Rafael Marquez stopped fellow Mexican warrior Israel Vazquez in the third round of a short but bloody battle at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, evening the score in their explosive ring battles at 2-2.
The two fighters had previously engaged each other in one of the fiercest trilogies in the recent history of boxing but the wear and tear of those battles began to show in their fourth encounter.
Marquez, brother of Juan Manuel Marquez who is best known for his two epic battles against pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao, started strong and went after former three-time world champion Vazquez, opening up what boxing writer Mark Vester of boxingscene.com reported were small cuts above both eyes that eventually got much worse.
There were those who felt the cuts were a result of head-butts but referee Raul Caiz Jr saw it differently.
Marquez continued to be aggressive at the start of round three and opened up a cut with an accidental head-butt which quickly worsened. Marquez seized on the opportunity and hurt Vazquez before a cracking combination sent Vazquez down on his knees.
Vazquez beat the count but Marquez was all over him with a vicious assault forcing referee Caiz to step in and call a halt at 1:33 of the third round of a bout that was scheduled for twelve.
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