Does Rafael Marquez Have Anything Left?
There’s no question that Rafael Marquez will be a Hall of Fame boxer whenever his career comes to an end. At this point, the only real question is when will his career be finished. Many people thought a third loss to Israel Vazquez in the latest instalment of their epic rivalry on May 22 might have been enough to signal the end of the 35-year-old Marquez’s career. However, Marquez was able to even up the series against Vazquez by stopping him in the third round.
The win over Vazquez was not for a world title (the only belt on the line was the relatively meaningless WBC Silver crown) but it was incredibly important for Marquez (39-5, 35 KOs) in order to extend his career. At 35, it would have been nearly impossible to restart his career after another defeat but a victory opened up several doors for him. The one that he chose to take was a fight against Juan Manuel Lopez (29-0, 26 KOs) on September 18 for the WBO featherweight title.
A last chance for Marquez
The bout against Lopez is likely Marquez’s last shot at winning a world title. However, it also might be a long shot. Lopez is a far more skilled fighter than Vazquez and it will be a tall order for Marquez to find a way to win this fight. There’s little doubt that the three wars that Marquez fought against Vazquez hurt Vazquez in a lot of ways; the most obvious were the multiple cuts and resulting scar tissue which reopened and eventually hastened a gory end to their most recent fight. But it looked obvious that Vazquez didn’t seem to have much left in the tank against Marquez and that the brutal wars he had been in during his career had taken their toll.
So how much does Marquez have left? His bout against Vazquez provided few clues as to exactly where he stands in his career. The fact that Vazquez was opened up by cuts caused by punches and head butts totally changed the complexion of the fight and allowed Marquez to simply pick apart Vazquez with shot after shot that targeted his cuts. Vazquez was hurt, had trouble seeing through the cuts and was a very tired fighter. It all added up to easy pickings for Marquez.
The chances are slim that Marquez will have such as easy time against Lopez. He’s one of the most skilled fighters in the division, especially offensively. The Puerto Rico-native Lopez has explosive power in both hands, which he has used to great effect to storm to the top of the featherweight division. He is a very active fighter who moves well, finds openings and throws a high volume of punches.
On the surface, these all look like bad things for Marquez. Defence was not a highlight of his bouts against Vazquez and it’s hard to know how well he can defend himself and avoid punches from an opponent. Taking big shots from Lopez might not be the best idea since Lopez is now one of the biggest pound for pound punchers in the sport.
However, Marquez might have a chance in the fight. As Lopez showed in his most recent victory over Bernabe Concepcion on July 10, he’s not the most skilled defensive boxer in the world himself and he has a questionable chin. Concepcion dropped Lopez in the first round of their fight with a shocking punch as he was in the middle of taking a withering series of punches. Lopez was able to rally and stop Concepcion one round later but the knockdown illustrated that Lopez can be had. If Marquez still has the power and toughness he once possessed, he could very well have a chance at another, improbable title.
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