Two seasoned junior lightweights, Edward Vazquez and Daniel Bailey, will go head-to-head in a crucial bout tonight in Houston.
The matchup between former world title contender Vazquez and Bailey will take place at the Red Owl Boxing Arena in Houston, Texas. This eight-round fight is set to be the main event of the BoxFest IX card and will be broadcast live on DAZN (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).
During the weigh-in on Thursday, Vazquez hit the junior lightweight limit at 130 pounds, while Bailey weighed in at 129.8 pounds.
The victor of the Vazquez vs. Bailey clash could potentially face off against other contenders in the competitive division on a bigger stage later this year or in 2025.
Vazquez (15-2, 3 KOs) has squared off against top-notch opponents at both 126 and 130 pounds. Despite some close matches and disputed decision losses, many in the sporting world consider Vazquez to be an undefeated talent.
In his latest bout on November 4, Vazquez suffered a narrow defeat to IBF world junior lightweight champion Joe Cordina. While the fight was closely contested, a number of media outlets and boxing experts argued that Vazquez had done enough to secure the win.
Back on July 29, the 28-year-old Vazquez secured a unanimous decision victory against fringe contender Brian De Gracia at Ryder Field in Frisco, Texas, close to his hometown of Fort Worth.
Prior to his loss to Cordina, Vazquez had clinched four consecutive wins following a split decision loss to current WBA world featherweight titleholder Raymond Ford in February 2022. Vazquez is under the promotion and co-management of Lou DiBella, David Dubinsky, and Jim Kurtz.
Meanwhile, Bailey (13-1, 6 KOs) from Miami, Florida, scored a fifth-round stoppage win against Jerson Ortiz in his most recent fight on March 1st. In his previous outing on December 1st at the Red Owl Boxing Arena, Bailey secured a majority decision victory over previously undefeated Malik Warren.
The 27-year-old Bailey has triumphed in his past three fights after suffering a knockout loss to Jonathan Fierro in February 2022.
As part of the event, highly skilled junior bantamweight prospect Ephraim Bui (8-0, 7 KOs) from Sugar Land, Texas, will face Ernie Cuevas (8-1, 5 KOs) from Greenville, South Carolina, who previously defeated him in an 8-round bout.
In the super middleweight category, promising amateur Lorenzo Simpson (13-1, 7 KOs) from Baltimore, Maryland, will take on Mexico’s Noe Alejandro Lopez (11-5-1, 4 KOs) in a six-round contest.
Additionally, junior featherweight Emmanuel Moreno (6-0, 1 KO) from Wichita Falls, Texas, will square off against Luis Alberto Lopez (6-2, 3 KO) from Mexico in another six-round bout.
Francisco A. Salazar has been writing for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and overseas since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. You can contact him at: [email protected]
