Should Israel Vazquez have retired 2 years earlier? (after RM rubbermatch)

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Bear in mind that Vazquez already had a wonderful career prior to 2007.

He didn't need a single encounter with hard-punching bantamweight legend Rafael Marquez to be remembered as a warrior and an excellent champion at 122. Pride and a compulsive gladiatorial need to entertain made him stand in that opposite corner four times (three of them in a 12-month span) - 12 years already into a grueling campaign in the ring renowned as much for guts and willingness and ability to withstand punishment as for skill.

Of course every boxing fan who's seen them (which is every boxing fan worth their salt at this point) appreciates and cherishes the three consecutive wars he had with Rafael Marquez over the one year period from March 2007 to March 2008...but would it have been in the best interests of Vazquez to go out on top after that harrowing year? Would it have perhaps even been in his best interest to leave well enough alone after the rematch, having already avenged his loss but already showing the effects of too many clean punches? Answering this does require taking off one's bloodthirsty fan hat, and donning the more noble crown of human compassion.

His former trainer Freddie Roach didn't even want Izzy going for a rematch, let alone rushing into it. This is why the two split (between the 1st and 2nd Marquez fights):

The circumstances of that first loss - especially for someone with the mentality of Vazquez - were near impossible to walk away from. Nobody ever expected him to leave off the gloves on the sour note of having had to quit (even if it was a medically necessary and appropriate decision). There was no questioning the imminence of a rematch, although few guessed it would come quite so soon.

Although went on to avenge the loss not once but twice, each victory took its toll on his body (and, in all unfortunate likelihood his mind as well).

He then went on to look less than himself in his first official expedition to featherweight. Rumors abounded that he and Marquez were being steered toward yet another bloody summit on this new terrain. Most hoped they were only rumors. By this point Spanish-speaking fans were already perceiving diminished speech capacity in Vazquez, with his words becoming progressively more ponderous and slurred with only his charisma preserving any audience with him from being a pathetic spectacle (continuing to the present day; he is a frequent guest commentator on Solo Boxeo Tecate).

Certainly his ability was diminished as well - as evidenced in the ill-advised fourth match with Marquez. He was effectively a lamb led to the slaughter, with his shot reflexes and abundance of scar tissue betraying him despite a bold effort to recapture his old glory with a few bursts of vintage Vazquez aggression. Marquez stopped him for the second time, and sent yet another boxing hero to an unflattering permanent exit from the squared circle.

That match was also indirectly detrimental to his nemesis - also quite damaged from their prolonged tour of duty. Marquez looked good enough in finishing Vazquez off that he earned himself a date with big-punching featherweight phenom Juan Manuel Lopez. Bear in mind that Marquez was a career bantamweight, and was the smaller man moving up against Vazquez in the first place. Here he is, old and broken fighting a monster. He, too was a lamb to the slaughter. Like Vazquez, he showed flashes of his old offensive brilliance but he took way too many unnecessary punches and in the end his own body also gave out on him.

Retiring two years earlier than he in fact did, he'd have finished a stellar 43-4 (31) with absolutely nothing to prove to anyone.

He'd miss out on the win over Priolo, but not having to suffer the indignity of the 4th match with Marquez is probably worth that sacrifice.

Taking it a step further - suppose that he skipped the rubbermatch. He'd have avenged his loss, erased the sting of having to retire on his stool, and evened the score. The public demanded a third contest to break the tie, but many of us did so with a guilty conscience. In hindsight - our guilt should perhaps have outweighed our eagerness to be thrilled once more. Going up 2-1 on Marquez was a crowning achievement (and produced yet another epic FOTY) but ultimately was for naught as technically the record will forever reflect that the score was evened up again in the end.

As much as I love the trilogy (and it is still a trilogy in my mind), I'm more than a little ashamed of all of us for letting it even go so far with continued expressions of enthusiasm while turning a blind eye to the potentially tragic consequences just under our noses. Without the enormous swell of public pressure from the diehard boxing community (and even some newer and casual fans picked up along the way) those on the business end of the sport might not have milked a third contest out of the rivalry...at least not quite so hot on the heels of two furious combats that came so close together.

Some of the more callous among you might say "Well, he brought it on himself. Nobody forced him to fight. He had a choice. Besides, he got paid...". You wouldn't be technically wrong. You would be in the wrong, however.

Anyone who was ever a fan of Vazquez knows why it simply wasn't an option for him to walk away - at any point, until he physically just couldn't compete anymore (which, if you'll remember, was the underlying story of the first loss to Marquez). The fans wanted him and goaded him for encore after encore, so he obliged - as he was obliged to do. That's who Israel Vazquez is. Damn our souls, that's who we are.