By Dylon Silversey
Carlos Vinan’s professional record doesn’t exactly stand out.
At 10-8-2 with two wins by kayo, The Newark based Ecuadorian journeyman is not regarded amongst the top fighters in the lightweight division. He has however proven to be a battle tested veteran without the luxury of hand picked fights.
When it comes down to taking a deeper look into Vinan’s losses during his 5 year career, things certainly become a bit more interesting. Carlos’ opponents that managed to defeat him came into those bouts a combined 73-9-4. The latest, Diego Magdaleno was a perfect 10-0 and is one of the more heralded prospects around. Naturally, Carlos and his team are not ones to turn down bouts with promising fighters.
“We look for fighters whose styles match up well with Carlos,” said manager Jose Rosario. “Carlos is a skilled fighter. His only problem in his closer fights is that he fights to the level of his competition. When Carlos fights an undefeated fighter, he seems to fight much better than when going against someone not as good.”
This proved to be the case on the undercard of the David Tua-Monte Barrett matchup earlier this month in Atlantic City.
Vinan was pitted as the opponent for IBF #2 rated lightweight, Anthony Mezaache. At 18-5-3 (4 KO), the Frenchman had not suffered a defeat in his past 11 matchups and spring boarded up the IBF rankings. With bigger fights on the horizon, Mezaache likely failed to realize Vinan was far better than his record indicated.
Early in the bout, Mezaache seemed to control most rounds, using his jab to keep Vinan from winning too many rounds. This was until crunch time.
In the 8th and final round, Vinan came out of the corner with a newfound energy and sent Mezaache to the canvas following a barrage of punches. Just moments later, a follow up assault forced his corner to throw in the towel 37 seconds into the round.
When asked about what was the drive behind the furious 8th round by Vinan, Rosario noted “He is not afraid to finish off fighters; we felt we were ahead in the scorecards. Carlos isn’t afraid to finish off fights. And this was the biggest fight that Carlos won.”
Another big victory of Vinan’s career was against skilled prospect, Eric Hunter, 13-1 (6 KO). At the time, the undefeated Hunter was looking for a fight, and Carlos stepped in on 15 days notice. Hunter bit off more than he could chew.
After getting knocked down in the second, Vinan outhustled the well regarded hunter over the next four rounds. Even though he appeared to be a clear cut winner, Rosario and Vinan were worried that the hometown favorite Hunter would win on the scorecards. This didn’t turn out to be the case. Vinan was awarded a split decision.
After the victory at the Tropicana against Mezaache, we look to what is next for Vinan. Rosario is hoping to get him ranked in the top 10 by the IBF and WBC, but knows that if he is, they must be careful. He is worried about some of the talent at the top of the division. Stylistically, southpaws tend to give Vinan problems, and with many tough fights behind him, he is not a young 30 years old. Either way I hope to see Vinan compete for a while longer.
He is a fan’s boxer; he is going to trade blows with the bangers and is going to
show his boxing IQ against the more technical fighters. Hopefully, for all of his sacrifices fighting against undefeated boxers and other heavily favored opponents, Carlos is rewarded with a bout that is showcased in front of a large audience. With few easy fights and most of his matches taking place in his opponent’s hometown, this is something he earned.
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