Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez will fight one more time this Saturday, adding a fourth chapter to their exciting trilogy. Both have proven to be the warriors that their Mexican fan base so direly covets. Both have proven to be World champions. Both have proven they can deliver on the big stage.
So with three spectacular fights in the books, all with definitive conclusions, Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez have decided to do battle one more time. There is no score left to settle. There are no titles on the line. There is nothing left to prove. So why are these two fighting a fourth time?
Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez began their trilogy in March of 2007. Marquez was making his debut at super bantamweight while Vazquez was making the third defense of his WBC title. Despite being knocked down in the third round, Marquez would go on to win the fight and the title when Vazquez could no longer continue after the seventh round due to a broken nose.
An immediate rematch was granted for August of that year. This time, Marquez was not able to continue after being dropped in the sixth and Vazquez regained his title by TKO. It was an even better fight than their first encounter and won Fight of the Year honors.
A third fight was inevitable and took place in March of 2008. Both men went down in this fight. Vazquez was down early but forged a spirited comeback during the championship rounds. Vazquez went after Marquez in the final round and was able to score a knockdown in the final minute when Marquez was being held up by the ropes. Marquez disputed the referee’s call even though it was the correct decision. Vazquez went on to win by split decision and retain his super bantamweight title. This fight also received Fight of the Year honors.
It has now been over two years since these men have fought each other. Each have only fought once since their third fight in March of 2008, both scoring a knockout victory over a journeyman. Both have moved on from super bantamweight and will be competing as featherweights. One can’t help but wonder why a fourth fight between the two is being made when there are so many other attractive options in the featherweight division.
The most common excuse for this matchup is: the fans want to see it. Immediately after their third fight, the two posed for pictures flashing four fingers. Could it really be? These two were teasing a fourth bout of a trilogy that produced two Fights of the Year! Sign me up for that one. Besides, it’s not like they had a lot of competition in the super bantamweight division anyway. They were clearly the best two fighters the division had to offer.
Fast forward to 2010. It is two years later and one division heavier. The afterglow of the trilogy has worn off. New threats have emerged in a deep featherweight division. The demand for a fourth fight subsided while the two took a well-deserved break from the ring. In that time, new stars like Yuriorkis Gamboa and Juan Manuel Lopez emerged. Daniel Ponce de Leon and Celestino Caballero joined the ranks. Division stalwart Chris John remains an undefeated champion.
Fans wanted to see a fourth fight in 2008. Now, the fight feels more like a ceremonial homage to their great trilogy. No title is at stake and the winner really makes no headway in the rankings until he fights one of the aforementioned names. So with nothing left to prove and nothing to be proven by this fight, why is this fight really happening?
Israel Vazquez, 32, and Rafael Marquez, 35, have little left in the tank. They have combined for 470 professional rounds. A promoter would say they are battle-tested. A realist would see that they are battle-worn, especially Vazquez. Neither man wants to be embarrassed by the top guys in the division. A fourth fight offers each man the opportunity to have one last hurrah. One last chance for each man to win on a big stage.
Fans will tune in because the first three fights were amazing. Their in-ring chemistry brings to mind comparisons to Barrera-Morales and Gatti-Ward. They can’t be in a bad fight together. Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez will leave it all in the ring this Saturday in an attempt to pay tribute to the legacies that they will forever have linked together. Watch and enjoy.
