By James Slater: Mexican great Israel Vazquez, last seen being cut to ribbons and stopped by countryman Rafael Marquez, was expected to fight no more after the May, 2010 loss. With his long and punishing career – to say nothing of the serious eye damage he has suffered – taking so much out of him, the only place fans felt “Magnifico” was going was into retirement and then into The Hall of Fame.
But, as fightnews.com has reported (in quoting Esto), the 33-year-old is currently in training, with the hope that he will land an April fight against a TBA opponent. Reportedly, the ultimate goal for the incredible 44-5(32) warrior is a fifth and deciding fight with the also excellent Rafael Marquez. As fight fans know, the two are currently all even at 2-2 – but is a fifth rumble either needed or necessary?
Even before the fourth fight that followed one of the greatest, most exciting trilogies in all of boxing, fans and experts were wondering aloud if the two veterans were pushing their luck by going into battle with one another yet again. After all they’d given in the ring in their 2007/2008 super-bantamweight wars, some even feared for the health of two fighters ahead of their featherweight showdown. And, also as some had predicted, the fourth clash was the poorest fight of the series. Vazquez appeared to have hardly anything left and he was downed and stopped in the 3rd-round – this fight ending much quicker than the previous three encounters.
Marquez, ever the warrior, went into a fight with unbeaten Puerto Rican star Juan Manuel Lopez in his next outing, yet he was stopped, due to a shoulder injury, after eight largely exciting rounds. Ever since the November 2010 battle that contested the WBO 126-pound belt held by “Juanma,” Marquez has craved a rematch; convinced as he is that without the shoulder injury he would have beaten Lopez. This rematch may or may not happen this year, but if it fails to materialise, maybe Marquez will entertain the idea of a fifth, deciding fight with Vazquez. But would this fight appeal to the fans?
Marquez, 39-6(35) has way more left than does Vazquez, as proven in his competitive loss to Lopez. And Rafael won the fourth fight with Vazquez so easily that a fifth fight would almost certainly prove a somewhat tough fight to sell. Sure, some fans would pay to see it; hoping as they would to get to see a fight even half as good as the 2007/2008 classics the two future Hall of Famers put on. But the majority would very possibly turn away from a fifth fight between the two; or at the least they would watch it with serious trepidation.
Vazquez, like other once-great, yet now ageing, faded fighters such as Evander Holyfield, seems unable to quit the sport that made him a legend. Marquez too appears to be a guy who will have no easy time leaving boxing. Both blood and guts warriors appear destined to fight at least once more each, but how much does either man have left to prove?
If Vazquez wins his planned April bout, and if Marquez cannot land that rematch with “Juanma,” there is a good chance the two Mexicans will hook up for a fifth time. Whether that’s good or bad news is up to the fans.