By Jim Dower: Tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Israel Vazquez (44-4, 32 KO’s) and Rafael Marquez (38-5, 34 KO’s) will be for the 4th time in the past three years in a fight that will likely leave both fighters bloodied and battered by the end of it. Rarely nowadays do you have two fighters that are willing to go toe-to-toe the same way these two big sluggers have done in their three previous bouts in their trilogy.

The results from their third fight left Vazquez with a detached retina and Marquez experiencing headaches. Both fighters would likely have breezed through their competition in the past three years had they not spent so much time fighting and beating each other up.

Incredibly, Marquez and Vazquez were able to fight two wars in 2007. However, after their third fight, both were so beaten up that they needed an extended amount of time to recover from the fight. Vazquez was unable to fight for over a year and a half until finally getting back in the ring when he stopped Angel Antonio Priolo in the 9th round last year in October. Vazquez looked nothing like the same fighter he once was in that fight, and again took an enormous amount of punishment. Marquez stayed out of the ring for 14 months following his 3rd fight with Vazquez until beating Jose Francisco Mendoza in a 3rd round stoppage a year ago in May. Marquez has been inactive since that fight.

This fight is obviously being done for money, because neither fighter has much to prove at this point. They gave three exciting fights to the boxing public and there’s really nothing to be gained from a fourth bout. Marquez, who lost the 2nd and the 3rd fights, may have something to prove, but as badly deteriorated Vazquez looked in his last fight against Priolo, it won’t prove much for Marquez other than he can beat a fighter that appears to have very little left in the tank.

To be sure, Vazquez still can punch, but his work rate and hand speed is way down from his prime. He can summon up some of his old power every now and then, but Vazquez is so much slower and even more hittable than he was before. Marquez looked a lot better a year ago in beating Mendoza. If he comes into this fight with his physical skills basically the same as in that fight, then Marquez will likely beat up Vazquez and stop him at some point in the fight. Vazquez has too much scar tissue around his eyes and his nose has always been a problem.