The worst shot I've seen yet of Israel Vazquez's eye, which has undergone several surgeries since...

That does not look good. Marquez is barely going to have to land a thing before that eye gets busted up again. I was so excited for this fight yesterday, but that has genuinely tempered some of my excitement: is it really worth it, Izzy?

"The terror of the unforeseen is what the science of history hides, turning a disaster into an epic"

by Oli Goldstein on May 19, 2010 3:59 PM EDT reply actions

its pretty creepy looking but i dont know if it will hinder him. doesn’t look as bad as david reid.

"Newspapermen ask dumb questions. They look up at the sun and ask if it is shining."
-Sonny Liston

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by sonofapsycho on May 19, 2010 4:00 PM EDT reply actions

I don’t know that it will hinder him, but it just seems so likely that he injures it again. A detached retina and three surgeries, he comes back looking like that, and he’s going to fight Marquez again? It just seems like a recipe for more surgeries. Obviously he passed a physical and I’m sure he knows the risks, and the $1.6 million purse helps a great deal, but damn. Just one of those things that makes it plain and clear the type of punishment these guys put themselves through.

Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."

by Scott Christ on May 19, 2010 4:02 PM EDT up reply actions

I might risk an eye for $1.6

But Izzy shouldn’t have to make that call. I wish he had gotten paid enough in his career and there were sufficient resources in place for aging fighters where they didn’t have to do this kind of gross arithmetic.

Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion

by The Kittitas Kid on May 19, 2010 7:54 PM EDT up reply actions

I guess there are a few ways to look at this, no pun intended

One, it is because of men like Vasquez and Marquez that little men are capable of making this kind of money. On the flip side, they both have have paid dearly. And lastly, both, particularly Vasquez, will undoubtedly continue to do so.

The after tax and expense net to each fighter will certainly pay for immediate surgeries….but the long term damage and future costs are immeasurable.

by pakinpower on May 20, 2010 12:20 AM EDT up reply actions

It may not look as bad as Reid’s in that picture, but I think the idea is, he gets all that expensive work and rehab done on it, and it’s probably all gonna get undone inside two rounds.

And I’ve seen other pictures where it looks almost as bad as Reid’s. Looks like it moved a couple inches up on his face, and sometimes seems to be pointing the wrong way.

"My God, kids today think that the laces are for tying up the gloves."
-- Fritzie Zivic

by jrok on May 19, 2010 4:10 PM EDT up reply actions

The only pic from the press conference where he wasn't wearing shades was this one:

And his eyes don’t look like they’re going the same direction there to me.

Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion

by The Kittitas Kid on May 20, 2010 12:22 PM EDT up reply actions

yea they’re definitely not.

I wonder what he’s wearing to spar.

"Yes Gina, I am a Wise Cracker"

by lcollins1 on May 20, 2010 12:24 PM EDT up reply actions

One eye is going one way and the other another

"I guess I can’t do anything if you’re just irrational, but to point it out and move on."

- fundamentallysound

by J Theory on May 20, 2010 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, that’s the one. The first time I saw it, I was thinking “can he even see out of that thing?”

"My God, kids today think that the laces are for tying up the gloves."
-- Fritzie Zivic

by jrok on May 20, 2010 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions

and how would his vision be improved even if he can see out of it?

I mean, he’s looking at two different pictures.

"Yes Gina, I am a Wise Cracker"

by lcollins1 on May 20, 2010 1:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Maybe. It’s hard to say. It could just be the way they rebuilt the socket itself that makes it look so off-kilter. But it sure as hell looks ugly.

"My God, kids today think that the laces are for tying up the gloves."
-- Fritzie Zivic

by jrok on May 20, 2010 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions

For whatever it’s worth, Marquez thinks he’ll win in four, Vazquez thinks he’ll win in seven.

Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."

by Scott Christ on May 19, 2010 4:07 PM EDT reply actions

i actually think that as well. im still undecided on who i believe though.

"Newspapermen ask dumb questions. They look up at the sun and ask if it is shining."
-Sonny Liston

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by sonofapsycho on May 19, 2010 4:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks. Now I know when to hit the head!

Good, so it can’t go any deeper – Arturo Gatti after being told he was cut to the bone

by The Midnight Rambler on May 19, 2010 6:12 PM EDT up reply actions

wow

That eye does look pretty bad. And I think we all now that its going to be a target all night. I’m still pumped for this fight though. Best of luck to both of them and hopefully everything goes ok .

by LJchamp on May 19, 2010 4:20 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

That eye will cost him dearly, if not the fight.

Good, so it can’t go any deeper – Arturo Gatti after being told he was cut to the bone

by The Midnight Rambler on May 19, 2010 6:12 PM EDT reply actions

That looks horrible

by Sweet science on May 19, 2010 6:33 PM EDT reply actions

So afraid of what will happen Saturday.

For both guys.

Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion

by The Kittitas Kid on May 19, 2010 7:53 PM EDT reply actions

You know the cost of all three Vazquez/Marquez fight was less than the Dawson/Tarver fight in Vegas that drew less than 1,000 people… that was papered….

Go… yeah… I don’t want these guys to fight but man… they both deserve million dollar paydays for what they have given us.

"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."

by Zocalo on May 19, 2010 10:37 PM EDT reply actions

Let's take up a collection, then.

I, for one, will pay $40 for these guys not to fight again. Who else?

Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion

by The Kittitas Kid on May 20, 2010 12:33 AM EDT up reply actions

When it’s artificially against your every last sense, staying positive is the greatest negative.

by El Destruyo on May 19, 2010 11:53 PM EDT reply actions

If there was ever a fight to give me mixed feelings this is it. Most boxers endure lasting damage to their bodies in ways not as visible as Vazquez’s eye though so I try to keep that in mind. Doesn’t make it any easier to see of course.

"Mug an old lady, and if you have the right connections the WBO will rank you seventh." -Steve Farhood

by BloodMeridian on May 20, 2010 12:14 AM EDT reply actions

I cant see that eye holding up for long. Marquez will target it time and time again till it closes. Like the rest of you I wish these two great worriors made this kind of money earlier so they didnt have to put themselfs through all this, but part of me knows that men like this dont just hang up the gloves and walk away

"I'm scared every time I go into the ring, but it's how you handle it. What you have to do is plant your feet, bite down on your mouthpiece and say, 'Let's go.'" Mike Tyson

by sigidy on May 20, 2010 12:32 AM EDT reply actions

If we're talking the extra skin on the left eye

then I don’t see the problem.

Nick Diaz looked worse before his surgery

by gunranger on May 20, 2010 3:09 AM EDT reply actions

No, I don’t think any of us is talking about his LEFT eye.

"My God, kids today think that the laces are for tying up the gloves."
-- Fritzie Zivic

by jrok on May 20, 2010 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions

No one is talking about the extra skin or about it closing up.

Dude’s retina is hanging on by a thread:

Israel Vazquez (44-4, 32 KO’s) will be coming into this Saturday’s fight against Rafael Martinez with a right eye that has been operated on three times since 2008 for a series of detached retinas. Vazquez, 32, originally suffered an initial detached retina in his third fight with Marquez in March 2008. Although Vazquez won the fight by a 12 round split decision after suffering the injury to his right eye early in the bout, he paid a big price for it.

http://www.boxingnews24.com/2010/05/will-israel-vazquez’s-surgically-repaired-eye-hold-up-against-marquez/

Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion

by The Kittitas Kid on May 20, 2010 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, if they can't get the retina re-attached properly the first time,

it’s usually a game over scenario. Everyone’s tissues are a bit different, and every surgery operates a little differently. But with that many surgeries, his vision is without question impaired, and even ten degrees loss to your field of vision is a death knell for a fighter’s ability to see incoming shots.

There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.

by misterjonez on May 20, 2010 9:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Vasquez-Marquez

Very ambivalent-dying to see the fight, scared stiff for Vasquez especially, but both of them—Really important to have a good, conservative referee for this one, Michael Ortega comes to mind, someone really committed to the safety of the fighters

by BoxzAnne on May 20, 2010 6:57 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs