By Ian S Palmer
Undefeated Sammy Vasquez of Monessen, Pennsylvania will be taking on former Olympian Felix Diaz Jr. of the Dominican Republic in a 10-round welterweight bout at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama this Saturday, July 16th. The fight is on the undercard of the WBC Heavyweight Championship contest between champion Deontay Wilder and Chris Arreola. It will be broadcast live in North America on Fox and Fox Deportes and UK fans can catch the action on Sky Sports. Vasquez beat Aron Martinez after six rounds in January his last time out while Diaz dropped a 12-round majority decision to former titleholder Lamont Peterson last October. Vasquez was originally scheduled to meet Luis Collazo, but he pulled out due to injury.
The 30-year-old Vasquez is a southpaw who has a perfect mark of 21-0 with 15 Kos. He’s 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 71-inch reach. Vasquez has 88 rounds to his name since turning pro in 2012. He hasn’t really fought anybody of note though other than Martinez. He’s definitely got some power in his punches though with a current knockout ratio of 71 per cent. Vasquez has been a pro for just four years after serving and boxing in the Army.
The 31-year-old Diaz Jr. has a record of 17-1 with 8 Kos. Diaz is also a southpaw and won a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, but has a size disadvantage against Vasquez as he’s just 5-foot-5 and has a wingspan of 67 inches. Diaz has 99 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2009 and his current knockout ratio is 44 per cent. Diaz hasn’t fought any top contenders either other than Peterson, but he performed quite well.
Diaz isn’t the most powerful puncher, but Vasquez will need to make sure he doesn’t walk into a shot. Diaz obviously has some good boxing skills since they don’t hand out gold medals at the Olympics to just anyone. However, because of the height and reach disadvantages he needs to get on the inside against his opponent. He lacks the power to keep Vasquez off of him, so look for the American to bull his way in and try to dominate the proceedings while Diaz tries to box his way to victory. This will be hard though if he can’t land anything with power to keep Vasquez on his back foot. Diaz will need to utilize his speed and footwork to get in and land his shots and then get out of range while Vasquez attempts to counter.
Prediction……
This is a tough one to call as Vasquez may be in some difficulty if Diaz has the chin to stand up to his best shots. Vasquez has the physical advantages though when it comes to height and reach and he’ll need to be sure he uses them. If Vasquez doesn’t walk into anything he should be able to pull off a win here, but it’s not going to be easy.
