponent, at least Eliecer came to fight and had intentions of doing something. I think this bothered McWilliams as the former Olympian literally destroyed his foe and left him unconscious on the canvas for a while after the bout had been stopped. The end for Eliecer Sanchez came at 1min:46sec of the very 1st round. McWilliams Arroyo wins his pro-debut, 1-0, 1 KO.
 

A final note on Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. Even though he lacks amateur experience, he makes up for it with discipline, both inside and outside of the ring, and he pays attention to his corner. He has a rich boxing resource in his dad, Wilfredo Vazquez Sr., or “WV1”if you will, and he realizes that the combination of both of these elements can take him a long way. If I’m not mistaken, I think he’s the first Junior, to come out of the woodworks of other “Juniors”, who is actually very good and could become a force to be reckoned with in the future. Vazquez Jr. is learning and developing as he goes along, a champion and future star in the making.

God Bless

Luis M. Cadiz Sr.



Editors Note: As some of you may know, our writer Luis Cadiz Jr. hails from Puerto Rico. On the Island Luis has become an accomplished physical trainer. He puts his private students to task with a Kettlebell workout. Any of you who have seen The Biggest Loser know that Kettlebells are a real butt kicker and gut buster.

Recently Luis has been nominated for the best personal trainer on The Island by The Natural Choice Awards. You can vote for Luis by clicking on the following link and writing in Luis Cadiz Sr. under the Entrenador Personal del Año box.

Thank you!

Natural Choice Awards