VAZQUEZ WINS BY 10TH ROUND TKO OVER BEDAK, RETAINS WBO SUPER BANTAM TITLE
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 30 May 2010
Undefeated WBO super bantamweight champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr retained his title in his first defense with a smashing 10th round TKO over game but outclassed No. 1 ranked and previously unbeaten challenger Zsolt Bedak of Hungary before a cheering crowd at the Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez in Bayamon, Puerto Rico on May 29.
Vazquez won the title with a 4th round knockout of Filipino Marvin Sonsona Jr who moved up two weight divisions to take on the hard-hitting Puerto Rican after Sonsona lost his super flyweight title when he couldn?t make the weight in his first title defense in Ontario, Canada last November.
Coincidentally, Bedak also won the WBO Intercontinental title against another Filipino, Ramie Laput, with a 7th round knockout on December 4, 2009.
The 25 year old Vazquez, son of former world champion Wilfredo Vazquez who was one of the all-time greats from Puerto Rico improved his to 19-0-1 with 16 knockouts while Bedak, nicknamed ?Mr. Left Hook? suffered his first setback and fell to 15-1 with 5 knockouts.
Vazquez Jr who usually sizes up his opponents in the early rounds used the same tactic against Bedak but after the fourth round began to break down the challenger with vicious hooks to the body and powerful combinations that often rocked the game Hungarian.
His face battered and his body ripped by the powerful punches of Vazquez Jr, Bedak began to wilt in the middle rounds and after coasting along in the 9th and taking a breather, Vazquez Jr went after a badly battered Bedak in the 10th and dropped him for the first time in the fight.
Referee Jose Hiram Rivera started to count but stopped when he saw Bedak?s corner-men and the ring physician ready to step in and save the Hungarian from a further beating. The official time was 1:12 of round ten.
In a pre-fight interview Vazquez said ?I like my fights fought at close range. I always welcome a toe-to-toe fight? providing an idea of his aggressive intentions which he also demonstrated in overwhelming Sonsona on February 27, 2010. But Bedak who was a member of the Hungarian team to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games hardly obliged preferring to try and out-box Vazquez Jr since he is more of a boxer than a big puncher although he did knock out Laput.
When Bedak remotely tried to turn aggressive he was quickly driven back by the strong young Puerto Rican who systematically wore him down en route to another impressive victory.
The win of Vazquez should open the eyes of the handlers of bantamweight Eden Sonsona to the power and size of the champion who should not flirt with the idea of matching Sonsona, a legitimate bantamweight against Vazquez Jr which Manny Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz said they planned to do should Sonsona win his July 10 bout in Puerto Rico.
Bedak fought as a bantamweight in the Athens Olympics where he defeated current Golden Boy Promotions prospect Abner Mares in the round of 32 by a score of 36-27. However, he lost to Maksym Tretyak of the Ukraine in the round of 16 in a close fight, 24-27.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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