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08/07/2007 Archived Entry: "Marquez/Vasquez II--Thank You Sirs, Can I Have Another?"
Marquez/Vasquez II--Thank You Sirs, Can I Have Another?
By Alden "The Kid" Chodash
Last Saturday night, the two biggest stars of the lower divisions once again showed us why we love this game. But following such a great ring encounter there was some good news and bad news. The bad news was that one fighter, Rafael Marquez, had to fall short of winning. The good news is we'll probably get to see a third.
Their first fight five months ago was a classic affair and this fight seemed to emulate it about six minutes in. Both fighters busted each other up viciously in the epic third round which saw Marquez become the victim of a left hook which almost put him out in their first bout and eventually finished him in this one. The "controversial" stoppage may have been premature, but if so, only seconds short. There was no way Vasquez was going to let Marquez off the hook especially in Marquez's condition.
But let's take a break from the thought of a "thrillogy" for the moment and think of Vasquez's performance. Inflicting more damage than any fighter Marquez faced previously (with the possible exception of Tim Austin), Vasquez is also one of the few to control Marquez. Vasquez proved how dangerous he can be to Marquez or anyone else as a healthy fighting machine.
For Marquez, though the loss will lower his pound-for-pound standing, it won't lower his reputation to his fans and the rest of the boxing world. Marquez is that special fighter that can win and lose with class as he showed Saturday night. And there is something special about Vasquez which causes Marquez to abandon his great boxing form and transcend into a pure slugger which he once was. This fight without a doubt will be dubbed Fight Of The Year unless Floyd Mayweather and Ricky Hatton fulfill the fight fan's dreams and become Gatti v. Ward for a night (doubtful). Forget Winky and Bernard. When Rafael Marquez and Israel Vasquez face-off, there is no question, they're coming to fight.
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Alden "The Kid" Chodash operates AldenBoxing.com.
