Edward “Kid” Vazquez will fight for an IBF title hoping to spotlight Fort Worth boxing
Edward ‘kid’ Vazquez was born and raised on the south side of Fort Worth and when he first met his now finance as a freshman in high school he told her just how far boxing would take him.
She didn’t believe him then, but ahead of Vazquez’s IBF super featherweight title fight against Joe Cordina at 1 p.m. on Saturday, she’s believing now.
“I asked her when I told you when I first met you, that I was gonna be world champion, did you ever think we were gonna go fight for a world title in Monaco,” said Vazquez, “She was like, ‘hell, no, I thought you were just saying that.’”
Vazquez’s fight will take him across international waters to Monte Carlo in the hopes of reminding people what Fort Worth means to boxing. His match will be streamed on DAZN.
“Going to fight in Monaco, I could say it’s a dream come true, but I never even, I never thought in a million years that I would go fight for a world title in Monte Carlo, Monaco, like the most beautiful city in the world,” said Vazquez, “Being from Fort Worth, you know, it’s, it’s definitely my biggest motivator, and I definitely want to show the world that there is still talent in Fort Worth.”
Vazquez remembers his dad taking him to see Paulie Ayala train for Ayala’s world championship fights and wants to be the next great boxer from Fort Worth.
Vazquez spars some of Ayala’s fighters and still keeps in touch with the former champion who’s also a native of Fort Worth.
Vazquez got his love for boxing from his family who would come together to have cookouts during boxing matches, he also comes from a lineage of boxers.
“Whenever there was boxing on, that’s when I got together with my family,” said Vazquez, “It was all 50 of us and we all packed into one little different room and we cook.”
“I had cousins that were fighters and my grandpa was a fighter, and so it was just kind of always been something that we’ve always been involved in, and I guess growing up in the rougher part of town, it’s just, we always liked fighting,” said Vazquez.
Vazquez has a daughter of his own who he says loves coming to the gym to train with him and to mimic punches in the gym. Though she won’t be at his fight in Monte Carlo as he and his finance don’t think she’s ready for the brutality of the sport.
Though she won’t be there she’s a constant source of inspiration.
“I’ve always been a very, a very hard worker, you know, anyone that knows me will tell you that I worked extremely hard, but when I had my daughter it just clicked something else inside of me,” said Vazquez.
“Like there’s no other option besides using my body as a sacrifice daily to give her a better life than I had growing up. It’s not like I had a bad life growing up, but I wanna give her everything that I never had growing up,” said Vazquez.
Vazquez is faced with the toughest fight of his career against a veteran boxer in his first title bout but he’s ready for the challenge.
“This is a great opportunity to not just change my life but to change the life of my family,” said Vazquez, “It would just be an absolute dream come true.”
