Even when Israel Vazquez was at his lowest point after suffering a third detached retina in a year at the end of 2008, he never gave up on his hope that one day he would be fit to return to boxing. "I never really lost focus or hope. I was always confident," Vazquez said. "But I am human, too, and there were times I got down. So it wasn't easy. But now I am just waiting to come back into the ring and do my boxing business in a few months." After three surgeries to correct the retina problem in his right eye, Vazquez was medically cleared to resume training and granted a new license by the California State Athletic Commission late last month. He intends to resume his career in the fall. "I'm very happy," he said. "I'm so happy to be back to this beautiful sport that I love so much. I am very motivated, and I am very thankful to my family, my friends and my manager, Frank Espinoza, for being there every step of the way." Vazquez is shooting for a ring return in September. "I believe September is a good month," he said. "I never let myself get out of shape, but I did relax a lot during my time off. But I have maintained my weight, so I will be fine to fight in September." Vazquez, who turns 32 on Christmas Day, has vacated the junior featherweight title and plans to move up four pounds to try his luck in the 126-pound featherweight division, where he could run into rival Rafael Marquez for the fourth time. Vazquez and Marquez, of course, etched themselves into history at junior featherweight, where the Mexican countrymen waged an unforgettable championship trilogy. In the first encounter, Vazquez (43-4, 31 KOs) lost the title to Marquez via seventh-round TKO on March 3, 2007, a fight in which Vazquez suffered a severely broken nose that forced him to retire on his stool. But Vazquez scored a sixth-round knockout to regain the title on Aug. 4, 2007. In the rubber match on March 1, 2008, Vazquez claimed a split-decision win in the best fight of the three, which is saying something considering how breathtaking the first two were. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/columns/story?columnist=rafael_dan&id=4224451
If his next fight is at 126 then the winner of Juarez - John is his most probable opponent. Hope it's Rocky Juarez.
Good to hear Frankie. When is his next fight and where? I want to see his return fight live. Good stuff what you guys are doing with the up and coming kids. Keep it up.
