by James Slater – Boxing fans the world over are still in awe due to the quite sensational three-fight series Mexican duo Isreal Vazquez and Rafael Marquez treated them to in 2007 to 2008. Unfortunately, the super-bantamweight series was so brutal its overall winner paid a heavy price. Vazquez had to undergo serious retinal surgery shortly after the incredible rubber-match last March, and he has not fought since (34-year-old Marquez, up at featherweight, made a successful return this past May)..
Now, however, the 31-year-old from Mexico City has his own return bout scheduled. Set to box again on October 10th in Los Angeles, “Magnifico” will attempt to work out the ring-rust. According to BoxRec, Vazquez will face Georgia’s 29-year-old Al Seeger over a scheduled ten rounds. A decent enough opponent against which to come back, Vazquez is obviously a big favourite to win.
Very much wanting a fourth fight with Marquez – with Marquez also hungry to get it on with his archrival one more time – Vazquez will likely move up to 126-pounds soon after he deals with Seeger. It’s not known how much Vazquez has left after the damaging series he underwent against Marquez, and retinal surgery is no joke. However, if he’s even half the fighter he was back in March of 2008, Vazquez will have enough left to get himself some momentum-building and sharpness-restoring comeback wins.
Do the fans want to see a Vazquez-Marquez IV? As great as the first three fights were, how could they not! So, as both Mexican greats make their way back to full fitness the interest in part-four of one of the finest boxing series of all-time grows. According to ESPN.com, Richard Schaefer has already discussed the possibility of a fourth fight, and it may happen next year. As long as both guys keep winning in the meantime. What can we expect from Marquez-Seeger in October?
Seeger, nicknamed “The Quiet Storm,” has a decent enough record at 28-4(22). Unfortunately, he is probably best known lately for having been iced in highlight reel fashion by Cuban hotshot Yuriorkis Gamboa. Gamboa crushed Seeger inside a round on ESPN last July, and the 29-year-old has fought just once since; winning an 8th-round TKO over Benjamin Flores, who tragically passed away shortly after the loss.
It’s not certain how the death of Flores will affect Seeger, but it’s possible he may not have the desire to fight as hard as he can anymore. As if he didn’t have enough on his plate going in with the fearsome Vazquez, Seeger may suffer debilitating flashbacks to the April fight. In all honesty, unless he’s really gone backwards since the trilogy with Marquez, nice guy Seeger will have next to no chance against Vazquez.
Before he was annihilated by Gamboa, Seeger did have a reputation as a pretty durable fighter. He went the full 12-rounds with an unbeaten Mike Oliver in his fight before Gamboa, he’d taken the big punching Daniel Ponce de Leon into the 8th-round, and he’d only been stopped one other time before that. But has Seeger’s confidence been shattered by the blow-out loss along with the passing of Flores?
This fight is all about Vazquez, though, and what he has left to offer the sport that made him great. It may take a few rounds for the Mexican favourite to get into his groove, but once he does it will be goodnight for Seeger. The underdog will try his best if he can, but look for Vazquez to take him out in around 4 or 5 rounds.