I say yes. First 3 rounds were intense, and Pavlik was KD in the 2nd only to come back and KO Taylor in the 7th. Great great, entertaining fight. My pick for FOTY so far. My pick before this one was PBF/DLH... Just kidding. Izzy/Rafa 1 of course.
I also liked the first slightly better. The only thing the 2nd had that the 1st fight did not was the more convincing stoppage. Both had amazing action though. Did anyone prefer the second fight?
I thought the second fight was much better. The action was great and the third round was just unreal.. best single round without a KD or KO since Barrera-Morales I. The first fight ended in a dissappointing way, but the second one ended with drama. I thought it was the general opinion on here that the second fight was better?
i liked the second vasquez-marquez fight better than the first, mainly because vasquez won. my bias aside, i thought that fight was 'the' fight of the year over pavlik taylor (still a great fight), because of the level both guys are competing at. the second fight pitted A level fighters vasquez-marquez, who fought a war with each other while showing elite skill/technique. the second fight also had a definite closure compared to their first fight(FOTY material too). marquez-barrera should be mentioned as well. which is again a very action filled fight, showcasing elite skill by both guys. i enjoy these types of fights better than the mindless 'you hit me, now i hit you' gatti-ward trilogy. there are more anticipated fights to come though (pac-barrera, cotto-mosley, calzaghe kessler....), which could deliver better quality than marquez-vasquez. but until we see the quality of those fights, vasquez-marquez is FOTY for me at this point of this amazing year for boxing.
I agree. Taylor-Pavlik was good, but there wasn't much action. It was more an extended tactical battle between two punchers rather than what one would describe as a war. Earl VS Katsidis is my pick. I also thought Margarito-Williams was an awesome battle of pressure fighters; if they had more ability to hurt each other, it would be my FOTY pick.
my FOTY picks: 1. Pavlik- Taylor (tie) 1. Cotto - Judah (tie) 3. Marquez - Vazquez I 4. Earl - Katsisdis 5. Pavlik - Miranda honoroable mention: Marquez - Vazquez II
For me, fights of the year have to be somewhat meaningful. So, the Katsidis fight comes just short. I was at Pavlik - Taylor this past weekend and the atmosphere and electricity was unbelievable so I'm biased. I thought my heart was gonna go thru my chest at the end of the 2nd round. 1.Vazquez - Marquez I or II 3. Pavlik - Taylor 4. Pavlik - Miranda 5. Cotto - Judah
1. Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Juan Man Manuel Marquez was the way boxing should be....beautiful boxing displayed by both & it was dramatic with the point deduction, knock down, etc 2. Marquez - Vasquez I was excellent but too short..it left me wanting more and more then we got. which lead to another short bout grrrrr..... 3. Kelly Pavlik vs Edison Miranda - this fight was freaken awesome. Two guys just brawling it out no holds barred, dramatic and brutal finish.