Rafael Marquez vs Israel Vasquez II

[achillesthegreat]

Another great fight! Unbelievable stuff.

Marquez never got his legs under him after he was hurt in the third.

Vasquez was knocked down in the 5th. Their legs never tangled. Vasquez was jumping in and was made to pay. It appears the canvas may have been a little wet as you see Vasquez left foot lose its gripping. It was Vasquez fault for being off balance and out of position. Anyway, its a moot point.

I don't think the stoppage was bad. Marquez was clearly hurt for a sustained period of time. At the same time Vasquez was clearly in turbo mode and wasn't stopping. Marquez was punching but he had nothing left to give. He should have taken a knee, held or used some other survival tricks like moving his feet, head etc You can understand how it is hard for him and his people because he was still fighting but this is a case where simply fighting back isn't enough.

Don't forget the winner of this trilogy is the WBC and IBF champ. They may not be fighting for the IBF belt but they own it. Vasquez never lost that belt in the ring, instead he fought Larios for his WBC belt. It's like Calzaghe fighting Kessler, even though three belts are up for grabs, the winner will unofficially own the IBF belt too.

Boxing continues to fight back. I think this fight was one for the real fans though, not the mainstream.

[China_hand_Joe]

Joe Calzaghe moves up a place in the P4P rankings as Marquez drops surely

[pioterbezkitu]

Calzaghe belongs to the "Most title defences without fighting somebody with a pulse" P4P list

[achillesthegreat]

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A picture says a thousand words.

[Guido]

Bring on fight #3 (!) -- the first two fights combine together to make the best fight of the year ever. I'm exaggerating, but I've never yelled at a TV screen so loudly -- kudos to these 121lb beasts.

[the mean machine]

Too bad, both endings were inconclusive, bring on number III

[brooklyn1550]

Great fight, great for boxing...can't wait until the 3rd

[achillesthegreat]

Too bad, both endings were inconclusive, bring on number III
Were the inconclusive? I think that is just the sort of drama these two create.

It's like Corrales and Castillo. LOADS of moaning about both.

It just shows the unpredicitbility of this sport and the intangiables that are overlooked.

The sort pain and punishment these guys bring to the ring will create controversy.

[Galaxy]

i hope both guys take a good rest, then take an easy fight before a 3rd fight happens.

[IntentionalButt]

Were the inconclusive? I think that is just the sort of drama these two create.

It's like Corrales and Castillo. LOADS of moaning about both.

It just shows the unpredicitbility of this sport and the intangiables that are overlooked.

The sort pain and punishment these guys bring to the ring will create controversy.
I have no complaints about the series so far - zero. It would nice in a perfect world however to have the tiebreaker won in completely unambiguous fashion - either a crystal-clear decision or a legit out-cold-at-the-count-of-ten KO.

Then again, I'd have NO compunctions with an outcome that led to a trilogy-plus.

[Boom_Boom]

Vasquez was knocked down in the 5th. Their legs never tangled. Vasquez was jumping in and was made to pay. It appears the canvas may have been a little wet as you see Vasquez left foot lose its gripping. It was Vasquez fault for being off balance and out of position. Anyway, its a moot point.


How can that be a knockdown when even you say it was from a slip
Vasquez was never even touched
they had an exchange before the slip and marquez had the worst of it

[IntentionalButt]

How can that be a knockdown when even you say it was from a slip
Vasquez was never even touched
they had an exchange before the slip and marquez had the worst of it

There was a good clean punch a few seconds before he fell, but IMO the two actions were too far removed and too much happened in between to conclusively say the punch directly caused the fall. I lean towards thinking it did not.