Damn That Was A Great Fight!

Damn that was a great fight. Israel Vasquez got a Split Decision victory over Rafael Marquez in a fight that was all action. All ACTION!!!!!. Both fighters were rocked and both fighters fought back. The never say die attitudes brought us the fight of the year thus far. The action started as soon as the bell rang for round 1. Early on Marquez was landing the better shots and even knocked Vasquez down in the 4th round. It was the first time Vasquez had been knocked down in this trilogy. Even though he was hurt Vasquez got up and rocked Marquez with a left hook. The action was back and forth the whole fight. It appeared that Vasquez was just a little bit stronger and hit a little bit harder than Marquez especially as it got to the later rounds. Marquez who is known for power may not have brought all his power he had at Bantamweight to the Super Bantamweight division. In the 10th round Marquez, who had been warned 3 times for low blows, had a point taken away. I did not think the shot was that low however because he had been warned openly I was not angry about the point being taken away. However with the fight as close as it was at that moment, a loss of one point was huge for Marquez. It actually evened it out for Vasquez who was knocked down in the 4th. Going into the 11th round it was close as close could be and the last two rounds were important to both fighters. It was then that it appeared that fatigue somewhat set in Marquez and Vasquez was still going strong. Vasquez landed the harder shots and I believe outlanded Marquez in both the 11th and 12th round. In the 12th round Vasquez got Marquez hurt and knocked him into his own corner. As Marquez was going into the corner it appeared he could either be knocked down or knocked out. Marquez grabbed the top rope as it appeared he was on his way down. The ref ruled it a knockdown because it appeared the only thing that kept Marquez up was the ropes. I personally felt if the ref did not rule that a knockdown Vasquez had enough time to possibly knock Marquez out. With less than 10 seconds left at that point there was not much Marquez could do to comeback. The scores were 114-111 for Vazquez, 114-111 for Marquez and 113-112 for Vazquez.

When interviewed after the fight Marquez felt like he had won the fight based on his work in the earlier rounds. He was highly upset about losing a point for low blows as well as being ruled knocked down in the 12th. He said he was fine but just grabbed the ropes as he was going backwards. Marquez was not opposed to fighting Vasquez a fourth time. (Hell Yeah)

Vasquez was happy with the decision obviously and ready to possibly test the waters in other divisions. Possibly moving up to featherweight or super featherweight are viable options for Vasquez. However he too was not opposed to fighting Marquez a fourth time. (Hell Yeah)

The trilogy is over and it was a great one. Put this up in boxing history as one of the best trilogies ever. The action, the blood, the will, the determination are all right up there with other great fights. If you have not seen this fight then shame on you. Israel Vasquez and Rafael Marquez did what two warriors should do in the ring every time, Let it all hang out. And if they decide to fight a fourth time, I'M READY!!!!

Two True Warriors at the post fight conference. Beaten, Battered, but Respected.