Vazquez-Marquez "Everything Boxing Should Be"
This past Saturday night Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez fought for the third time in 367 days. In the ring two titles were on the line. The minor title was Vazquez's WBC Super Bantamweight title, the more important one was the Championship of each other. And after three Fights, you can realistically say that one has yet to be decided. The Ring record book will forever show Vazquez the winner via a 12-round split decision, and holding a 2-1 advantage in the trilogy between them until they meet a fourth time.
During the course of the 25-rounds they've shared in the Ring, what stands out even more than the excitement the fights provided, is how they exemplify everything that professional boxing should be. The first one being, winning really means something to them, evidenced by their preparedness. They were in excellent shape, and showed intelligence and versatility while in the ring. Both Marquez & Vazquez not only listened to what their corners told them, they implemented it in the following round, that is until the other made the proper adjustment.
Marquez, who is at his best fighting on the outside behind his hard jab and punishing right cross, showed Vazquez, who is an in-fighter who likes to throw his big left-hook to the body and head, that he too has an inside game and is capable of hurting him. On the other hand, Vazquez showed he has an outside game, and disrupted Marquez with his jab while pushing the fight. I can't remember the last time I saw a Fighter like Marquez who could box and move, yet still could take your head off. Nor have I seen many swarmers like Vazquez who isn't a fish out of water from outside, let alone in the same Ring together in what has to be an early favorite for 2008 Fight of The Year.
Marquez and Vazquez fought like true warriors. Both had the stamina and heart to go as long as it took to get the job done, both got up off the floor to come back in the same round to either win it or stabilize it enough not to yield the mental or tactical advantage to the other. In the process they threw every punch in the book, the way it was meant to be delivered, and with power. And they both showed they're quite capable of thinking on their feet. In fact, not only is the Marquez-Vazquez trilogy as good as any other in boxing history, there isn't one single thing that can be asked of a Championship fight that wasn't delivered. And we just might get to see it one more time.
Labels: Frank Lotierzo, Israel Vazquez, Rafael Marquez, Super Bantamweight
posted by Frank Lotierzo @ 3:45 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Great post, Frank. I couldn't agree more. Three perfect fights, all with every ingredient you could want. Let's hope that these fights are remembered as more than one-dimensional shootouts. The moment to moment concentration and skill level were borderline unbelievable. And, as long as we're hoping for things, let's hope that the BWAA corrects its gaff in not naming Vazquez-Marquez 2 the 2007 fight of the year by rewarding the third fight with that honor in 2008.
Yes, an excellent post. The fight was two days ago and I'm still awestruck.
There's a steep curve in boxing, and this fight is at its apex. At the bottom there's what you see at a fight in an armory in Dorchester in which one guy with a losing record but some brains in his head keeps ducking and the other guy, with a winning record and a fearsome body but not much idea of what to do other than what worked before, keeps swinging over the top of him. The same thing happens over and over for four rounds, and the judges rightly give it to the guy who swung and missed 100 times, mostly for swinging and missing, but also (less rightly) for having a winning record or being from Massachusetts or being Irish. You sit there, twisting in your seat, not breathing properly, trying to get the guy just once to step back, see what's happening, and do something other than throw his right hand as hard as he can over the top and then shake his head in baffled rage because it didn't land--again.
From there to Vazquez-Marquez is a steep upward climb through almost the entirety of the pro fight world, past guys making rudimentary one-note adjustments in six- and eight-rounders, past gifted heavyweights who can't follow the plan and more ordinary ones who win because they can (like Maskaev, which is one reason why I expect him to beat the eminently beatable Peter), past guys who have the physical tools or the mental ability but don't put them together, past those who have both and do put them together--like Calzaghe, who's a complete fighter in his prime, and Hopkins, who has a great fighting mind but may or may not have the physical ability anymore or the willingness to do the dangerous thing if it's the best way to win, as opposed to not getting hurt--and so on up to fighters like those Frank describes in his post, who are not only fighting their hearts out at a very high level every step of the way but are also adjusting, listening to their corners, stretching their styles to fit the extreme demands placed on them by fighting a similarly complete fighter. It doesn't happen all that often that even two very good fighters give you a fight that takes place entirely at that peak. To get three in a row from the same two guys in such a relatively short time is so rare, especially these days, that even while you're watching you're already regretting that you're not going to get to see anything like it again for years, if ever.
One of the things I understand to be true of these two fighters is that they not only have natural aptitude and good training, pride in their professions and dedication to their craft,but that they're also at the exact point in their careers where they have learned everything they're ever going to learn. Because they're not yet wealthy, however, and not yet old (although both "old pros") they're willing to knowingly agree to put themselves on the line when matched up against each other. "Knowingly" is the key here, of course, since dumber fighters also face risks (worse ones, since they're dumber), but don't realize how perilous their situations are. Vazquez and Marquez aren’t old enough or rich enough to think, "Who needs this?," although that's a stage that even the most unyielding fighter (Chavez and Duran spring sadly to mind) eventually comes to, given time.
That's a good point, Charles. It's rare that two fighters at the peak of their powers will look at each other and their matchup and recognize that this is as good as they're ever going to be, and that they need the other guy to get there. That mature realization, if the fighter isn't too far along in his career (like Hopkins, who's still brilliant but who also isn't going all-in against anyone at this point), can produce the kind of total investment that we've seen in these three fights from both guys. It's almost unscriptable. If you had limitless power and could match up any two other people in the business, could you force this situation into being? Even if you got the best, you'd be unlikely to pull it off.
Carlo, I don't think you could force the situation into being. One of the best, and least predictable, things about boxing is that fighters (even perfectly matched ones) are never quite the same guys fight to fight. Those subtle gradations are just about impossible to monitor precisely. Obviously you can find guys who are stylistically compatible, and if they're excellent fighters you'll probably get a good fight. But there are so many variables in play that only a novice would be absolutely sure he'd booked a sure thing. There's got to be some serendipity involved, especially in a multi-fight series.
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