19 years ago today: Israel "El Magnífico" Vázquez Castañeda vs. Óscar "Chololo" Larios III

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Typing this through tears. Awoke to news of my favorite living boxer for the last two decades, dead at just 46. Numb, not up to writing much - but thought it was worth celebrating the culmination of his original epic & wild trilogy, for the benefit of those who may only have known him from the later one against Rafael Márquez (and yes, that will always be a trilogy in my book, and Izzy the winner of their rivalry 2-1. Absolutely criminal that fourth "contest" got sanctioned with the state of his eye...and shame on Rafa for going through with it...)

Here are 1 & 2:

Vázquez KO1 Larios, 4-12-1997

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Larios TKO12 Vázquez, 5-17-2002

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Larios in general is an underappreciated gem:
https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/Óscar-chololo-larios-appreciation-thread.602220/

Cinching their rubber match with the little gangster to seize his green belt - along with subsequent defenses of it against Iván "Choko" Hernández Rangel (in the infamous "platinum hair turned pink with Choko's blood" match) and Jhonny "Bombardero/El Ratón" González Vera cemented him as world class, fan-favorite, p4p-ranked material even before he linked up with JMM's little bro...for what is, to me, the greatest trilogy of the millennium. And that isn't something to be said lightly by any boxing fan, given the fact that both the Gatti-Ward and Barrera-Morales trilogies exist.

Great fighter. Nice guy. Decent commentator. Too young.

 

Really wish this trilogy got even a fraction as much attention as Vaz-Mar (even understanding that the latter was fought for higher stakes and on a bigger platform, with Showtime rolling out their own version of HBO's successful "24/7" series, "All Access". I'm not 100% sure that Izzy vs. Rafa was the first subject of All Access, but it was absolutely the rivalry that put that production on the map and elevated it right alongside 24/7).

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Ironically, I was slightly more of a Rafa fan heading into their rivalry. (always thought he was underrated living in Juan Manuel's shadow...also sort of wanted to see him do well as I'd been a big Mabuza fan, and obviously the more success RM had the more it vicariously raised Silence's stock, or at least served as prophylactic against it dropping).

By end of fight 1, the pendulum had swung - rooted hard for Vázquez in both of his victories.

I don't acknowledge the fourth. It should have never occurred.

 

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