By Jake Donovan
It may not be live, but it's certainly a lot better than going dark for the first Saturday of February. In fact, it may be even better than Showtime's original plans for the time slot.
As if the March 1 rubber match between super bantamweight archrivals Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez didn't already sell itself, SHOWTIME will help remind the boxing world of what makes this trilogy so special when they rebroadcast the first and second fights back to back on Saturday, February 2 (11PM ET/PT).
The makeshift doubleheader helps fill the void left behind by the relocation of the oft-postponed heavyweight clash between Oleg Maskaev and Samuel Peter, originally to air on the date, with Madison Square Garden rumored as the venue. The date fell through once it was realized that MSG was not about to air three major boxing cards in a five week span. January 19 (Roy Jones' unanimous decision win over Felix Trinidad) and February 23 (Wladimir Klitschko-Sultan Ibragimov) were already locked in, while Maskaev-Peter, while signed to fight each other, never had an official home.
The bout has since changed venues, in fact countries, and networks, as the heavyweight bout nobody seems to want will now take place March 8 in Cancun, Mexico, with HBO to televise.
Vazquez-Marquez III will air exactly 52 weeks after their memorable, if inconclusive, first clash at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA, which will also play to the rubber match.
Marquez made his 122 lb. debut in the first fight w/ Vazquez after serving a four-year reign as a bantamweight beltholder. Vazquez entered their first fight as the defending world super bantamweight champion, but was forced to concede honors to Marquez after seven punishing rounds of action in one of 2007's first Fight of the Year contenders.
Vazquez suffered a broken nose in round two, but came back to drop Marquez in the third. The moment was short-lived, with Marquez immediately regaining control of the fight. Unable to breathe, Vazquez attempted to fight through the pain, but gave in at the end of the seventh. The California-based Mexican insisted that he was still the better fighter and that once his wounds healed, he would regain his title.
Five months and a new trainer later, Vazquez' words proved to be prophetic. After trainer Freddie Roach not only left his side, but publicly called for Vazquez' retirement for fear of having already taking new punishment, "El Magnifico" enlisted the services of Rudy Perez, longtime trainer of Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera.
Many felt that the change in trainers and quick turnaround – five months to recover from such a grueling war – would be too much for Vazquez to overcome against one of the game's absolute best in Marquez. But Vazquez proved his critics wrong, dominating the action and regaining his linear crown in a fight even better than the first, so good that it was named BoxingScene's 2007 Fight of the Year. Vazquez once again sent Marquez to the canvas, this time averting attention from the fact that he was cut over both eyes and mere seconds away from a possible medical stoppage.
Marquez and promoter Gary Shaw were displeased with the stoppage, but their brief protest fell on deaf ears. The best either could hope for was a rubber match and perhaps one last chance at super bantamweight supremacy, which is precisely what they will get on March 1, just one month after Showtime kicks off Super Bowl weekend with Super Replay Saturday.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His feature column runs every Tuesday, and his Prospect of the Week series runs every Thursday. Jake is also BoxingScene's official Telefutura correspondent.
Please feel free to submit any comments or questions to Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
