Vazquez vs. Marquez IV: Is that Really a Good Thing?
Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez will fight for a fourth time on May 22 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
It’s not often where a large portion of boxing fans evoke the “Too much of a good thing” principle, but the fourth Israel Vazquez vs. Rafael Marquez fight is causing a growing contingent of fans and insiders to wince in anticipation of this bout. This is strange considering their third bout in March of ’08 was perhaps their most scintillating encounter. Since when do fans shy away from great fights? Typically, fight fans are not the most empathetic group.
The ferocity of the first three fights pushed these two warriors to their absolute limits. This is all the more amazing when realizing their thresholds are amazingly high. They smashed each other over the course of three barnburners, resulting in untold battering. Both have been shelved since that third bout, only recently emerging to register comeback wins. By May 22, both will have had one fight in 26 months.
While Vazquez suffered a detached retina in their third bout, the true damage absorbed by both warriors will probably not manifest until down the road. There is a palpable sense that both guys are not the same. Even though he won 2 out of 3 bouts, Vazquez seems even the worse for wear. There’s something different about him, something about the way he looks. It’s as if his face looks different. It’s a little alarming.
This fourth fight would be like if Ali and Frazier met again in 1978. It simply would have been uncalled for, as is this fight. Perhaps not since Ali-Frazier have two fighters combined so perfectly to create thrilling action in the ring. That action ended up extolling a great cost on both men. We can see the results of this mayhem on Ali and Frazier and would like to avoid a similar fate for these Mexican legends.
The window has closed. Their time has passed. While greats like Vazquez and Marquez can never be written-off completely, boxing has moved on without them, and the junior featherweight/featherweight elite has likely surpassed them both. These men are entering their 17th year as pros, both with over a decade at the world-class level. A Lazarus-like re-ascension to the top for either man seems almost unfathomable now.
The possible disastrous downside so outweighs the marginal upside that it would be nice to see this bout get scratched. What is the best-case scenario here, another thrilling fight? We’ve seen them do it three times already. The loser will likely be finished and more battered, while the winner would soldier on, likely to take more beatings. In other words, there is little to be gained in a fourth fight except to quench the thirst of bloodthirsty fans and exact more damage on two faded greats. It’s unfortunate that the two greatest junior featherweights of this era spent all their remaining resolve and resources solely on each other, but that is the reality we have here.
This fourth fight should instill a foreboding feeling among observers. With both of their reflexes even further diminished by age, mileage, and inactivity, this could be their most brutal fight yet. It takes a Quixotic leap-of-faith to presume both will somehow emerge unscathed from such a fight. You almost have to hope one or both of them has lost their ability to sponge up punches by the hundreds. A quick fight would be far more desirable than another 12 round punch-a-thon.
Boxing is a sport that can take you and spit you out onto the ground. After witnessing this for over a century, you can start to see the telltale signs before the catastrophes occur. Both boxers have arrived at a critical yet often-indecipherable point in their careers. In this sport, boxers can reach a point where continuing their career becomes extremely risky. For every George Foreman, there are 100 other guys babbling on street corners. Vazquez and Marquez are at that crucial impasse.
There was a time not too long ago when fans eagerly anticipated seeing Roy Jones, Israel Vazquez, and others. Now, it’s like watching a piece of wood being fed into a woodchipper. The good feeling just isn’t there anymore with these fighters. It’s like we’re watching a skier wiping out and hoping he doesn’t crack his head on a rock. When at that point, matchmaking takes on even more importance, and in this case, it may have failed.
On behalf of all boxing fans, I praise both fighters for all the great fights over the years. Both have been great sportsmen and gentlemen. Let’s hope these men do not fall through all the filters that are supposed to be in place to protect fighters. Those in charge on May 22 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles should be on high alert. Sometimes people need to be protected from themselves.
