José Miguel "El Títere (Puppet)" Vázquez Bautista

Believe it or not, the Mexican former IBF lightweight champion - once slicker than a cat's excreta the day after drinking three saucers full of heavy whipping cream, in his prime - has still not given up the ghost at 38 years of age. His bout this Saturday, versus TBA, will be his first of the calendar year but not in a very long time. He fought as recently as November of 2024. It was his fourth loss in a row.

He went into enemy territory in Edinburgh to challenge Josh Taylor for the WBC Silver super lightweight belt in 2017, with a record 39-5 and the distinction of having never been stopped. Beginning with Taylor knocking him out that night, he is now on a 5-9 slump in his last fourteen outings, and halted 4x. He's also taking shots from welterweights, now.

I think somebody on Vázquez's team needs to do him a kindness and pull those marionette strings clear offstage.

 

IB Funfact: Vázquez made his pro debut in 2006, against 2-0 countryman Saúl Álvarez.

Canelo would beat him via UD10 in their rematch a couple of years later (for which there is some footage to be found online), but the scuttlebutt for almost two decades now has been that his initial SD4 victory over El Títere - scrubbed entirely off the internet - stinks. As does another 4-round split decision, his first draw against Jorge Alberto Cabrera "Tijuano" Juárez.

This stink would of course later grow into a fetid bog of implausibly favorable scoring from official judges.

 

They fought once, in between Canelo I & II.

Bradley defeated him cleanly. That was actually right before Tim became a global name (when he went across the pond to beat Junior Witter in the UK as 5/1 underdog to snatch his title. It was the Vázquez win that got him ranked for that opportunity...)

 

Exactly a week ago marked 16 years to a day since Vázquez snatched the zero from Breidis Enrique "Khanqueror" Prescott Consuegra (still fresh off kayo victory over himself unbeaten Amir Khan).

That wouldn't be Vázquez's last time dealing a high-profile opponent their first defeat (leaving aside that he arguably ought to have done so at least once against Canelo...) - later doing the same to Mercito Gesta, Denis Shafikov, and Leonardo Zappavigna.

 

So apparently El Títere quietly announced his retirement from the sport in February.

...lasting all of five months.

 

Anybody heard anything on this? Like, whether it even happened?