March 3rd; a fight fan's twinbill

By Robert Morales

Promoter Gary Shaw has never been afraid to put one of his fighters in tough, competitive fights. Just ask Diego Corrales. The same can be said for Frank Espinoza, who manages Mexican studs Israel Vazquez and Martin Castillo.

Thanks to Shaw and Espinoza, as well as a few others in the mix, we are going to be witness to a fight between Vazquez and Rafael Marquez. They will get it on March 3 at Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Marquez will be moving up in weight to challenge Vazquez for his World Boxing Council super bantamweight belt. Showtime will
televise.

All concerned parties will get together today for a Los Angeles news conference to promote what has "Fight of the Year" written all over it. They may be fighting at 122 pounds, but Vazquez and Marquez are monsters. Shaw and Espinoza, during two separate telephone
interviews Tuesday, talked about the match with tremendous anticipation. Shaw promotes Marquez.

"You have the single best fighter at 118 pounds versus the single best fighter in the world at 122," said Shaw, who said he expects both fighters to taste the canvas. "Both can punch. These are the types of fights that help boxing."

And these are the types of fights in which Espinoza loves to be involved.

"This is definitely going to be a heck of a fight," Espinoza said. "There are going to be a lot of fireworks in this fight. You know, Marquez is a hard puncher. I don't believe this fight is going to go 12 rounds. But it's not an easy fight for Vazquez.

"You got the best bantamweight against the best super bantamweight. And (Marquez) is not going to be like Jhonny Gonzalez. He will mix it up with you. I think his chin is skeptical. I believe he has never been hit by a 122-pounder and we're just going to have
to wait and see.

"This is a people fight. We wanted to do it for the fans, too. We don't want to avoid anybody and Israel and I know that if you want to be great, you gotta fight the best. In this fight, he is fighting the best."

Espinoza alluded to Gonzalez, who moved up from bantamweight to challenge Vazquez last September in Las Vegas. Gonzalez did well early by boxing and moving, but Vazquez caught up to him and stopped him in the 10th round. Believe this, Vazquez will not have to look for Marquez. Moreover, Shaw said he doesn't believe that the move up in weight will hinder Marquez in the least "As you get older your weight starts coming up and he will
probably be more natural at 122 than he is at 118, so he will be fitting in where he belongs," Shaw said. "And there is no question that Marquez can punch."

Marquez, 31, is 36-3 with 32 knockouts. He won the International Boxing Federation bantamweight belt with an eighth-round technical knockout of Tim Austin in February 2003 in Las Vegas. He made seven successful defenses - five by knockout - before making this move up to challenge Vazquez.

Marquez is so good that even Espinoza knows what a victory over him would do for Vazquez, Vazquez's status as the champion at this weight notwithstanding.

"I certainly feel right now that a win over Rafael Marquez would put Vazquez right there with the other elite fighters," Espinoza said. "And, heck, if it's a hell of a fight, whoever wins, we could do it again. It could be a trilogy."

Vazquez, 29, is 41-3 with 30 knockouts. He is 6-1 in world title fights, the loss coming to Oscar Larios for the interim WBC super bantamweight belt in May 2002. Vazquez is 9-0 overall since then.

Vazquez, incidentally, is trained by Freddie Roach. Roach was recently hired to train Oscar De La Hoya for his May 5 mega fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas. Espinoza said that it is his understanding that Roach is due to leave for Puerto Rico to begin
training De La Hoya on March 1, two days before Vazquez takes on Marquez.

Espinoza said he is hopeful that Roach can wait until after Vazquez-Marquez. If not, Vazquez will be trained by Roach's assistant, Justin Fortune, on fight night.

Considering the magnitude of this main event, a promoter could get away with having little on the undercard. But Showtime fans as well as those attending at Home Depot Center will also get to see Vic Darchinyan defend his IBF flyweight belt against Victor Burgos.

Darchinyan, nicknamed "Raging Bull," is 27-0 with 21 knockouts and about as vicious and cocky as they come. But he can back it up. Born in Armenia, Darchinyan lives in Sydney, Australia.

"Oh, I love him," said Shaw, Darchinyan's promoter. "He's exciting. He's what boxing needs. He's a little (Mike) Tyson in a little package. He can really punch. What makes this card exciting is that he and Marquez, two little guys, can really pack a punch like
the big guys can.

"But Darchinyan's style is what makes him exciting. When he puts his hands down and goes into his Raging Bull (routine) and he walks with his chest out and his chin out, daring people. He is just a dream. And the Armenian people in the L.A. area, Glendale, are going
to just love to see this kid in person."

Darchinyan, 31, is a southpaw. He won his title with an 11th-round technical knockout of Irene Pacheco in December 2004 in Hollywood, Fla. Darchinyan has made five defenses, four by way of knockout.

Mexico's Burgos, 32, is 39-14-3 with 23 knockouts. He is the former IBF light flyweight champion.