Mike Ayala vs Wilfredo Vasquez

Ayala was a classy fighter with a sharp left hook but he could never win the big ones, although his effort against Danny Lopez can only be described as magnificent. He didn't really show up for his next shots against Juan Meza and Louie Espinoza and for that reason, I favour the grim, battle-hardened, heavy-handed Vazquez to come through.

 

Yes I would. He was strong, durable and dangerous with incredible longevity for a small man and with the temperament to win world title fights in the lion's den. He turned pro at bantamweight and had Miguel Lora on the deck in his first crack at a world title in 1986 but Lora climbed up to take the points in a sparkling fight in Miami. A few months later, Vazquez was shocked by Antonio Avelar in another thrilling affair in Miami (round five is one of the best rounds you will ever see) and it looked bleak for the Puerto Rican but he persevered and showed real character when he made his way to Korea in 1987 and pounded on Chan Young Park for 10 rounds to wrest the WBA bantamweight title.
Vazquez made one successful defence before dropping the belt on a split decision to Thai southpaw Khaokor Galaxy in Bangkok, moving up to super-bantamweight afterwards where he shocked Raul Perez, a man who had previously beaten him, in three stunning rounds in Mexico in 1992 for the WBA super-bantamweight title. Vazquez went on to make nine defences against formidable opposition and mostly on the road until Venezuela's Antonio Cermeno deposed him in 1995. It looked all over for Vazquez but remarkably, at the age of 35, he won a third world title with a thrilling late stoppage of Eloy Rojas in Las Vegas in 1996 for the WBA featherweight crown. This was the stuff of fairy tales and Vazquez had racked up four successful defences when a younger, fresher Naseem Hamed stopped him in seven rounds in the UK in 1998. Wilfredo's greatest win for me is the decision he took over Orlando Canizales in San Antonio in 1995. Canizales had racked up a record 15 defences of his world bantamweight title, then moved up to challenge Vazquez at super-bantamweight but Vazquez proved too smart. Super-bantamweight was Vazquez's best division.