By Jake Donovan
Photo © Chris Cozzone/FightWireImages.com
It may not be wise to send a boy to do a man's job, but these days you can't even send a heavyweight to do the sport's heavy lifting.
Thank goodness for Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez. They may only be super bantamweights, but their fights come with heavyweight implications, often providing satisfactory results – even when not matched against one another.
Fortunately for boxing fans, they are once again matched against one another – for the third time in as many bouts when they square off in their rubber match this weekend (Saturday, Showtime, 9PM ET/PT) in a bout aptly named "The Tiebreaker."
Their first bout came a year ago to the weekend, and just at the right time. The heavyweight division was in worse shape than when Lennox Lewis retired three years prior. Wladimir Klitschko was gearing up for a mandatory title fight against undeserving Ray Austin. Samuel Peter was enduring the politics of the sport, while waiting for Oleg Maskaev to run out of reasons to not sign a contract to fight him. Shannon Briggs had just prolonged his inevitable defeat to Sultan Ibragimov, and Nicolay Valuev's American tour was one and done as he was gearing up for an April fight in Germany against Ruslan Chagaev.
Not much was happening anywhere else in the sport through the first two months of 2007. In consecutive weekends, Ricky Hatton and Jorge Arce both found themselves in rare boring encounters against opponents refusing to engage. Shane Mosley resurfaced among the welterweight fray with a dominant points win over Luis Collazo in a bout that created little buzz before, during or after. Aside from Chad Dawson's coming-of-age – and off-the-canvas – points win over Tomasz Adamek, the rest of the light heavyweight division was fighting for space on the back of milk cartons more so than in the ring, much less against one another.
It was a dismal time for the sport, as 2006 was as bad as it's been for the American boxing scene, and little else was being hyped up in 2007 aside from that May 5 event.
Then came March 3, and the oft-overlooked super bantamweight division to the rescue.
Marquez (37-4, 33KO) moved up to the super bantamweight after having enjoyed a four-year run as a bantamweight titlist. Regarded as among the sport's most complete fighters, the Mexican boxer-puncher sought no tune-up for 122 lb. debut, going straight for the top spot in facing Vazquez, who had just completed a year as the division's linear champ.
Vazquez had spent nearly his entire career at super bantamweight, and was coming off of a 2006 campaign which earned him a high honorable mention for Fighter of the Year, capped by a knockout win over Jhonny Gonzalez in a bout where he was twice floored before rallying back to stop Gonzalez in ten rounds. It was only because his linear-title win over Oscar Larios in their December 2005 rubber match came one month early that Vazquez didn't snag top honors in '06, but was still enjoying a hell of a ride and a nine-fight win streak entering his March 2007 defense against Marquez.
Despite Vazquez' lofty credentials and championship status, it was Marquez who entered their first fight as a slight betting favorite. The oddsmakers wound up getting it right, but it was no walk in the park for Marquez, who was forced to climb off the canvas to rally back and force Vazquez into submission after seven brutal rounds of two-way action at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. Vazquez was rallying back in the sixth and seventh rounds, but was forced to quit after an increasing inability to breathe through a broken nose he suffered way back in round two.
It was an anti-climactic ending to an otherwise fantastic battle, one that joined Michael Katsidis' five-round multi-knockdown slugfest with Graham Earl as the leading Fight of the Year candidates. Vazquez danced as hard as he could before eventually opting for the exit, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of boxing sadists thirsting for more blood. The loss also had a lasting effect on trainer Freddie Roach, who would go on to publicly fear for Vazquez' well being as he would remove himself from the fold prior to the August rematch with Marquez, believing that five months wasn't enough time for Vazquez' wounds to heal.
Freddie's loss – as well as all of those who believed him, and placed their money on Marquez to not only win, but possibly send his Mexican rival into retirement just a few months shy of his 30th birthday.
Marquez entered the rematch as a considerable betting favorite, but it was Vazquez who would dominate the action before gaining revenge. Once again, the matchup came at the right time. The sport had recovered from "The World Awaits" just enough to be treated to breakthrough performances by Kelly Pavlik (KO7 Edison Miranda), Miguel Cotto (KO10 Zab Judah) and Paul Williams (UD12 Antonio Margarito) in consecutive months. The scheduled for the second-half of the year, particularly the final four months, was beginning to shape up, leaving boxing fans anxious for the action that lied ahead.
The only downside was that boxing fans would have to wait until the end of September before enduring a schedule loaded with fluidity and significant matches from 130 to Cruiserweight.
The upside was that, prior to the brief hiatus, the sport went out with a bang on August 4.
Up north, David Diaz and Erik Morales waged lightweight war for 12 rounds in a battle that would easily rank among the best fights in any other year. Because it went head-to-head with Vazquez-Marquez II, it didn't even finish as the best fight of the night.
Much like their first bout, expectations were exceedingly high for their rematch in the border-town of Hidalgo, Texas. Much like their first fight, Vazquez and Marquez saw, and raised the ante, outdoing the action produced in their March classic and pretty much any other fight that took place in 2007. Much like the first fight, the third round would provide the evening's most memorable two way action. And much like the first fight, Vazquez once again introduced Marquez to the canvas.
Unlike the first fight, Vazquez didn't stop until he finished the job and regained his crown. Because unlike the first fight, Vazquez didn't have to contend with a broken nose; just severe lacerations over both eyes.
The entire six-round affair was memorable as a whole, but it was the third round that left fans breathless, both in attendance and watching at home on SHOWTIME. Vazquez rocked Marquez early in the round with a left hook, which some prematurely suspected was the beginning of the end. Marquez showed there was no quit in him, coming back with numbing right hand shots to temporarily swing momentum back in his favor. The tide would shift throughout the round, with the two never letting up until the bell.
As if it wasn't already suspected going in, it was at the moment that everyone knew there was no way the bout was lasting twelve rounds. After the fourth and fifth round, some questioned if it would even last six.
It wouldn't.
Vazquez was on the verge of suffering his second-straight injury-induced stoppage, as the ringside physician expressed concern over the cuts over both of his eyes. This time, Vazquez wasn't seeking a doctor's note; he wanted to win back his super bantamweight crown, and was determined to walk through hell to get it.
Bad news for Marquez, who felt his fury early in the sixth round as a left hook sent him to the canvas for the second time in their two-fight series. Marquez recovered enough to beat the eight-count, but no longer possessed the ability to keep Vazquez off of him. Referee Lupe Garcia recognized as much, jumping in to rescue Marquez from further punishment.
The blood was literally still flowing from Vazquez' face when talks of a rubber match had already begun. This time around, the diminutive warriors were given a whopping seven months between wars. It was enough time for Vazquez' multiple wounds to once again heal. It was enough time for Marquez to shake off the effects of the brutal knockout loss, his first in seven years and sixteen fights.
But their rubber match once again comes just in time. Much like the start of 2007, this year begins with not a whole heck of a lot happening. From Paulie Malignaggi's close call against Herman Ngoudjo to Wladimir Klitschko jabbing his way to the winner's circle against Sultan Ibragimov, every major bout of 2008 to date has ended in a decision. Not even knockout artist Kelly Pavlik could rack up his 10th straight win inside the distance, instead setting for a 12-round decision for his second win against Jermain Taylor in as many tries.
Some of the bouts have been entertaining, namely Pavlik-Taylor II. But while the sport also needs chess matches, nothing gets the juices flowing like a good old-fashioned slugfest.
There's no better way to enter March Badness than with an all-out war that finally takes the fight out of the hands of the judges - and there are no two better candidates to hire for the task than Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez.
IN SEARCH OF THE NEXT MIDDLEWEIGHT CHALLENGER
Less than a week after some hack on BoxingScene penned a piece calling for the next great middleweight challenger to emerge, undefeated linear middleweight king Kelly Pavlik found himself looking for ANY middleweight contender to sign on for his planned June 7 title defense.
The original plan hit the scrap pile after John Duddy went life and death in his perceived tune-up against Walid Smichet this past Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Duddy escaped with a somewhat controversial majority decision, but more germane to the plot was the deep cut inside of his left eyelid, which will most likely leave the Irishman on the disabled list long enough to remove himself from the Pavlik sweepstakes for the time being.
With promoter Bob Arum determined to have his kid fight three more times this year, the hunt is on for a replacement opponent. The three names being mentioned are Germany's Felix Sturm, unbeaten New York-based Dominican Giovanni Lorenzo and Randy Griffin, Philly-born but now fighting out of Louisville, KY.
For admires of alphabet hardware, Sturm would be the most attractive option of the three. The 29-year old German possesses one of those shiny titles; the only downside is that he's scheduled to defend it in April against undefeated Aussie Jamie Pittman. Of course, with the right offer all boxing contracts are made to be broken. But Sturm has yet to receive the type of offer to entice him to travel stateside ever since getting screwed out of a decision against Oscar de la Hoya in their June 2004 bout. With Arum's recent announcement that the June 7 bout will not air on PPV, it's doubtful that enough loot is raised to convince Sturm to update his passport and travel abroad.
Some have suggested that Lorenzo's Hispanic ties could have a positive effect on the weekend, with the planned bout taking place on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day parade. One problem with that – Lorenzo is Dominican, not Puerto Rican. The same Taino blood runs through his veins, but it's highly doubtful that anyone – particularly Boricuas – fall for that sales pitch.
That's only one problem. A greater concern is his less than stellar resume. The former 2000 Olympian is entering year seven as a pro, but hasn't faced so much as a Telemundo-level opponent through 26 fights. To go from the minor leagues to a flamethrower like Kelly Pavlik without any batting practice is a recipe for disaster.
That would leave Griffin, by far the least attractive of the three, but quite possibly the most viable option. Griffin proved his worth late last year, fighting Felix Sturm to a 12-round draw in a fight that could've been – and was - scored either way. Coupled with his dominant points win over Maselino Masoe and robbery of a draw against James Odebe Toney in his prior fights, Griffin is actually more qualified to contend for the middleweight crown than, say Lorenzo.
His aggression and modest punching power would serve as the perfect complement to Pavlik's all-action style. At age 31 and seven years in as a pro, it's not like Griffin is a work in progress. Nor would he expect to flourish being buried deep in Don King's vast stable. It's basically now-or-never for "The Gentleman," which hopefully HBO or Showtime will recognize a chance to secure the fight sooner than later and allow Pavlik and the middleweight division to resume action at the top level.
Of course, nothing is stopping anyone from fast-forwarding to a Pavlik-Arthur Abraham showdown. It's doubtful the bout becomes a major pay-per-view attraction, not any more so than it would already be now. So why not now? (A rhetorical question, though sadly we already know the answer)
NO MORE OMAR?!
Well, they did it. After creating perhaps television's all-time greatest character nearly six years ago, the powers-that-be behind HBO's The Wire decided to kill off Omar in Episode 8.
The move threatened to produce the same catastrophic results that came with Simon Adebisi getting whacked after four seasons on HBO's past cult-classic, Oz. But all praises to David Simon and company, who successfully tied Omar's death into the rest of the episode, one that was by far the best of the season.
With the penultimate episode of each season often being the best, almost always outshining the season finale, look for next week's edition to blow everyone away – figuratively and literally. Having already killed off two major characters this season, nobody is safe in the final two episodes, the finale marking the absolute end of a television show many critics hail registers far and away as the greatest among all current series.
RUSSIANS ARE COMING… BUT ONE STILL ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE
Undefeated junior welterweight Dmitry Salita returns to the ring this Thursday in New York City, in his first bout since parting ways with DiBella Entertainment. Fabian Luque is now the official opponent, after past reports have suggested Midwestern journeyman Jermaine White as the sacrificial lamb.
Salita defend the subpar opponent selection , citing his 11-month inactive period in justifying the tune-up, as means to shake off ring rust before moving on to bigger and better things.
Maybe it's just me, but Salita's entire career appears to be one long tune-up heading nowhere.
One bout of note on the mid-week card is that of another Dmitry – or in his case, Dimitri, as in junior bantamweight Dimitri Kilirov. He takes on Cecilio Santos in something of a stay-busy fight, with a win possibly resulting in a summer showdown with Cristian Mijares. The two share at least one common opponent – Jose Navarro, with both beating the former Olympian in back-to-back fights, Kirilov defeating him last October while Mijares impressing fans with his distance win a couple of Saturdays ago.
The potential matchup should prove to be a fun, fast-paced chess match, though of course the winner doesn't claim divisional bragging rights without facing Fernando Montiel.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Jake can be contacted at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .