Who is Rafael Espinoza? All about the Mexican professional boxer set to defend his WBO featherweight title against Edward Vazquez

Rafael Espinoza will make his boxing return to defend his WBO featherweight title against Edward Vazquez on May 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Espinoza will look to extend his undefeated record to 27-0 by defeating Vazquez, who is coming off a fourth-round TKO win over Kenneth Taylor last year.

Who is Rafael Espinoza?

Rafael Espinoza is a professional boxer from Guadalajara, Mexico, holding an unbeaten record of 26-0, including 22 knockout victories. Espinoza is sceduled to make his third WBO featherweight title defense against Edward Vazquez on Cinco de Mayo Weekend in the co-main event of Naoya Inoue's super bantamweight title defense against Ramon Cardenas.

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In his recent boxing outing last year, Espinoza took on Robeisy Ramirez in a rematch and secured a sixth-round knockout victory. The 31-year-old dethroned Ramirez via majority decision in their first encounter in 2023 and won featherweight title.

Notably, during an interview with ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna, Ramirez accused Espinoza of using elbows in their rematch.

Rafael Espinoza previews his upcoming title defense against Edward Vazquez

Rafael Espinoza is focused on his featherweight title defense against Edward Vazquez next month.

During a pre-fight press conference earlier this month, Espinoza expressed his thoughts on the matchup and discussed his future plans, which included a potential fight with Naoya Inoue, saying:

''We know that Vazquez is an opponent who is very prepared. We know that it’s going to make for a great fight. He’s a warrior who’s not going to give up because he wants everything that I have. So, you are going to see the best version of ‘El Divino.' The Vazquez fight is my priority, but I want the [Inoue] fight because it’s going to make me a pound-for-pound fighter, and that’s my goal. It’s a very strong goal. I haven’t shown what I’m capable of. I’m a world champion, but I want to show that I’m the best.'' [H/t: fightmag.com]

Check out the full press conference below:

About the author

Swagat is a dynamic MMA writer with a total experience of a little less than a year, which includes time in retail and sports journalism. He holds an MBA degree.

Swagat fell in love with the sport after watching the iconic grudge match between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 in early 2015. Nate Diaz holds a special place in his heart for the Stockton native’s entertaining fan-friendly style and ability to deliver exciting fights regardless of the opponent.

In terms of rule changes in MMA, Swagat advocates for making scores public after each round, adding transparency to judging decisions.

Swagat prioritizes accuracy and relevance while writing and conducts thorough research to ensure the content is fresh and reliable.

He enjoys playing football and painting during his free time.

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Edited by Swagat Kumar Jena