Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez made their fourth fight official at a presser on March 18. They fight May 22 in Los Angeles, on Showtime. (Photo by Gene Blevins - Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions)
about 2 years ago
Scott Christ
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Marquez takes the 4th to set up a 5th.
If a man ain't found something worth dying for. He ain't fit to live.
by Violent Demise on Mar 24, 2010 12:06 AM EDT reply actions
I really don’t want to see them fight… they aren’t the same fighters but in the same token…. they deserve another good payday. The lower weight classes don’t usually crack the million dollar mark and for the cost of one Dawson/Tarver fight HBO could have had all 4 of these fights.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
Speaking of shot fighters
like Castillo and Morales, this seems like the type of fight that will push these guys to that point. Their last fights really took a lot out of them. I don’t know if they should go on from the fourth fight onwards.
Marquez looked OK last year in his one fight. Not great, but like a rusty guy coming back. Izzy Vazquez looked awful against a bad bantamweight. Plus the effects of his eye surgeries are really obvious (look at his right eye). As a fan of Vazquez, I just hope he doesn’t get himself hurt out there, but it’s a real (as in, more than the normal for any fighter) possibility, and that’s frightening.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Mar 24, 2010 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions
This has got to be it for both of them. They are already All-time legends who have given as much or more to the game in their three fights then perhaps any other pair in history. That is a bold statement, I know, but I do believe history will bear this out. You could explain “Boxing” to a Martian just by showing it their ferocious trilogy.
I am confused about how to feel about this fight. After the first fight, I thought there was no possible way the rematch could top it. After the rematch, I thought there was no possible way the rubber could top it. Everything I know about boxing and life says that not only is there no possible way that the bar will be raised again, but that it will fall much lower than any of the other three, and maybe even make me feel a little bad for watching it. But on the other hand, these guys were born in hell together and might go back there together one more time.
"I fought Sugar Ray so much, I’m surprised I’m not diabetic."
-- Jake LaMotta
No kidding. That eye does not look right at all. Personally, I’m happy with the trilogy and would rather these two not meet again. I already have a bad feeling in my stomach about this…
Seriously
It would never happen in a million years, but I keep thinking it would be okay if they just had a silent agreement sort of exhibition for eleven rounds. The crowd would boo and the commentators would howl. Then in the twelfth round they would come out firing for one last trip to Hades: a one-round classic. When the bell rings, they hold each other’s hands up in victory, take their bows and wait for their well-earned inductions into the Hall. That’s the way I like to play it out in my head.
"I fought Sugar Ray so much, I’m surprised I’m not diabetic."
-- Jake LaMotta
I haven’t had the privilege of meeting Rafael, but Izzy I have, and have shared workout space with him on many occasions. He’s a really great guy. I would hate to see him damaged permanently. You can bet I’ll be praying for his safety. Rafael’s too.
I almost wish that a scenario I had in mind right after their 3rd fight had actually played out: young lion JuanMa Lopez takes out both of these battered old lions and is catapulted to superstardom. I just think that would have meant a decisive AND honorable end to both guys’ careers. No shame in losing to someone as young, fresh, and talented as the Puerto Rican star. It would have been a great changing of the guard type of thing.
I sort of know what you mean
But these guys battered the living hell out of each other, literally spilling everything they had into those rings. It would be a changing of the guard of sorts, but he’d basically be beating up on their shells at this point. It is an old boxing story, but more often than not a sad one.
"I fought Sugar Ray so much, I’m surprised I’m not diabetic."
-- Jake LaMotta
Besides, I have a feeling Juanma won’t really need those names! If anything it might even damage his legacy to fight Izzy, especially if he wound up hurting the guy. Marciano’s legacy still gets a beating from the Louis fight, even though the fight happened at Joe’s insistence. This became the birthplace of all unthinking hatred for the man over the years: Charles carried Louis, but Marciano did not. It wasn’t because Marciano wanted to hurt him, but because his style made it impossible to carry guys. I think Juanma’s style and southpaw stance would also make it impossible to carry Vazquez or Marquez, both of whom would come to fight.
"I fought Sugar Ray so much, I’m surprised I’m not diabetic."
-- Jake LaMotta
You’re right, I think, eventually, JuanMa will build his own legacy, and would not need either of these guys’ scalps. I also think that a quick KO at the hands of JuanMa would have somehow been more merciful than a long drawn out war of attrition against each other.
I think that even the mid 2009 version of JuanMa (I like to think of the Mtagwa fight as an anomaly) would have brought down the curtains on both guys, and quick! The kid is 5’7" has monster power and is a southpaw. That would have been very bad news for Israel and Rafael who would have looked small against the younger man.
I love how emotional Rocky got after KOing Louis. He knew what that fight was about. I didn’t know people hated him for doing that to Joe, though.
I love how emotional Rocky got after KOing Louis. He knew what that fight was about. I didn’t know people hated him for doing that to Joe, though.
Yeah, it was about Joe being broke and wanting one last big payday to cover his debts. Marciano was standing in the doorway to Joe’s one last shot at a championship prizefight, and it was very ill-advised given that Marciano only knew how to go to war. The hatred depends on a couple of things. I grew up in Italian South Philly, where Marciano was worshipped and still is. But up North and to the West, and especially among men of that generation, there was a bitterness that is difficult to describe unless you see it in person.
"I fought Sugar Ray so much, I’m surprised I’m not diabetic."
-- Jake LaMotta
Didn’t Marciano even admit that had they met prime on prime, he couldn’t have beaten the Brown Bomber? I thought I read that somewhere…
Marciano had only nice things to say about Joe Louis
Marciano was a class act, and helped out Joe monetarily whenever he could. He was also one paranoid sunuvabitch, and buried his money like a pirate! He was very suspicious of the fight game in general. But in Rocky’s case the old saying was true: “Just because everyone is out to get out doesn’t mean they aren’t!”
"I fought Sugar Ray so much, I’m surprised I’m not diabetic."
-- Jake LaMotta
His own manager screwed him.
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Mar 24, 2010 7:35 PM EDT up reply actions
The Rock was a class act all the way.
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Mar 24, 2010 7:37 PM EDT up reply actions
And really, just a helluva fighter. That Suzie-Q of his was freakin’ lethal. I sometimes like to imagine how Roy Jones Jr. would have fared against him.
If Marciano hit him clean? Badly. But if he didn’t, Roy might embarrass him with speed. Interesting matchup.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Mar 24, 2010 10:03 PM EDT up reply actions
Good point
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Mar 24, 2010 7:29 PM EDT up reply actions
FWIW
The winner will be Juanma’s mandatory. If Marquez wins, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t go for it and that fight doesn’t get made. He seems to have a lot more left in the tank than Vazquez, and the allure of a title in a third weight class is often too hard to resist. Plus it would probably be another big payday.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Vazquez doesnt seem right to me. I can speak Spanish and when I heard him speak, it just ddn’t sound very good. But then, after fighting Marquez, who would sound good. Still……..
"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant"
---Vernon Forrest 2006
by The Midnight Rambler on Mar 24, 2010 7:34 PM EDT reply actions
He's punchy for sure
You don’t need to understand Spanish to hear that.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
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