Rafael “Divino” Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs) makes the third defense of his WBO featherweight world title tonight when he takes on Edward Vazquez (17-2, 4 KOs) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las  Vegas, Nevada. The match co-headlines Naoya Inoue’s return to America when he takes on the game Ramon Cardenas. It’s been four years since Inoue last fought in the United States; tonight, fans will get to witness The Monster up close.

Espinoza is an amazingly tall featherweight at 6’1 he is the tallest featherweight in history. He somehow manages to make the 126-pound limit, time and time again. He towers over his opponents and knows how to utilize his size to his advantage. He can box on the outside and use his 74-inch reach or brawl on the inside. A warrior at heart, he tends to choose the latter, preferring to stay in the pocket and brawl it out. He’s a multi-dimensional boxer whose volume attack makes it difficult for opponents to defend. Per Compubox, he throws nearly 70.2 punches per round and lands 24.6 percent of his overall punches. He possesses strength in both arms. Divino has an 84.6 percent knockout rate, and tonight at the T-Mobile on Cinco De Mayo weekend, he’ll look to put on a show.

When asked what the plan of attack is for tonight, Rafael said the following, “To win, to win, to win, that’s my plan. Mentally, I’m always thinking of the triumph. I enter the ring, and the strategy I have, I change it depending on how the fight is playing out. I’m always focused on  finding a way to win.” Divino is undefeated and has yet to taste defeat. Although he was put to the test in his first championship match against Robeisy Ramirez, he was resilient and persevered despite being dropped early. Espinoza overcame the knockdown and came back with a vengeance. Throwing nearly 1,000 punches in the fight, overwhelming Ramirez late, managing to score a knockdown in the 12th round, and capturing the WBO title.

Naoya Inoue is the undisputed junior featherweight champion. He’s talked of making a move up to featherweight in the near future, meaning he could potentially cross paths with Divino.  When asked about the potential match, Espinoza showed great interest and said the following: “Of course, it would be a fight, that would give me… as Mexican boxing…. would open doors for me. It would be a dream. I’ll win this Sunday and then we’ll see what happens.” Divino wants to make history and wants to be remembered as a Mexican boxing legend. Being able to secure a fight against a boxer on the pound-for-pound list would give him the opportunity to earn

merit towards that goal. Due to the styles of both, it would produce an action-packed fight that would have great fan interest. With both fighters being under the same promotional company,  Top Rank, it would make the path toward negotiations easier.

Rafael Espinoza Interview