Nice Weekend for Boxing Fans

Oh, it was a glorious weekend in boxing.

Thanks to some great match making, and Showtime's airing of the 3rd fight of arguably the greatest fight trilogy ever, fight fans were able to see some nice action this week.

First off, Friday night saw the continuation of a great and underrated boxing career. Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero fought off a game but overmatched Jason Litzau to retain his IBF featherweight championship.

Guerrero used a brutally aggressive style to punch his way in close to Litzau, who seemingly had no answer for the constant pressure. Guerro took some punishment himself in the execution of his plan, but it was Litzau who ultimately took the brunt of the attack on the chin. He was visibly shaken up after being knocked out in the 8th round and looked to be in need of medical attention.

Guerrero had this to say about his next fight: "There are a lot of big fights out there. If the winner of Vazquez-Marquez wants to move up, I would fight either of them. I am ready to fight now."

And the winner of that fight was the always game Israel Vazquez. Vazquez looked to be in trouble through the first 5 rounds of this epic showdown with challenger Rafael Marquez, but it was apparent who was the bigger man as the fight wore on.

If you missed this fight, then shame on you. It was a truly classic battle and has to be early favorite for fight of the year. Israel Vazquez retained his WBC super bantamweight title by out punching former champ Rafael Marquez over 12 fast-paced, brutal rounds.

The final round was the most telling part of the fight. Needing a big round, Vasquez let his hands loose and out punched Marquez, who inexplicably was just trying to hold on until the bell. Vasquez was able to land some fierce shots that threw Marquez into the corner and the referee correctly called it a knockdown (because only the roped held Marquez from hitting the deck).

It proved to be critical in the split decision. One judge had the fight 114-111 Marquez, while the other 2 had it 114-111 and 113-112 for Vazquez. If Vazquez had not been able to get the knockdown in the 12th, or if Marquez had not been deducted a point for a low blow in one of the middle rounds, the fight would have been declared a draw.

In any event, boxing fans were treated to great action this weekend and reminded why boxing is truly the greatest of sports.