If you're a boxing fan and didn't enjoy the weekend that just ended, then I don't know what to tell you.
Friday night offered a more entertaining than expected fight between Cory Spinks and Deandre Latimore. Saturday was even better, with Carl Froch's dramatic late KO of Jermain Taylor and thrilling performances (for different reasons) from Juan Manuel Lopez and Gerry Penalosa - and they were spaced out in a way that you could catch both fights.
Froch should be the weekend's big winner, as beating a guy with some name recognition like Taylor makes him a known quantity outside of the U.K. for the first time. And yes, the way in which he did it also helps.
Since he's spoken recently about staying in the U.S., it will be interesting to see if he does exactly that. The top American contenders at super middleweight might not be up for a shot at Froch right away - guys like Andre Dirrell, Allan Green and Andre Ward - but there are other possibilities within a division that suddenly looks more interesting than it's been in a while.
I wouldn't mind seeing Froch fight Mikkel Kessler, Sakio Bika or Librado Andrade. There's also Lucian Bute for a battle of undefeated titleholders, though The Cobra would be wise not to fight him in Montreal.
It's probably not out of the question for a rematch with Taylor either, as the fight was close enough to warrant one. If that doesn't happen, we may have seen the last of Jermain as a top contender.
Taylor has just three career losses, but all have come in his last four fights. His best moments have come against guys that aren't known to be devastating KO artists (Winky Wright and Bernard Hopkins) and he just doesn't seem to be able to put it together against fighters who can withstand what he dishes out in early rounds. The always excellent Dougie Fischer has a great summary of what Taylor's turned out to be in his latest mailbag post on The Ring Blog.
Saturday's fight added a second "What if?" moment to add to his first fight with Kelly Pavlik as he was unable to finish Froch. It's one of the bigger ironies in boxing that a man nicknamed Bad Intentions has been undone by his lack of a killer instinct.
In contrast, JuanMa Lopez does have the know-how to go for the kill when he smells blood. He just wasn't able to do it against Penalosa, who turned in one of the gutsiest efforts in recent memory by standing and trading with the Puerto Rican star for nine tough rounds.
One nice thing about Penalosa's ridiculous staying power is that it allowed Lopez to display his whole offensive package. He can box or brawl, he mixes up head and body shots extremely effectively and he can deliver volume while still having plenty of snap on each punch.
JuanMa is also too big and strong for most guys at 122 lbs., so it came as little surprise when he stated after the fight that he was headed for 126 at the end of this year or the beginning of 2010. Even though he likes to stay busy - Lopez fought four times in 2008 - that realistically means we'll only see him in two more fights, tops, at super bantamweight.
No doubt every fight fan would love to see him face Israel Vazquez or Rafael Marquez, who he name-dropped in his post-fight interview, but would they be as eager to fight him after putting each other through hell three times in the past two years? Another compelling match-up would be with Celestino Caballero (assuming he beats Jeffrey Mathebula later this week) in a bout that would unify three of the four alphabet belts at 122.
After that, the sky's the limit for Lopez. He's already a superstar in Puerto Rico and only his lack of real rivalries and the fact that he plies his trade in the lighter weight classes are keeping him from that same status on a wider scale.
Posted by The Franchise
Showing posts with label rafael marquez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rafael marquez. Show all posts
27.4.09
31.12.08
BoxingWatchers.com 2008 Fight of the Year: Vazquez-Marquez III
Even without them sitting beside me right now, I'm fairly certain the other BoxingWatchers would agree with me that 2008 was a pretty good year to be a fan of the sport. Plenty of fights between big name fighters came together - including one most thought laughable at the beginning of the year - and more than a handful of fights between lesser known boxers turned out to be well worth watching.
Not all of the marquee match-ups were sequels, as we got to see Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto, Bernard Hopkins and Kelly Pavlik, and, yes, Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya go at it for the first time. But when it came time to vote for our Fight of the Year, it was the third chapter in the thrilling trilogy between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez that came out on top.
If you watched and enjoyed the first two fights in the series, you were undoubtedly excited for Round Three - and maybe a little concerned that it wouldn't live up to what had come before since the bar had been set so high. As it happened, there was no reason to worry.
Part of the reason was that the styles of the two fighters suited each other so well. Marquez was a better technician and Vazquez had more power, but the differences were small. As we knew from the first two bouts, both men had plenty of heart and stamina, were willing to trade and had enough holes on defense to ensure many punches would land.
The rounds unfolded in breathtaking fashion. Both fighters had their moments, and yet both found themselves on the canvas.
What set it apart from other skillful, competitive fights in 2008 was the last-minute drama, as Vazquez scored a late knockdown that literally won him the fight. And there was even just a pinch of controversy, though it was the kind that led to discussion, not the kind that made you feel the loser got hosed.
In short, it was the proverbial fight that had everything. Here's hoping 2009 gives us another fight like that... even if it has to be Vazquez-Marquez IV.
Reader Picks: The readers also went with Vazquez-Marquez III, giving it 55 percent of the vote. Pacquiao-J.M. Marquez II came in a strong second with 30 percent.
Also receiving some love were Cotto-Margarito and Diaz-Campbell, and it's hard to argue that those were both offensive showcases.
Somewhat surprisingly, Holt-Torres II got no votes despite featuring what was absolutely the craziest single round of 2008. I also thought Cunningham-Adamek would get some support. Though I didn't feel it quite lived up to Fight of the Year status, it was an excellent scrap and was fresher in the minds of fans since it was fought near the end of the year.
Not all of the marquee match-ups were sequels, as we got to see Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto, Bernard Hopkins and Kelly Pavlik, and, yes, Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya go at it for the first time. But when it came time to vote for our Fight of the Year, it was the third chapter in the thrilling trilogy between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez that came out on top.
If you watched and enjoyed the first two fights in the series, you were undoubtedly excited for Round Three - and maybe a little concerned that it wouldn't live up to what had come before since the bar had been set so high. As it happened, there was no reason to worry.
Part of the reason was that the styles of the two fighters suited each other so well. Marquez was a better technician and Vazquez had more power, but the differences were small. As we knew from the first two bouts, both men had plenty of heart and stamina, were willing to trade and had enough holes on defense to ensure many punches would land.
The rounds unfolded in breathtaking fashion. Both fighters had their moments, and yet both found themselves on the canvas.
What set it apart from other skillful, competitive fights in 2008 was the last-minute drama, as Vazquez scored a late knockdown that literally won him the fight. And there was even just a pinch of controversy, though it was the kind that led to discussion, not the kind that made you feel the loser got hosed.
In short, it was the proverbial fight that had everything. Here's hoping 2009 gives us another fight like that... even if it has to be Vazquez-Marquez IV.
Reader Picks: The readers also went with Vazquez-Marquez III, giving it 55 percent of the vote. Pacquiao-J.M. Marquez II came in a strong second with 30 percent.
Also receiving some love were Cotto-Margarito and Diaz-Campbell, and it's hard to argue that those were both offensive showcases.
Somewhat surprisingly, Holt-Torres II got no votes despite featuring what was absolutely the craziest single round of 2008. I also thought Cunningham-Adamek would get some support. Though I didn't feel it quite lived up to Fight of the Year status, it was an excellent scrap and was fresher in the minds of fans since it was fought near the end of the year.
12.12.08
Top 10 Pound-for-Pound Boxers: BoxingWatchers.com End of 2008 List
Thus far, we've resisted doing a pound-for-pound list, simply because everyone does them, and it seems unnecessary to do them as often as some people do. Monthly updates? I don't think so, because it's a really good (and rare) month when more than two boxers in the top 10 are in action.
Still, it doesn't seem ridiculous to do one at the end of the year. So when asked recently by a writer at another site to come up with a top 10, we put our heads together and came up with the following list. Voting was simple, with 10 points for first, nine for second, etc.
The year's not quite over, as there are quite a few notable fights this weekend. None of the men on this list are in action before the end of 2008 though.
Feel free to tell us how wrong we are. Or how right, though that probably won't be as much fun.
Here goes nothing...
BoxingWatchers.com Top 10 Pound-for-Pound Boxers - End of 2008
Spartan117's 10 is not enough honorable mentions: Chris John, Ricky Hatton, Vic Darchinyan
Still, it doesn't seem ridiculous to do one at the end of the year. So when asked recently by a writer at another site to come up with a top 10, we put our heads together and came up with the following list. Voting was simple, with 10 points for first, nine for second, etc.
The year's not quite over, as there are quite a few notable fights this weekend. None of the men on this list are in action before the end of 2008 though.
Feel free to tell us how wrong we are. Or how right, though that probably won't be as much fun.
Here goes nothing...
BoxingWatchers.com Top 10 Pound-for-Pound Boxers - End of 2008
- Manny Pacquiao (30 pts.)
- Joe Calzaghe (25)
- Bernard Hopkins (24)
- Juan Manuel Marquez (23)
- Israel Vazquez (15)
- Paul Williams (14)
- Antonio Margarito (13)
- Kelly Pavlik (9)
- Ivan Calderon (5)
- Rafael Marquez (3)
Spartan117's 10 is not enough honorable mentions: Chris John, Ricky Hatton, Vic Darchinyan
2.3.08
20-20 Hindsight: Vazquez-Marquez III Lives Up to the Hype, Should They Go for Four?
As excited as I was for Saturday's "Tiebreaker" between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez, there was just a small twinge of anxiety mixed in. Since the first two fights in their series were so good, I thought there was a chance they wouldn't take it to the same level for a third time.
I shouldn't have worried. Thrilling, breathtaking... pick any superlative you want and it applied to the third chapter. Vazquez and Marquez showed the same skill, guts and determination that made their 2007 meetings so compelling, and this time they did it for a full 12 rounds.
While the recent Klitschko-Ibragimov fight was one you wouldn't want to show to your non-boxing fan friends, Vazquez-Marquez III was a perfect example of one that you could use to sell the sport. This bout had something for everyone: a frenetic pace, several shifts in momentum, and even a thrilling finish with a knockdown in the closing seconds that proved to be the difference in Vazquez's razor-thin margin of victory.
And speaking of the finish, I didn't see the controversy that some seemed to see. Vazquez was dominating the final round in a manner that may have had the judges thinking about a 10-8 round even without a knockdown, and referee Pat Russell made the correct call anyway, as the ropes were the only thing keeping Marquez from hitting the canvas. He's too proud and fought too hard to admit it, but he was going down.
One thing Saturday's fight did not provide is a definitive end to the rivalry. Some, like ESPN.com's Franklin McNeill, feel that Marquez gives away too much in strength and power to Vazquez, and that a fourth fight would automatically go Vazquez's way. Marquez did fade late in the fight, but take away the point he had deducted for a low blow and he's got a draw - or even a win if he doesn't go down late in the twelfth round.
So with little question about whether fans would enjoy seeing them fight again, the question becomes whether health considerations should prevent them for going for four, because the 12 rounds we just witnessed are the type that can easily shorten careers. One look at Vazquez's face after the fight - one of the ugliest winning faces I've seen since becoming a boxing fan - was proof enough of that.
I'll admit that I'd love to see a fourth bout, but it was nice to hear common sense prevail as December was thrown out as a possible date. Both men could use the time to heal up, and quite frankly, the rest of the boxing world needs a chance to catch up.
I shouldn't have worried. Thrilling, breathtaking... pick any superlative you want and it applied to the third chapter. Vazquez and Marquez showed the same skill, guts and determination that made their 2007 meetings so compelling, and this time they did it for a full 12 rounds.
While the recent Klitschko-Ibragimov fight was one you wouldn't want to show to your non-boxing fan friends, Vazquez-Marquez III was a perfect example of one that you could use to sell the sport. This bout had something for everyone: a frenetic pace, several shifts in momentum, and even a thrilling finish with a knockdown in the closing seconds that proved to be the difference in Vazquez's razor-thin margin of victory.
And speaking of the finish, I didn't see the controversy that some seemed to see. Vazquez was dominating the final round in a manner that may have had the judges thinking about a 10-8 round even without a knockdown, and referee Pat Russell made the correct call anyway, as the ropes were the only thing keeping Marquez from hitting the canvas. He's too proud and fought too hard to admit it, but he was going down.
One thing Saturday's fight did not provide is a definitive end to the rivalry. Some, like ESPN.com's Franklin McNeill, feel that Marquez gives away too much in strength and power to Vazquez, and that a fourth fight would automatically go Vazquez's way. Marquez did fade late in the fight, but take away the point he had deducted for a low blow and he's got a draw - or even a win if he doesn't go down late in the twelfth round.
So with little question about whether fans would enjoy seeing them fight again, the question becomes whether health considerations should prevent them for going for four, because the 12 rounds we just witnessed are the type that can easily shorten careers. One look at Vazquez's face after the fight - one of the ugliest winning faces I've seen since becoming a boxing fan - was proof enough of that.
I'll admit that I'd love to see a fourth bout, but it was nice to hear common sense prevail as December was thrown out as a possible date. Both men could use the time to heal up, and quite frankly, the rest of the boxing world needs a chance to catch up.
1.3.08
Round by Round: Vazquez-Marquez III - The Tiebreaker
Sly Stallone and Jack Nicholson are in the house. It is a chilly 55 degrees.
Round 1
Lots of jabs. Bomb uppercut by Vazquez. Serious action both ways. This is going to be near impossible to score.
Uatu - Vazquez 10-9
Franchise - Marquez 10-9
Round 2
Vazquez the aggressor.
Slightly more tactical. Still heavy shots both ways. Some good uppercuts from Vazquez.
Uatu - 10-9 Marquez
Franchise - 10-9 Vazquez
Round 3
Jabbing contest. But these are power jabs. Rough body shot from Marquez and a possible warning for lowness for it. Lots of punches but no real standout punch.
Uatu - Marquez - 10-9
Franchise Marquez 10-9
Round 4
Big right Marquez, big reply Vazquez. Left Hook, straight right. Down goes Vazquez! Big shots were exchanged and Vzaquez got the worst. Vazquez wastes no time going right back! Huge rights both ways! Marquez stunned. Tremendous action! Marquez throwing bombs in the final seconds.
Uatu - Marquez 10-8
Franchise Marquez 10-8
Round 5
Close in fighting. Crowd very into the fight. Marquez working body. Marquez great right. Vazquez closes the round with a good combo. Another action round which is tough to score.
Uatu - Vazquez - 10-9
Franchise Marquez 10- 9
Round 6
Big right from Vazquez. Tons and tons of jabs both ways. More rights stunning Marquez. Vazquez pushing the issue. Another low blow from Marquez. Warning #2.
Uatu - Vazquez 10-9
Franchise Vazquez 10 -9
Round 7
Not as many punches landing here. Still very close in fighting. Sill mostly Vazquez as aggressor. Marquez lands some nice combos to close the round and possibly steal the round.
Uatu - Marquez 10 -9
Franchise - Marquez 10 -9
Round 8
High activity, big trading shots in the middle of the ring. Vazquez doing all of the chasing. Big left hook from Marquez. Big right from Vazquez. Momementum going back and forth between salvos. Two big rights in the last 15 seconds from Vazquez. This is a barnburner. Nonstop action, impossible to tell who is winning in the eyes of the judges.
Uatu - Vazquez 10-9
Franchise Vazquez 10 -9
Round 9
Marquez moving more this round. He is being careful and doing more boxing than any other time. Do you prefer the ring general or the aggressor? Vazquez stunned slightly from a punch.
Uatu - Vazquez 10 -9
Franchise - Vazquez 10 -9
Round 10
Big right from Marquez. Low from Marquez! Point deduction! Could be huge. Marquez trying to steal rounds. Seems to be employing a Oscar De La Hoya like last ten second flurry.
Uatu - Marquez - 9 - 9
Franchise Marquez 9 -9
Round 11
Announcers seem to think Marquez is having vision problems with his left eye. Mostly Vazquez, but Marquez is jabbing like a mad man. Toe to toe trading to end the round.
Uatu - Vazquez 10-9
Franchise - Vazquez 10-9
Round 12
It's anyone's fight.
Huge right from Vaz in the first 5 seconds. Another one mintue in. Vazquez is an animal this round. Marquez is eating big time. Vazquez is trying for the KO! Marquez holding on for dear life. Vazquez knocks him down with 10 seconds to go!!! Marquez falls into the corner with only the ropes holding him up! Marquez keep his feet but it's a knockdown. It was all Vazquez in the 12th! Could have been 10-7 maybe even.
Uatu Vazquez 10-8
Franchise Vazquez 10-8
Uatu - 114 - 111 Vazquez
Franchise - 113-112 Vazquez
Judges 114-111 Vazquez
114-111 Marquez
113-112 Vazquez
Vazquez wins by split decision!
Postfight: as it turns out, the knockdown in the final round may have determined the fight. Marquez is angrily disputing whether that should have been scored a knockdown. Also, he thought the low blow call was B S.
Marquez wants a rematch.
All smiles for Vazquez. He would take a rematch.
Uatu says better trilogy than Barerra Morales.
Press row all for Vazquez.
Bernstein has it a draw.
The ref gets an interview and defends his calls. The knockdown looked like the right call for sure.
Round 1
Lots of jabs. Bomb uppercut by Vazquez. Serious action both ways. This is going to be near impossible to score.
Uatu - Vazquez 10-9
Franchise - Marquez 10-9
Round 2
Vazquez the aggressor.
Slightly more tactical. Still heavy shots both ways. Some good uppercuts from Vazquez.
Uatu - 10-9 Marquez
Franchise - 10-9 Vazquez
Round 3
Jabbing contest. But these are power jabs. Rough body shot from Marquez and a possible warning for lowness for it. Lots of punches but no real standout punch.
Uatu - Marquez - 10-9
Franchise Marquez 10-9
Round 4
Big right Marquez, big reply Vazquez. Left Hook, straight right. Down goes Vazquez! Big shots were exchanged and Vzaquez got the worst. Vazquez wastes no time going right back! Huge rights both ways! Marquez stunned. Tremendous action! Marquez throwing bombs in the final seconds.
Uatu - Marquez 10-8
Franchise Marquez 10-8
Round 5
Close in fighting. Crowd very into the fight. Marquez working body. Marquez great right. Vazquez closes the round with a good combo. Another action round which is tough to score.
Uatu - Vazquez - 10-9
Franchise Marquez 10- 9
Round 6
Big right from Vazquez. Tons and tons of jabs both ways. More rights stunning Marquez. Vazquez pushing the issue. Another low blow from Marquez. Warning #2.
Uatu - Vazquez 10-9
Franchise Vazquez 10 -9
Round 7
Not as many punches landing here. Still very close in fighting. Sill mostly Vazquez as aggressor. Marquez lands some nice combos to close the round and possibly steal the round.
Uatu - Marquez 10 -9
Franchise - Marquez 10 -9
Round 8
High activity, big trading shots in the middle of the ring. Vazquez doing all of the chasing. Big left hook from Marquez. Big right from Vazquez. Momementum going back and forth between salvos. Two big rights in the last 15 seconds from Vazquez. This is a barnburner. Nonstop action, impossible to tell who is winning in the eyes of the judges.
Uatu - Vazquez 10-9
Franchise Vazquez 10 -9
Round 9
Marquez moving more this round. He is being careful and doing more boxing than any other time. Do you prefer the ring general or the aggressor? Vazquez stunned slightly from a punch.
Uatu - Vazquez 10 -9
Franchise - Vazquez 10 -9
Round 10
Big right from Marquez. Low from Marquez! Point deduction! Could be huge. Marquez trying to steal rounds. Seems to be employing a Oscar De La Hoya like last ten second flurry.
Uatu - Marquez - 9 - 9
Franchise Marquez 9 -9
Round 11
Announcers seem to think Marquez is having vision problems with his left eye. Mostly Vazquez, but Marquez is jabbing like a mad man. Toe to toe trading to end the round.
Uatu - Vazquez 10-9
Franchise - Vazquez 10-9
Round 12
It's anyone's fight.
Huge right from Vaz in the first 5 seconds. Another one mintue in. Vazquez is an animal this round. Marquez is eating big time. Vazquez is trying for the KO! Marquez holding on for dear life. Vazquez knocks him down with 10 seconds to go!!! Marquez falls into the corner with only the ropes holding him up! Marquez keep his feet but it's a knockdown. It was all Vazquez in the 12th! Could have been 10-7 maybe even.
Uatu Vazquez 10-8
Franchise Vazquez 10-8
Uatu - 114 - 111 Vazquez
Franchise - 113-112 Vazquez
Judges 114-111 Vazquez
114-111 Marquez
113-112 Vazquez
Vazquez wins by split decision!
Postfight: as it turns out, the knockdown in the final round may have determined the fight. Marquez is angrily disputing whether that should have been scored a knockdown. Also, he thought the low blow call was B S.
Marquez wants a rematch.
All smiles for Vazquez. He would take a rematch.
Uatu says better trilogy than Barerra Morales.
Press row all for Vazquez.
Bernstein has it a draw.
The ref gets an interview and defends his calls. The knockdown looked like the right call for sure.
Live Round by Round Coverage of Vazquez-Marquez III: The Tiebreaker on BoxingWatchers.com Tonight
If you are a boxing fan, you're going to try to do anything possible to get to a TV set that carries Showtime by 9 pm Eastern time tonight. But if you can't, make sure you bookmark us here at BoxingWatchers.com for live round by round updates on all the action (and there should be plenty) as Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez write the third chapter of their epic series.
29.2.08
Predictions: Vazquez vs. Marquez III, "The Tiebreaker"
Uatu says:
After watching the first two Vazquez Marquez fights again today, it is tough to know what to think. Uatu thinks Marquez is the better fighter, but even if that is true, it is not by a large margin. Marquez appears to have the hand speed advantage, but it is not an overwhelming one.
Can Marquez win by controlling the action with a jab and right and maintaining distance and not making the fight a war?
Would Marquez elect to go that route if he could?
Can Vazquez fight through the incoming fire of Marquez and physically wear down Marquez, a fighter who has been stopped before on more than one occasion?
Either way, there is going to be a lot of drama and suspense headed into the fight. The first two fights were as good as it gets. They were right up there with the Barrera-Morales fights and the Corrales-Castillo fights. They were a combination of high skill level, excellent conditioning, heart and guts.
A pick still has to be made. It's Marquez.
The Franchise says:
Boxing fans should be absolutely ecstatic these guys are meeting for the third time. I think the fight's tagline - The Tiebreaker - is absolutely fitting because these are two fighters who are unusually evenly matched.
Both men have hand speed and power in both hands. Both can take a punch and rally back after getting hurt. And while they both have excellent technique, neither is a defensive wizard, leading to lots of landed punches during their first two meetings.
There are differences, too. Marquez seems to have more options at his disposal on the outside and is a bit sharper with his combinations. Vazquez has a slight edge in raw power and has the edge when the fight is in close.
I almost hate to make a pick because this fight could play out any number of ways. Either man could hit the canvas, and it would not be surprising in the least if they both end up on the mat. It should be a fitting end to the trilogy, and though my head agrees with Uatu that Marquez us the better overall boxer by the slimmest of margins, my heart says Vazquez has the best chance of connecting with the one bomb that changes the fight. I'm going with Vazquez by KO.
After watching the first two Vazquez Marquez fights again today, it is tough to know what to think. Uatu thinks Marquez is the better fighter, but even if that is true, it is not by a large margin. Marquez appears to have the hand speed advantage, but it is not an overwhelming one.
Can Marquez win by controlling the action with a jab and right and maintaining distance and not making the fight a war?
Would Marquez elect to go that route if he could?
Can Vazquez fight through the incoming fire of Marquez and physically wear down Marquez, a fighter who has been stopped before on more than one occasion?
Either way, there is going to be a lot of drama and suspense headed into the fight. The first two fights were as good as it gets. They were right up there with the Barrera-Morales fights and the Corrales-Castillo fights. They were a combination of high skill level, excellent conditioning, heart and guts.
A pick still has to be made. It's Marquez.
The Franchise says:
Boxing fans should be absolutely ecstatic these guys are meeting for the third time. I think the fight's tagline - The Tiebreaker - is absolutely fitting because these are two fighters who are unusually evenly matched.
Both men have hand speed and power in both hands. Both can take a punch and rally back after getting hurt. And while they both have excellent technique, neither is a defensive wizard, leading to lots of landed punches during their first two meetings.
There are differences, too. Marquez seems to have more options at his disposal on the outside and is a bit sharper with his combinations. Vazquez has a slight edge in raw power and has the edge when the fight is in close.
I almost hate to make a pick because this fight could play out any number of ways. Either man could hit the canvas, and it would not be surprising in the least if they both end up on the mat. It should be a fitting end to the trilogy, and though my head agrees with Uatu that Marquez us the better overall boxer by the slimmest of margins, my heart says Vazquez has the best chance of connecting with the one bomb that changes the fight. I'm going with Vazquez by KO.
30.12.07
BoxingWatchers.com 2007 Fight of the Year: Vazquez-Marquez II
Since boxing history is full of exciting rematches and trilogies, it's hardly surprising that two men could put on a pair of Fight of the Year candidates in a single calendar year. That being said, there's no question that something special happened each time Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez faced off in 2007.
Far too often today's fights seem to please either action fans or purists while alienating the other group, but the first Vazquez-Marquez showdown in March was a treat for everyone. Closely fought from the get-go, Vazquez seemed to hold a narrow lead after seven rounds. One problem: a Marquez punch smashed his nose, and Israel was unable to continue.
When the rematch was scheduled for August, the obvious but inevitable question became whether or not the sequel could live up to the original. Both men delivered in spades, trading shots over six hard-fought rounds until Vazquez avenged his defeat with a KO. It was, as my brother Uatu put it, pretty rare to see two boxers with such high skill levels hit each other so hard and so often.
Naturally, the rubber match scheduled for March 2008 is highly anticipated, and with two close, exciting fights already in the books, it's really anyone's guess what might happen. That should pretty much sum up why Vazquez-Marquez II is BoxingWatchers.com's 2007 Fight of the Year.
Honorable Mention: If you wanted to hear 10,000 fans sound like 100,000, all you needed to do was be inside Boardwalk Hall for Taylor-Pavlik. A sizable contingent of The Ghost's supporters were on hand, but plenty of people cheered when the then-undefeated middleweight champion sent Pavlik to the mat early in the fight.
Of course Pavlik and his fans cheered last, and everyone on hand agreed it was a hell of a fight. And lest we dismiss it as just a slugfest, let's not forget that Taylor showed some nice boxing skills as well - he was ahead on all three cards when he was knocked out in the seventh. The return engagement will take place in Vegas in February, and the MGM Grand can only hope for the same atmosphere.
Another fight that paired two talented boxers in their primes but simply lacked the drama of the two fights above was Calzaghe-Kessler. The two undefeated Europeans squared off in a very well-fought bout, and the four and five-point margins on the judges' cards may not entirely reflect how hard Kessler made Calzaghe work for his win. Joe may need any lessons he learned if he ever lands the fight he wants with Bernard Hopkins.
Special "Most Like a Video Game" Honor: Bika-Codrington - Contender Season 3 Finale. I love EA's Fight Night series of video games, but the two-way bombs that land in the electronic world simply don't happen in real life. At least that's what I thought until I watched Sakio Bika and Jaidon Codrington connect with an insane number of power shots. No one watching learned anything about the fundamentals of boxing, but the fight completely blew away expectations and was absolutely enthralling television.
Far too often today's fights seem to please either action fans or purists while alienating the other group, but the first Vazquez-Marquez showdown in March was a treat for everyone. Closely fought from the get-go, Vazquez seemed to hold a narrow lead after seven rounds. One problem: a Marquez punch smashed his nose, and Israel was unable to continue.
When the rematch was scheduled for August, the obvious but inevitable question became whether or not the sequel could live up to the original. Both men delivered in spades, trading shots over six hard-fought rounds until Vazquez avenged his defeat with a KO. It was, as my brother Uatu put it, pretty rare to see two boxers with such high skill levels hit each other so hard and so often.
Naturally, the rubber match scheduled for March 2008 is highly anticipated, and with two close, exciting fights already in the books, it's really anyone's guess what might happen. That should pretty much sum up why Vazquez-Marquez II is BoxingWatchers.com's 2007 Fight of the Year.
Honorable Mention: If you wanted to hear 10,000 fans sound like 100,000, all you needed to do was be inside Boardwalk Hall for Taylor-Pavlik. A sizable contingent of The Ghost's supporters were on hand, but plenty of people cheered when the then-undefeated middleweight champion sent Pavlik to the mat early in the fight.
Of course Pavlik and his fans cheered last, and everyone on hand agreed it was a hell of a fight. And lest we dismiss it as just a slugfest, let's not forget that Taylor showed some nice boxing skills as well - he was ahead on all three cards when he was knocked out in the seventh. The return engagement will take place in Vegas in February, and the MGM Grand can only hope for the same atmosphere.
Another fight that paired two talented boxers in their primes but simply lacked the drama of the two fights above was Calzaghe-Kessler. The two undefeated Europeans squared off in a very well-fought bout, and the four and five-point margins on the judges' cards may not entirely reflect how hard Kessler made Calzaghe work for his win. Joe may need any lessons he learned if he ever lands the fight he wants with Bernard Hopkins.
Special "Most Like a Video Game" Honor: Bika-Codrington - Contender Season 3 Finale. I love EA's Fight Night series of video games, but the two-way bombs that land in the electronic world simply don't happen in real life. At least that's what I thought until I watched Sakio Bika and Jaidon Codrington connect with an insane number of power shots. No one watching learned anything about the fundamentals of boxing, but the fight completely blew away expectations and was absolutely enthralling television.
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