With Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez fourth fight only days away it got me thinking about other great trilogies in recent boxing history (by the way, is there a word for a four fight series?).
Here is the list of the Rumble’s greatest trilogies of the last twenty years.
1. Israel Vazquez vs. Rafael Marquez: A boxer-puncher (Marquez) against a brawler-puncher (Vazquez.) This series has had everything; stoppages, change in momentum, bravery, last-second comebacks, and real drama. Each fight in the series was better than the last, culminating in the unforgettable round twelve of the third fight. These two were amongst the pound-for-pound elite and the fights were both technically pleasing and had unmatched violence. The only negative in the series was that it happened so quickly and we didn’t get to see either man in with other opposition or see their careers progress. They simply exploded into one another. Amazingly, they are doing it again.
2. Manny Pacquiao vs. Erik Morales: Some people dismiss this one because Pacquiao scored stoppages in the last two fights, but this series was simply incredible. In the first fight we saw the old lion, Erik Morales, give the performance of his career; a disciplined masterpiece that tamed Pacquiao. Pacquiao fought bravely and almost stopped Morales during the final round when Morales turned Southpaw as a display of machismo. In the rematch Morales had early success before Pacquiao started focusing on the body and stopped the legendary Morales for the first time in his career. And though the final match lasted only three rounds, Morales fought bravely against the suddenly improved Pacquiao. We saw a declining legend versus a burgeoning one in this incredible series.
3. Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Erik Morales: Never have two fighters been more evenly matched. The first fight might have been the best of the decade and the next two weren’t far behind. It’s almost impossible to pick a winner in any of the fights, they were so competitive. This one had the added bonus of true malice between the two champions. Simply an incredible series.
4. Evander Holyfield vs. Riddick Bowe: Do you remember when heavyweights used to fight like this? It’s almost impossible to imagine such sustained action and technique from the big men, but Holyfield and Bowe went to war over three terrific fights. Bowe, despite being tall, was an excellent infighter, and managed to better Holyfield throughout the series. Still, Holyfield was so brave and game it was a marvel to watch.
5. Arturo Gatti vs. Micky Ward: The only thing that holds this series back is that the participants weren’t quite at the level of the above fighters. Both Gatti and Ward were stone-tough and made great fights, but neither was truly great. The first fight was the best, with Ward scoring a knockdown with his specialty; a liver shot. It’s always annoying seeing unrealistic boxing movies; reality was unrealistic in this one.
The only other great four fight series in recent memory (or at least the only one I can think of) was Bobby Chacon’s rivalry with Rafael “Bazooka” Limon. On Saturday night we’ll add another to that list.
