By Matthew Hurley: Their bruised and battered faces said it all. Both Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez somehow found a last gasp of energy to face the assembled media after their thrilling rubber match, won by Vazquez on a split decision. The end to their trilogy was arguably even better than the previous two bouts, the second of which was 2007’s ‘Fight of the Year’, and a fourth bout may be in the mix. But the exhaustion evident in the body language of both fighters after their struggle would indicate a long rest is in order.
Promoter Gary Shaw was visibly upset with the decision and reiterated Marquez’s contention that the point deducted for a low blow in the tenth round was inappropriate and that the eight count administrated in round twelve was unjust. An argument can certainly be made for the borderline low blow call but the standing eight count that referee Pat Russell gave Marquez was the right call because the ropes kept the fighter up after he reeled backwards. However, in California there is no standing eight count. In the heat of the moment the decision was left up to the discretion of the referee. The round itself should have been scored 10-8 even without the eight-count; such was Vazquez’s dominance. Nevertheless, promoter and fighter disagreed.
“I think the eight-count was uncalled for in the final round,” Marquez said through his interpreter. “I was (also) upset with the referee for him taking a point away because of the low blows. Those punches were not low.”
Marquez, his left eye swollen nearly shut, maintained his displeasure with the judges’ scoring but acknowledged that he was open to the possibility of a fourth fight.
Vazquez, whose English has greatly improved in the last year, was his usual humble self, giving praise to his rival and admitting to being hurt on several occasions. Yet he knew that he was the stronger fighter and that his relentless aggression won out in the end.
“He hit me with (some) solid shots,” Vazquez said, both of his eyes purple and swollen. “It thought it was a very close fight but I remained strong at the end. I gave it my all. I had to make a statement in the end.”
All three judges scored the twelfth round 10-8 for Vazquez and the tenth round 10-9 for Marquez before the point deduction, making it a 9-9 round.
On the undercard, Jorge Paez Jr., 19-1 with 11 KOs stopped Thomas Barragan, 8-3-1 with 1 KO at fifty-five seconds into the third round of a scheduled six round junior welterweight bout.
Lightweight Antonio DeMarco, 18-1-1 with 13 KOs out pointed Juan Carlos Martinez, 9-6-1 with 5 KOs over eight rounds.
Bantamweight Yonnhy Perez, 15-0 with 12 KOs stopped Alejandro Becerra, 19-6 with 9 KOs in the fourth round of a scheduled eight round bout.
Super middleweight Henry Buchanan, 16-1 with 11 KOs won an eight round decision over Ross Thompson who falls to 26-11-2 with 16 KOs.