A number of retailers report that three-time world champion Israel “Magnifico” Vazquez has died at 46 after a battle with most cancers.
9 years into his skilled profession, Vazquez picked up his first world title with a 2004 end of Jose Luis Valbuena for the IBF tremendous bantamweight belt. After two profitable defenses, he picked up the WBC belt from Oscar Larios and made one other pair, most notably scoring a comeback knockout of Jhonny Gonzalez.
This success led to the defining bouts of his profession: a four-fight sequence with Rafael Marquez that produced two Ring Journal Fights of the Yr, two Rounds of the Yr, and earned its personal Wikipedia web page. Vazquez emerged from the unique trilogy with a 2-1 benefit, however suffered a indifferent retina alongside the best way and was a shell of his former self once they met for a fourth time in 2010, falling within the third spherical.
He ended his profession 44-5 with 32 knockouts.
The WBC just lately opened a GoFundMe to cowl his therapy for stage 4 sarcoma, however Mauricio Sulaiman introduced his passing earlier this morning.
Vazquez was a fighter’s fighter and left an indelible impression within the historical past of this sport. Relaxation in peace, champ.