We are just hours removed from yet another masterful performance from Juan Manuel Marquez, but we are also exactly one year removed from the end of the trilogy between Juan Manuel's younger brother, Rafael, and his great rival, Israel Vazquez.
The 2008 Fight of the Year was one for the ages, and will never be forgotten. The two men left nothing in the tanks; everything was poured into their unyielding, brutal performances on that night in Carson, California.
12 months later to the day, neither Vazquez nor Marquez has stepped back into the ring. Marquez is making soft plans to do so with a small comeback fight in Mexico, while Vazquez won't know if he'll even be able to continue his career for a few months more after having eye surgery last year.
The Showtime recap of Vazquez-Marquez III:
A Showtime photo essay video on all three of their spectacular bouts:
Hats off once more for these two exceptional warriors. For three fights (and more prior to those battles), they gave us boxing fans all they had and then some.
Edit: Hey! I dug up the old Showtime-approved embeddable video of the first two fights! Enjoy again. If you have not seen these fights, watch them.