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Marquez stops Vazquez in 3rd, evens epic rivalry

LOS ANGELES — Rafael Marquez stopped fellow-Mexican Israel Vazquez midway through the third round Saturday, evening their epic rivalry at two fights apiece.

More than 26 months after Vazquez claimed the third meeting, Marquez made short work of his rival in their fourth fight. Marquez cut Vazquez near both eyes in the opening rounds, leaving the former 122-pound (55-kilogram) champion blinking back blood.

Marquez opened a gaping cut over Vazquez’s left eye with a big punch in the first round, and he knocked Vazquez to one knee early in the third after another cut opened near Vazquez’s right eye due to a head-butt. Marquez then chased Vazquez to the ropes, and referee Raul Caiz Jr. stopped the fight, fearing for Vazquez’s safety with diminished vision from his major cuts.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for almost three years,” Marquez said. “Everybody saw the difference in this one.”

Vazquez and Marquez met three times from March 2007 to March 2008 for a super bantamweight title, with each fight increasing in ferocity and theatricality. After Marquez claimed Vazquez’s 122-pound title in their first bout, Vazquez won the last two fights, including a split-decision victory in the rubber match.

Both fighters took more than a year off after the third bout, and Vazquez underwent three surgeries to repair a torn retina. They agreed to a big payday for a fourth meeting at featherweight.

Marquez was aggressive in the opening round, landing a big right hand that cut Vazquez early on. Vazquez survived the round, but the astonishing size of the cut — nearly the entire length of his eyelid — suggested the fight couldn’t go much longer.

Vazquez attempted to force the action, but Marquez won the second round on all three judges’ scorecards and opened strong in the third, battering Vazquez to one knee 1:15 in. Blood streamed down Vazquez’s cheeks, and Marquez pushed back Vazquez nearly to a knee again.

“I feel OK,” Vazquez said afterward. “I can see and everything, but I need to take care of my eyes. He hit me with a good shot, and my eye just opened up. I didn’t know until I saw the blood that I was cut.”