Ringside Boxing Report: Rafael Marquez – Israel Vasquez
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In one of the most highly anticipated fights of the year, bantamweight king Rafael Marquez solidified his position as one of the top pound for pound fighters in the sport by making WBC Super Bantamweight Champ Israel Vazquez quit prior to the end of the eighth round.
In front of a sparsely filled Home Depot Center in Carson, California, both fighters entered the arena to a loud and raucous ovation from those in attendance. It was clear from their initial entrance into the ring that there was no clear cut fan favorite in this fight, as both men were loved by the house.
The first two rounds belonged to Marquez as he established his jab early and used his superior boxing skills to develop an early lead. Marquez was throwing hard combinations from the start and landed a huge uppercut that stunned Vazquez in the third.
Marquez seemed to have the fight under control until he got too careless and was caught by a Vazquez right hand that sent him to the canvas for the first time in his illustrious career.
Marquez reverted back to his jab in the fourth and for the next three rounds, the ravenous fans in attendance were privileged to view some amazing boxing. Both fighters threw beautiful combinations and counter punches as the fight evened on the scorecards of most ringside observers. Two of the judges at ringside had the fight 66-66 after the seventh round and the other had it scored 67-65.
The fight was shaping up to be exactly what everyone had hoped, until Vasquez, the now former WBC 122 pound king, walked across the ring and informed his opponent that it was over. “He couldn’t’t breath” trainer Freddie Roach said, “He broke his nose in the first round and couldn’t’t breathe.”
The stoppage was a shock to most in attendance and the fans began to get rowdy and throw things. The on-site security was quick to extinguish any tempers and things began to normalize.
Trainer Freddie Roach later spoke about his fighter’s decision to quit. “Israel wanted me to stop the fight earlier, but I asked him to suck it up, I though that Marquez was getting tired. Israel tried to go a couple of more rounds, but then came back after the seventh and said I can’t do this anymore.”
When Marquez was asked whether or he would like to fight Vazquez again, the newly crowned champ said, “He does deserve a rematch, he is the only person who has ever dropped me, all of Mexico should be happy.”
Marquez explained his plans for the future at the press conference following the fight, “I plan to stay at 122 pounds,” he said.
For Marquez, 37-3 (33), a rematch with Vazquez, 41-4 (30), is the most intriguing bout out there, both for his camp and for the fight fan. If things could start off the way that they ended with this one, the hype might be worth it the next time.
The co-feature of the evening pitted IBF/IBO Flyweight Champion Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan against his mandatory challenger, Victor Burgos.
The fight began with southpaw Darchinyan stalking his opponent around the ring in a fashion that can only be described, if you have not seen a Darchinyan fight, as bullish. Vic proved to boxing fans in attendance and around the world that a right hand is not needed to win a fight in a dominating fashion.
In the second round, Darchinyan landed a left to the body and the challenger crumbled to the canvas with a delayed reaction. Burgos ran the remainder of the round and continued to revert into survival mode for the majority of the fight. Burgos was landing a few looping right hands but failed to inflict any damage as the charging Darchinyan walked through the punches and continued his assault.
Late in the twelfth round the referee, Jon Schorle, warned the “Raging Bull” about hitting behind the head. But the punch may have inflamed more damage than was initially thought, as Burgos was reeling after the warning and could not keep his balance.
After a barrage of punches from the surging champ, the fight was stopped at 1:27 of the final round.
Burgos was taken to the Harbor UCLA Hospital on the direction of ringside Dr. Paul Wallace. “He was going in and out of consciousness. That is why we sent him to the hospital. He is going to get a full evaluation brain scan.” No new information regarding Burgos’ condition was available as of the time this article went for publication.
Darchinyan moves to 28-0 (22) and sets up a possible unification showdown with Jorge Arce before the end of the year. Burgos drops to 39-15-3 (23).
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