Last month "Kid" Edward Vazquez of Fort Worth made headlines by announcing his signing with hall-of-fame promoter Lou DiBella. Now the 27-year-old Fort Worthian will headline a card less than an hour from his hometown at Riders Field, formerly known as Dr Pepper Stadium in Frisco, the home of the Frisco Rough Riders, the Double-A affiliates of the Texas Rangers. Vazquez, 14-1 (3), will battle Brayan De Gracia, 29-2-1 (25), of Panama, for the IBF Inter-continental featherweight belt. A strap recently held by Shakur Stevenson and Kid Galahad. De Gracia is best known for his previous performance in the US. The Panamanian was stopped by Eduardo Ramirez in nine rounds, in a fun back-and-forth affair on the undercard of the Brain Castano-Erislandy Lara scrap at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Vazquez last fought in February and outpointed Misael Lopez on a SHOWTIME, SHOBOX card that aired live from Topeka, Kansas. A card that was also promoted by DiBella and apparently impressed him enough to ink a deal with the North Texan. Vazquez is currently ranked in the top ten by the IBF. Luis Alberto Lopez is the sanctioning body's current world champion, and the top two spots in that division's rankings are currently vacant.
A loaded undercard also features fellow Fort Worthian and FHG Gym Stablemate Joel "The Owl '' Martinez, 3-0 (2), in a super featherweight affair. Dallas-based world title contender Shurretta Metcalf, 11-4-1 (2), will battle Melissa Oddessa Parker, 6-0 (2), of the fighting city of Spring, Texas, in an 8-round affair. Also on the card is hard-hitting Dallas middleweight prospect Miguel Angel Hernandez, 7-0 (6) will be in action in a six-round fight. Hernandez last fought on the Brandon Figueroa-Mark Magsayo card in California back in March and scored a six-round decision over Dario Guerrero-Meneses.