WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza (27-0, 23 KOs) used his volume punching to overwhelm the much shorter challenger Edward Vazquez (17-3, 4 KOs) to score a seventh-round technical knockout in their chief support bout on Sunday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The 6’1″ Espinoza was throwing almost 100 punches per round, making it difficult for the 5’7″ Vazquez to get to him to land any shots of his own. It was pure firepower from Espinoza, as he was throwing uppercuts, body shots, and hooks, forcing Vazquez to eat them.
By the fourth round, Vazquez’s nose was bleeding and his face was badly swollen. He’d been hurt in that round and seemingly almost stopped in the final seconds by a storm of punches from Espinoza. It was a similar situation in round five.
Espinoza hurt Vazquez with a body shot and tagged him at will while he shelled up against the ropes. Referee Harvey Dock warned Vazquez after the fifth that he needed to show him to effort or he would stop the fight.
In the seventh, Rafael went for the finish, hurting Vazquez with a left to the midsection. The badly hurt Vazuez backed up the ropes for a last stand. Espinoza then machine-gunned his wounded opponent, throwing left-rights in rapid fire fashion, leaving referee Harvey Dock with no choice but to wave it off. The time of the stoppage was at 1:47 of the round.
Last Updated on 05/05/2025
