SHOWTIME DEFEATS “YANKEES”, 2-1

By Michael Swann

In fairness, it should be said that Showtime World Championship Boxing had every advantage over Top Rank PPV in the battle for viewing supremacy this past weekend. First and foremost, Showtime’s main event of Rafael Marquez- Israel Vazquez II for the WBC super bantamweight title was a continuation of a Fight of the Year candidate and there was every expectation, which ultimately came to pass, that this rematch of Marquez’ victory in March might equal or exceed the excitement and drama of their first encounter. Also the Showtime card was free to subscribers and broadcast in high definition TV.

Also too, the Showtime co-feature spotlighted WBA super bantamweight titlist Celestino Cabellero, who, despite a seven inch height advantage, was pushed to the brink in a stirring challenge from WBA #13 contender Jorge Lacierva. Cabellero won a unanimous decision, 115-112, 116-111, and 116-110, in a moderately exciting, if sloppy contest, that seemed closer to a 114-113 victory than the wider scores announced.

By contrast, the Top Rank card was not broadcast in HDTV, yet cost $44.95 for PPV, a source of aggravation for those of us who don’t want to watch our boxing through a fishbowl. And, to be kind, the level of competition was simply not the same as the Showtime card.

The Top Rank TV undercard consisted of Ulises Solis defending his IBF light flyweight title over Rodel Mayol by eighth round TKO, Juan Manuel Lopez, a super bantamweight prospect, stopped Hugh Dianzo in the 10th when the fight was stopped because Dianzo had a severe cut on the side of his head, and lastly, in the co-feature, Julio Cesar Chavez stopped light touch Louis Brown with a fifth round TKO. A horrendous undercard for $44.95, even by recent PPV standards, it was certainly no incentive to call your cable provider to order.

Still, there is a reason why Top Rank is referred to as the “Yankees of boxing promotional companies.” They know how to promote a show, and nearly 10,000 fans were in attendance to prove it. The fights move along at a steady clip without unnecessary downtime, and the Erik Morales-David Diaz fight for the WBC lightweight title turned out to be better than most boxing pundits expected.

You certainly can’t complain about Wally Matthews doing color and analysis, which is why he is the front runner to replace Max Kellerman on Boxing After Dark. Matthews consistently makes insightful, timely comments with an even keel approach that is always welcome. Expert analyst Genaro Hernandez, a former titlist, is enthusiastic and seems to have the feel for the job. He makes sharp observations from the point of view of someone who has been there. Nick Charles was fine as the blow by blow man.

This fight was seemingly hand picked for Morales in an effort to get him that fourth title, and be the first Mexican in history to achieve that feat. David Diaz had been interim title holder who was elevated to full title status when Joel Casamayor was stripped early this year after the WBC cancelled a purse bid for a mandatory defense for Casamayor-Diaz because Casamayor was negotiating for a rematch of his 2002 fight with Acelino Freitas.

What is questionable is that Casamayor had not signed any contracts as yet, and he had just won his title from the late Diego Corrales in October, so he still would have had adequate time to fight his mandatory after Freitas. Yet no exceptions were allowed for a unification fight with WBO belt holder Freitas. For what it is worth, Diaz had not fought in almost a year before the Morales fight.

Whether this occurred because of amateurish negotiating by Casamayor’s representatives or if the WBC simply felt that David Diaz was a preferable opponent for Morales and simply railroaded Casamayor is open to argument. On the WBC website Casamayor is now listed as the interim champ. So one would hope that Diaz would be required to fight Casamayor as was the case when the situation was reversed several months ago.

In any event, Morales got his shot, and apparently his hand picked opponent. Last week, an insider expressed concern that Diaz seemed “ready to go,” while Morales was described as “disinterested.” The word was that Morales was still seven pounds overweight as of last Tuesday.

But as is often the case when a superstar receives that type of assessment prior to a fight, his warrior instincts come out when he’s under the lights. The hometown Chicago native, Diaz, was the aggressor from the opening bell, landing to the body and wobbling Morales with a left hook late in the round. Morales shook off the cobwebs to land a right cross that floored Diaz. Only one judge scored it a 10-8 round as Diaz had dominated before hitting the deck.

Strangely, another judge scored a 10-8 round for Diaz in the second despite the fact that there was no knockdown. Aside from round two, Morales dominated the first half of the fight, leading by three to four points on the judge’s cards. Diaz continued throughout the fight to try to stay on top of Morales while “El Terrible” attempted to fight at a distance, and Morales was landing the sharper, cleaner punches.

But in the second half of the fight, Morales’ energy began to wane. He lost most of the rounds from the judges during the second half of the fight, including the final three rounds on all cards when the fight was on the table. Despite some moments that his warrior mentality conjured up a brief run, his tank was running on empty in the second half of the fight. In the end, his lead had evaporated and he lost the unanimous decision, 114-113, 115-112, and 115-113. This reporter saw it 114-114.

The judges were obviously influenced by the volume of power shots from Diaz as he landed 148-630, and 161-733 of total punches. Morales was 105-326 on power shots, 169-584 overall.

Morales announced his retirement after the fight, with some swelling over his right eye and a swollen right cheek. Diaz, the victor, had severe bruising and swelling under his right eye.

Now 48-6 (34), Morales has lost four straight and five of his last six. This was probably the last great effort that he had left in him, and since it came despite a gallant effort against a hand picked, very beatable opponent and he still couldn’t win, retirement seems the best option.

Still somehow, even in defeat, and without a supporting card worth beans, Morales’ valiant attempt to annex a fourth title while digging deep for flashes of his former brilliance, made for a dramatic and exciting fight. For his fans, it is better to remember this one last game effort than to resurrect memories of his last fight with Manny Pacquiao, in which he essentially gave up and waited on the canvas for the count to reach 10 as he looked to his corner.

MARQUEZ-VAZQUEZ

So many things stand out in my mind about the Marquez-Vazquez II fight. First of all, it has to be the front runner for Fight of the Year, just ahead of their first fight in March. Secondly, the third round is probably a lock for Round of the Year. Third, many are going to argue for years as to whether it was an early stoppage.

And lastly, there was some backstage intrigue when the Marquez camp accused the Vazquez people of glove skinning. Marquez promoter Gary Shaw said that he was going to submit a protest with the Texas State Athletic Commission and the WBC, yet that was the last we heard about the issue. The talented Showtime team left us hanging on the issue thereafter. There were no close up shots of the gloves, and no discussion on the issue. Greg Alvarez of the TSAC ruled the gloves legal, and the tape seemed appropriate on TV, but we weren’t there so we don’t know.

The word is that the Hidalgo crowd was disappointing, a disgraceful lack of support to see the world’s two best super bantamweights, two great Mexican fighters going to war on the South Texas border in a rematch of their March epic.

The two warriors again provided stunning toe to toe action throughout the fight. It was the hand speed and combinations of Marquez against the powerful hooks of the stronger Vazquez. What makes these guys so perfect for each other is their offensive brilliance, coupled with their occasional defensive lapses.

A Vasquez left hook wobbled Marquez in round three, but he showed his champion’s heart and began to land his own combinations as both refused to give an inch in a pitched battle. Both of Vazquez’ eyes were bloodied in the round and there was blood under the right eye of Marquez.

It was becoming apparent by the sixth round that although the fight would be close on the scorecards, it was unlikely that the judges would come into play. Vazquez had deep cuts in both eyes and on the bridge of his nose and the blood was flowing down his face profusely. Suddenly Vazquez unloaded a classic left hook that floored Marquez about 20 seconds into the round. Marquez took some punishment on the ropes as he tried to recover and return fire as he slid along the ropes to move away, slipping slightly on the logo on the canvas. Vazquez landed a right and Marquez, slightly bent inside, threw some punches as referee Guadalupe Garcia jumped in to stop the fight at the 1:16 mark, seemingly about 30 seconds too soon. Marquez was still throwing punches and Vazquez was working with two eyes that could have prompted a stoppage at any time, but the fight had come to an abrupt end in Marquez’ first loss in seven years.

On the bright side it appears that we can expect Vazquez-Marquez III early next year.

So on this night, Showtime overwhelmed the Top Rank production on the strength of two men whose skill level, heart, courage and tenacity mirrored that of a prime Erik Morales. It was almost as if, at the end of an era, the torch was passed on the same night.