Israel Vazquez, whose four-fight series with Rafael Marquez is one of the greatest in boxing history, died Tuesday of lung cancer at 46 years old. Vazquez, who held the IBF and WBC super bantamweight titles in his career, won the IBF 122-pound belt on March 25, 2004, when he stopped Jose Luis Valbena in the 12th round. He made two successful defenses before adding the WBC belt by defeating Oscar Larios on Dec. 3, 2005 in a unification bout.
Vazquez was born in Mexico City on Christmas Day in 1977. For as long as he could remember, he not only wanted to be a fighter but he wanted to be famous.
"He was a guy who was driven to achieve," said Frank Espinoza Sr., his long-time manager. "He was such a good person. He wanted to be a world champion and he wanted that fame and he never stopped in pursuit of his dream."
Vazquez was not the most skilled fighter, and he took a lot of punishment as a result of his aggressive, move-forward style. He injured his right eye in the final bout of his career, a loss to Marquez in their fourth bout on May 22, 2010, at the-then Staples Center in Los Angeles.
He eventually lost the eye and had a glass eye put in.
"That fourth fight should never have happened," WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, a close friend of Vazquez's, said.
Vazquez, who was on the ballot for the International Boxing Hall of Fame this year, suffered greatly in his post-boxing career. After losing his eye, Vazquez developed multiple sclerosis that plagued him for much of the remainder of his life. Espinoza said Vazquez lost a lot of weight toward the end and was under 100 pounds.
Sulaiman said Vazquez discovered his cancer diagnosis earlier this year but declined treatment.
Courtesy Mauricio Sulaiman
Israel Vazquez with late WBC president Jose Sulaiman (L) and trainer Freddie Roach.
"He was very weak because of the multiple sclerosis and as a result, he didn't think there was a way to do a surgery or be aggressive with his treatments," Sulaiman said. "There was absolutely no chance. He loved his family very much and if there was any way he could have saved himself so he could have been with them, he would have. But there was no chance given how weakened he'd been by the multiple sclerosis."
Vazquez was 44-5 with 32 knockouts and he was 8-3 in world title fights. He lost his first bout with Marquez, won the next two and then was stopped in the fourth in the final bout of the series and of his career. The two fights Vazquez won were Fight of the Year.
DAZN acquired the rights to the Vazquez-Marquez series and showed the fights over the weekend. Sulaiman said Vazquez was able to watch. Sulaiman said he spoke to Vazquez over the weekend and that super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez called him as well.
"He was a special person and he will be missed terribly," Sulaiman said. "He was very close with my brother, Pepe. He was close with my father and my father loved him very much. ... He was a kind and humble person who was quiet, but he was very funny when he wanted and he had a charisma about him. He was a very loving father and husband and he was squeaky clean. There were no hints of anything bad about him: No alcohol, no drugs, no womanizing, none of that stuff.
"He was a good guy and a terrific fighter who fought his heart out. He was an amazing person."
Vazquez resided in Huntington Park, Calif., at the time of his death. He is survived by his wife, Laura, sons Israel Jr. and Anthony and his daughter, Zoe.
Courtesy Mauricio Sulaiman
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman (L) poses with Israel Vazquez. Vazquez died Tuesday after a brief illness with cancer.