In a fabulous and mouthwatering fight the former bantamweight champion and current super-bantamweight champion of the world Rafael Marquez meets Israel Vasquez on the 4th of August in a rematch of one of the best fights we've seen this year.




Their first fight in March, was a terrific war which featured both elite class technical boxing and blood and guts punching. The fight had all the ingredients that a great fight needs with momentum shifts, excitement and constant tension until it was sadly prematurely curtailed at the conclusion to the 7th round, when Vasquez decided that a badly broken nose he'd suffered early in the fight was hindering him to the point where it was wiser to save himself for another day.






Upto that point the fight was delicately poised with both men having had their moments. Vasquez hurt early had came back to dump Marquez on the floor in the 3rd just when Marquez was pouring it on. But back came Marquez over the next couple rounds to gain a foothold before Vasquez started to come on himself, ironically maybe having his best two rounds before the fight was halted due to the breathing problems he was suffering as a result of his damaged nose.


After a fight like that a rematch was ineviatable, and so here we are getting set for the rematch or round 8 as the Vasquez camp likes to say!



So what can we expect from this return? What things are different? And dare we hope for a similar fight to the first or perhaps even better!

For the return Vasquez has a new trainer for the rematch with an amicable parting of the ways with Freddie Roach who has been replaced by Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera's trainer Rudy Lopez. While Marquez will once more have the legendary Nacho Berestein working the corner. I think its fair to say both men have the best cornermen that Mexican boxing has to offer working for them.

In the return i would expect Marquez to look to box more from the outside and use his jab with a bit more frequency. Movement worked well for him last time and id expect to see more of this. At range he looked the better boxer and he'll be looking to garner himself the space he likes to be at his most effective. The jab can pave the way for his long sweeping right hand and his threshing uppercuts most notably from the left hand. He won't really be looking to get involved on the inside unless he has to i wouldn't have thought.

On the other side of the coin Vasquez will most likely be looking to get inside far more in this fight, and use the short compact shots that were working well for him last time. Most notably in the 6th and 7th rounds, and of course when he put Marquez on the floor in the 3rd with a hook cum uppercut which only travelled a few inches but had dramatic effects.

The body shots had seemed to be slowing Marquez and this would figure to be an intergral part of Vasquez's plan to take away the movement and freshness of Marquez and leave him vulnerable.

Technically Marquez looked the slightly sharper in the first fight and id expect him to be wanting a more technical fight this time, whilst a more rough and tumble fight would seem to favour Vasquez.

So things are seemingly set for a fight that is a virtual guarantee to deliver the excitement that boxing fans crave with plenty of that Mexican machismo on display. Both men have fight altering power and both know for sure they can hurt the other. It wouldn't suprise me to see both men on the floor at some point. In fact i almost expect it!

There is certainly a lot on the line for both men with many attractive matches to be made in the super-bantam or Jnr-featherweight class. Both of these warriors will be in the shape of their lives and i think we will be served up another fistic treat next month.



So who wins? Damn...you would ask me that!

Well in a fight this close its impossible to say with any degree of certainty. This really is such a tight fight. Marquez looked the more polished fighter last time and having had more time to grow into the weight class following his move from bantam he'd perhaps seem the more logical choice. He'll certainly be the bookies favourite and rightly so. Since three early career defeats he has developed into a tremendous fighter with poise power and speed. No doubt many people will expect him to once again prove to have slightly too much for his fellow Mexican.

But something about the last couple of rounds of the first torrid encounter lead me to believe that maybe Vasquez can get the job done this time. Seriously hindered by his nose, he still appeared to be coming on when forced to retire. Im sure its going to be another fast paced and hotly contested fight and with the power that these men have at their disposal anything could happen. But providing there is no re-occurence of nose trouble for Vasquez. I'll be looking for him to slowly wear Marquez down, after maybe once more being down on the cards at the mid-way point. The longer it goes the more i lean towards Vasquez and i tentatively predict a revenge win, possibly setting up a rubbermatch. I could be way off here, but i see Vasquez either by late stoppage or close decision.

Article By: lurkyshaka