The challenger Rafael Marquez managed to break Israel Vazquez’s nose with a very strong right in the first round, and he then took the WBC super bantamweight crown as Vazquez couldn’t continue the fight after the seventh round.
Vazquez was experiencing some trouble breathing because of his swollen nose, but he sowed tremendous determination as he kept going and caught Marquez with a left hook that sent him to the canvas in the third round of their fight on Saturday night.
“I was only able to breathe through my mouth and that’s why I was taking a lot of shots,” Vazquez said through an interpreter. “When I came back to my corner the last round, I couldn’t breathe at all and I told Freddie, that’s it.” Freddie refers to Freddie Roach, his trainer.
Apparently, Marquez didn’t actually realize that he had broken Vazquez’s nose and so he was surprised when the referee ended the fight. Vazquez immediately came over to congratulate the new champion.
“I was surprised when he stopped it because he had dropped me in the (third round). I thought it was close,” Marquez said, also speaking through an interpreter.
Both fighters said they would like to have a rematch.
Marquez (37-3, 33 knockouts) was winning on two judges’ cards through seven rounds, and the third had it even. Vazquez’s record is now 41-4, with 31 knockouts to his name.
“Vazquez told me right after the first round that his nose was broken,” coach Freddie Roach said. “He wanted to stop a couple of rounds earlier, but I told him to suck it up because I thought Marquez was tiring.
“He went a couple more rounds and said, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ “
Marquez, from Mexico City, weighed in at 121½ pounds. Vazquez, who was born in Mexico City and lives in the Los Angeles suburb of Huntington Park, weighed 121 3/4.
What did you think of the Marquez- Vazquez fight?
Do you think their will be a rematch? If so are you looking forward to it?
