Freitas vs. Ramirez, J M Marquez. vs Jandaeng, and R. Marquez vs. Mabuza (II)

ESPN Classic tripleheader, starting right now. :good

 

^ damn right.

Popo was a bad little dude.

 

But - but you could have watched it just now. :| The whole point of this thread was to give a heads up so people could check these out. :yep

He got up from a flash KD in the second and just murdered Ramirez in the third, flooring him twice. Honestly it should have been stopped then...academic as the fourth only lasted long enough for you to say "spaghetti legs".

 

Yep...and we just saw the exact moment where I became a Jandaeng fan for life. I don't think anybody else could - or would - have gotten up from that vicious assault from JMM in the 2nd (halfway into the ten count, he was literally kissing the canvas and motionless). Not only did he, but toughed it out five more rounds, and with some good moments even.

Sad thing is, people who haven't seen him (probably the majority of fight fans) will probably just take a peek at boxrec and relegate him as "padding" on the records of Marquez, Guzman, and Luevano - not realizing that all three broke more than a sweat.

 

Man, I tell you - this is a great tactical fight. But since Marquez wasn't a big name yet and it was two "international" fighters, I'm sure nobody but diehards caught it live (especially being in the middle of the day...and overshadowed by Forrest-Quartey on HBO that night). Late-night syndication like this is the only opportunity for fans to catch a glimpse.

That sixth round was just calculated fury by one guy and sheer grit and presence of mind by the other.

 

This is back when people were still viewing Rafa as a "work in progress" in terms of boxing skill...describing him as the puncher and JuanMa as the boxer. This night was the mark of their subtle shift...Juan has gotten more and more aggressive over the last three years, while Rafael was very much the technical boxer (opposite the "puncher" in Vazquez) throughout the trilogy.

Mabuza was so game and brave this night...I really hoped he would inherit the division when Rafa left...shame that he wasn't able to stay more active, I think he could have handled some of the contemporary beltholders at the time. Still hoping he can bounce back from the Perez loss (which I have yet to see).