LOS ANGELES (AP) -Israel Vazquez overcame a rocky start and a nasty cut in his comeback from a 19-month ring absence, stopping Angel Priolo on Saturday night in the ninth round.
Vazquez (44-4, 30 KOs) looked shaky in long stretches of his first bout since concluding his phenomenal rivalry with Rafael Marquez early last year. The former 122-pound world champion developed swelling around both eyes, and a 2-inch cut opened over his left eye during the sixth round.
But Vazquez persevered through the blood and eventually caught Priolo (30-8), a Colombian former title contender who has lost seven straight fights. Vazquez knocked down Priolo three times in the ninth, finally forcing the stoppage in the last minute.
``I was a little rusty, but I wanted to knock him out,'' Vazquez said. ``I was really hungry for the win. I'm a warrior, and I've been showing that all along in my career, and now I want the big fights again.''
Judges Raul Caiz Jr. and Jose Cobian had the featherweight bout even at 76-76 after the first eight rounds, while Fritz Werner had Vazquez up 78-74. The Associated Press also had it even at 76-76 before Vazquez's decisive ninth.
Vazquez, a Mexican who lives in the Los Angeles area, hadn't been in the ring since wrapping up his grueling rivalry with Marquez last March with a split-decision victory. Their three fights in 12 months were among boxing's greatest trilogies of their generation, with every fight filled with knockdowns, momentum swings - and tremendous punishment for both fighters.
Vazquez won the last two fights, but at a heavy cost. He underwent three operations to repair the damaged retina in his right eye, and the bouts' physical toll required an extended rest just when he had reached the cusp of greater stardom.
Freddie Roach, Vazquez's former trainer, had hoped Vazquez would retire after the punishment he took in the first fight alone, but Vazquez says he never seriously considered it. He abandoned his 122-pound title, moved up to 126 and went back into training with Rudy Perez, who pledged to add better defense to Vazquez's repertoire.
That defense was scarcely in evidence against Priolo, who peppered Vazquez with both hands through the early rounds. Vazquez periodically landed solid combinations, but mostly stayed in the fight by moving ever forward and taking punishment to give it, just as he did in the Marquez trilogy.
``I was getting a little tired, and it took me a little bit of time to get my rhythm back, but my eye didn't bother me at all,'' Vazquez said. ``It was just the cut. I had a good opponent tonight, but I was hungry.''
Vazquez has designs on a featherweight title, and he hopes to chase it against Indonesia's Chris John, the unbeaten WBA champion who kept his belt with a decision over Rocky Juarez last month on the Mayweather-Marquez undercard.
In his U.S. debut, junior middleweight prospect Luis Grajeda (7-0, 6 KOs) looked sharp and powerful in a second-round stoppage of previously unbeaten Juan Carlos Diaz, who was knocked down three times.
