SHOWTIME COMES WITH SUPER MAIN EVENT San Francisco, CA- This Saturday, WBC jr. featherweight (122 lbs.) champion Rafael Marquez makes his first defense against the man he took the belt from Israel Vasquez. The first fight took place last March and it met the high expectations boxing fans had. It had the perfect mix of two world caliber fighters with first class power going toe to toe. Vasquez, 40-3 (30 KOs), decked Marquez early in the bout as the two power punchers traded vicious blows at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. Marquez, 37-3 (33 KOs), brother of Super Featherweight star Juan Manuel Marquez, kept his poise and like all fighters trained under Nacho Beristain made a comeback. BROKEN NOSE WAS TOO MUCH FOR VASQUEZ Marquez then landed a punch that broke Vasquez’s nose as blood began to pour out it. But Vasquez is no stranger to adversity. In his fight prior to the Marquez bout, he traded knockdowns and blood with Jhonny Gonzalez, the current WBO bantamweight (118) titlist. Down on all scorecards, Vasquez came back to stop Gonzalez in the 10th round. However, the nose injury was too much for Vasquez to handle and he said he could not continue. STORY OF THE REMATCH IS ON VASQUEZ Rafael Marquez has been one of the most consistent professionals in the entire game since bursting onto the scene back in 2001. He has quietly built an impressive resume as a pound for pound fighter. All Marquez does is knock his opponents out. You can expect the same from Marquez this Saturday. On the other hand, there are many questions that face Israel Vasquez. The first is how he will adjust with new trainer, Rudy Perez, trainer for Marco Antonio Barrera. Vasquez had left Roach for Justin Fortune, who split from Roach and ended up with Perez. A long time staple of the Wild Card Gym, as he was a main sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao, Israel is now training in a different gym with Perez as his new trainer. ISRAEL HAS TAKEN SOME SHOTS In Vasquez’s last two bouts, against Marquez and Gonzalez, he took many hard punches that may have caused some damages. At 29, and with 45 fights, Vasquez could be a spent bullet who has fought one too many wars (don’t forget his brutal encounter with Oscar Larios in their rematch). Don’t count El Magnifico” out, but Marquez appears to be in his prime, even though he is 32, Rafael has not had the wear and tear the last few fights may have taken from Vasquez. ISRAEL TAKES DA’ PUNCH, IT’LL BE SPECIAL When you have two elite fighters facing off for the world championship, it usually comes down to which fighter takes the better punch. Marquez has always had a shaky chin and Vasquez bruises up easily. In terms of skills and heart, both fighters are some of the best in the world. If Vasquez had not broken his nose and retired in the 7th, the bout had all the makings to be the fight of the year. The same can be said in the rematch if Vasquez can get hit a little less frequently. NEGATIVITY TOPS “MAJOR” SPORTS WORLD Tuning into Sportscenter, the three main headlines that have dominated the sports world have been–Michael Vick’s dog fighting and killing indictment (NFL), Barry Bonds’ pursuit of 755 home runs (MLB), and Tim Donaghy’s point shaving incident (NBA). All three events in the three major sports in America have put black eyes on each sport. Boxing, long known as being the “black eye” of sports, should be put on display this weekend as two positive figures of the sport set to do battle. BOXING AT THE VERY BEST TO FOLLOW Both Marquez and Vasquez represent all that is great with boxing as two fighters who are willing to go to war again because that is what the fans want. Add to that a mega fall with huge bouts like-Jermain Taylor vs. Kelly Pavlick, Manny Pacquiao vs. Marco Antonio Barrera, Joe Calzaghe vs. Mikkel Kessler, Shane Mosley vs. Miguel Cotto, and Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton to just to name a few. Boxing could be well on its way back to respectability in the sports world—heck the other sports are not doing it right now.
