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03/04/2007 Archived Entry: "The Little Guys from 'Knockout Lane'"
The Little Guys from 'Knockout Lane'
By Barry Deskins
IN what was hyped as being the most important California bout between Mexican knockout artists since Carlos Zarate and Alfonso Zamora hooked up in 1977, Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez waged war for seven exciting rounds at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California and at the end a new WBC Super Featherweight Titlist was crowned as Vazquez quit in his corner at the end of the seventh round as he stated that he could not breath due to a broken nose.
Going into the bout Vazquez and Marquez were as evenly matched as any two fighters in recent memory and they both boxed beautifully, but Marquez was the sharper of the two and he landed the heavier, more accurate shots. A big right from Marquez in round one buckled the knees of Vazquez and he was again stunned by another right in round two as the hand speed of Marquez was clearly the better of the two. The third round looked like a replica of the previous two as Vazquez seemed to be shaken from yet another right hand, but Marquez got a little sloppy for a brief second and Vazquez took advantage and dropped Marquez with a hard left hook.
Marquez came out in the fourth and quickly regained control with a very effective jab and boxes brilliantly throughout the round. It was not that Vazquez was bad, Marquez was just much better all around than the defending champion. Marquez continually got his punches off first and the fifth round was more of the same though Vazquez seemed to be taking the punches better, but near the end Marquez landed two hard jabs which most likely broke the nose of Vazquez who nearly went down, but fought back very courageously.
Round six was a very close round as Vazquez did very well, but his face was really showing the effects that the punches of Marquez was doing and as the seventh round started Vazquezs nose was a mess. The round was pretty close and the two traded bombs to end the round which Marquez got the better of. Vazquez returned to his corner he told his trainer Freddie Roach that he could not continue and referee Raul Caiz Jr. stopped the fight, which was pretty surprising considering the heart that Vazquez had shown in previous fights, but he stated that he could not breath and felt the risk was too great to finish the bout, but he quickly asked for a rematch which Marquez gladly accepted. Whether a rematch comes off, or not well just have to see, but it would be to the advantage of boxing fans for these two to hook up again!
With the win Marquez is the new WBC Super Bantamweight champion and his record moves to 37-3-0 (33 KO) while Vazquez falls to 41-4-0 (30 KO).
On the undercard, Vic Darchinyan was very sloppy, but effective in stopping courageous Victor Burgos in the twelfth and final round. Darchinyan threw nothing but bombs with one-punch knockout intentions in nearly every shot and though he did miss a lot Darchinyan still landed some very hard shots to the head and body of Burgos. The bout ended with Burgos nearly collapsing as referee Jon Schorle jumped in to save Burgos at 1:27 of round twelve. Burgos was in what looked to be very bad shape in his corner and a stretcher was brought in to carry Burgos out. The ringside physician stated that Burgos was not responding to tests and he was quickly rushed to a hospital. At the end of the telecast an update stated that Burgos was undergoing tests for a brain injury, so we all need to keep Victor Burgos in our prayers and hope that everything turns out alright! Darchinyan, who defended his IBF/IBO Flyweight titles went to 28-0-0 (22 KO) and Burgos fell to 39-15-3 (23 KO).
In other bouts, light heavyweight Carlos Raul Ibarra 6-2-1 (4 KO) of San Diego scored a TKO at 2:07 of the fifth round against previously undefeated Akinyemi Laleye 6-1-0 (3 KO) of Nigeria. Antonio de Marco 11-1-1 (9 KO) of Tijuana, Mexico scored a TKO 2 over fellow Mexican Raymundo Gonzalez 7-6-2 (3 KO). The bout between unbeaten Manuel Roman 9-0-1 (5 KO) of Mexico and Ernie Marquez 5-1-0 (3 KO) of Colorado ended in a No Contest in the first round due to an unintentional head-butt that left a bad cut over the right eye of Marquez.
Fight Stats:
Date: March 3, 2007
For the WBC Super Bantamweight Title
Scheduled Distance: 12 Rounds
Location: Carson, California
Venue: The Home Depot Center
(Champion) Israel Vazquez 41-3-0 (30 KO), Mexico City, Mexico (Residing in Las Vegas, Nevada)
Seconds: Trainer: Freddie Roach, Cutman; Joe Chavez, Manager: Frank Espinoza
(Challenger) Rafael Marquez 36-3-0 (32 KO), Mexico City, Mexico
Seconds: Trainer: Ignacio Beristain, Cutman:, Manager: Ignacio Beristain
Weights: Israel Vazquez-121 Ύ, Rafael Marquez-121 ½.
Promoter: Sycuan Ringside Promotions; Golden Boy; Gary Shaw Productions
Purses: ?
Odds: Marquez was the slight favorite.
Attendance: ?
Ring Announcer: Jimmy Lennon Jr.
Television: Showtime (Live: 9:00 P.M.)
Referee: Raul Caiz Jr.
Judges: Dave Moretti, Jack Reiss and Patrick Russell
Tale of the Tape
Measurements Israel Vazquez Rafael Marquez
Age: 29 31
Height: 5 6 5 5 ½
Weight: 121 Ύ 121 ½
Neck: 15 14
Chest (Normal): 37 35
Chest (Expand.): 38 36
Reach: 66 68
Bicep: 11.5 12
Forearm: 11 10
Wrist: 6.5 6.5
Fist: 5.3 5.3
Thigh: 17 20
Calf: 13 14
