Edward Vazquez vs Daniel Lugo

Edward Vazquez has mixed at world level, pushed Joe Cordina hard in Monte Carlo, and has only lost to serious operators, Raymond Ford, Cordina and Rafael Espinoza. He comes in at 19-3 with 6 KOs, while Daniel “Caballo” Lugo brings a 28-3-1 record and 19 KOs, so these two  are well matched.

Vazquez is the tidier boxer. He is 5ft 7in, listed with a 67-inch reach, orthodox, and he knows his way around a ring. Lugo is roughly the same height, but he is the more naturally spiteful puncher on paper, a Mexican super-feather who has already shown he can make life awkward for a name fighter, holding Mauricio Lara to a majority draw in 2024.

The nuts and bolts favour Vazquez for me. He has better schooling, neater feet, and punches in cleaner lines. When he keeps his head off centre after letting the right hand go, he is a hard man to outpoint. His weakness is that he can be dragged into giving ground under pressure, and Lugo will try to put the pressure on early by making it rough, chest to chest, short hooks, forearms, little bumps, all the old tricks.

Lugo’s chance is to turn it into a straightener. He cannot stand outside admiring Vazquez’s work, because he will get picked off. He has to jab his way in, lean on him, and make Vazquez fight every minute. But I think Vazquez has seen too much quality to fall apart here. The Cordina fight told me plenty; he can operate when the lights are bright, and the other bloke can really fight.

My pick is Vazquez by unanimous decision. Lugo will have his moments and might nick three rounds through pressure, but Vazquez’s cleaner counters and better ring generalship should win the argument over 10.