Boxing Preview: Israel Vasquez vs. Rafael Marquez III

ByRichard Eberline

After their two thrilling fights in 2007, super bantams Israel Vasquez and Rafael Marquez are ready to do it again as they square off at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA, which was also the site of their first bout.

At stake is the WBC crown of Vasquez, but the title used to belong to Marquez and the expectation is that the pair will slug it out in thrilling fashion, just as they had over the first two bouts.

Marquez, 37-4 (33), came into this trilogy with Vasquez as the longtime IBF Bantam king and for a six year period at 118 pounds, the Mexico City man had been a unstoppable force.

The 32 year old slugger had won sixteen straight, including his step up in weight to take the WBC Super Bantam crown from Vasquez when they met for the first time in April of last year.

Vasquez, 42-4 (31), had been on his own run of success prior to this trio with Marquez, having won eight in a row since a loss to Oscar Larios in 2002, including an IBF 122 lb title winning effort over Jose Luis Valbuena in 2004 before stopping Larios in the third in 2005 to annex the WBC belt at super bantam.

In their first clash, Marquez’s power proved to be the deciding factor as a broken nose forced Vasquez into a seventh round retirement but in August of last year, Vasquez returned the favor and stopped Marquez in the sixth to recapture the WBC trophy.

The first two fights had been virtual draws before the stoppages with each fighter dealing out and absorbing monumental amounts of punishment and producing some of the most memorable action since the first two Erik Morales – Marco Antonio Barrera clashes earlier in the decade.

Will this rubber match feature the excitement of the first two bouts? It’s more than likely but it would not be a surprise to see Marquez change tactics a bit since he was stopped in the second bout.

All four of Marquez’s losses have come by stoppage and at 32 years of age after a twelve year career, he might just want to box more in this one as Barrera did after his first bout with Morales.

Vasquez and Marquez have faced only each other in their last three contests and it’s safe to say that each knows the other’s style and moves as well as their own.

The fight probably won’t go the distance.