Rafael Marquez stopped Israel Vazquez last night in three gory rounds at the Staples Center in Los Angles to conclude their grand guignol after four torturous fights.
By the time the bout was stopped Vazquez looked like he belonged more on the pages of Fangoria than Boxing Digest. A gaping cut opened over his left eye in the opening round, followed by a gash over the right just two rounds later. Marquez floored Vazquez, 44-5 (32), in the third, and Vazquez took the 8-count streaming blood from both wounds. He rose and tried to retaliate, but Marquez, Mexico City, swarmed him, and Vazquez, despite the inept postfight translation indicating otherwise, clearly could not see. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. wisely stepped in with Vazquez, 125.5, against the ropes blindly taking punishment. It was an ugly thing to see, as was the fight itself.
The first two rounds saw Marquez, a thick 125.5, boxing from the perimeter and landing shots with ease, although he seemed stiff and lacked the dynamism of his bantamweight days. Vazquez, Huntington Park, California, via Mexico City, did his best to mix it up, but he no longer has the coordination or skill to battle even a faded boxer like Marquez.
Vazquez showed little in the ring and exited with more damage for his troubles. His cut looked like it had been inflicted by a hatchet, and the protruding lump of scar tissue above his left eye is so delicate that is will split at the first sign of contact.
Boxing is not for the squeamish, of course, but Vazquez, 32, risks permanent damage if he continues fighting. Vazquez sounded like all fighters in denial after the bout, placing his loss squarely on the cuts, and sounding hopeful that a surgical procedure might prevent carnage in the future. as sad as it might sound, Vazquez, with only two fights in over two years, thinks all he needs is a little rest. It seems likely that Vazquez will continue in the hurt business. Unfortunately, if Vazquez resumes his career, he will keep racking up medical bills for his wounds, which will then eat into his paychecks, which will, in turn, force him to fight again. He needs to be dissuaded from ever doing so again.
Despite the fact that he scored the TKO, Marquez, now 39-5 (35), is also, in a sense, a casualty. With the kind of pride and confidence that brooks no contradiction, Marquez, 35, actually believes his victory last night was an accomplishment. Worse still, he might be fooled into thinking that he can compete with elite featherweights. Marquez looked slow, throwing wide, telegraphed punches, and at times he moved as if his legs were fettered in chains. Only the fact that Vazquez resembled a hologram of his peak form allowed Marquez to mimic the skills he once showed with such flair as a world-class prizefighter.
It would be dismaying to see Marquez lace up against any top fighter at 126 pounds. Vic Darchinyan has been mentioned as a possible opponent for Marquez, which is not as appalling since Darchinyan would have to move up two divisions, but anyone else would be worth cringing over.
Neither Gary Shaw nor Golden Boy seem interested, thankfully, in staging a fifth bout between Marquez and Vazquez, and Showtime will probably not agree to put two shot fighters?one of whom bleeds as freely as a hemophiliac in the ring?on its air again. We should all be thankful for that. And we should all be thankful for the courage and skill Vazquez and Marquez have shown over the last decade. Now we can look forward to all their yesterdays.
