ESPN Boxing

After three hard-fought battles, enough information has been presented to make the case that Rafael Marquez is a better overall fighter than Israel Vazquez.

He's just not a better super bantamweight.

Marquez has better balance, better speed, better defense and a better jab. He used each of these assets Saturday night to dominate Vazquez for much of the first six rounds of their WBC 122-pound championship rubber match in Carson, Calif, but Vazquez still won by split decision.

For all the advantages Marquez possesses, there is one thing Vazquez does much better: punch with power.

This isn't to say Marquez lacks knockout capability -- the 33 stoppages on his impressive 37-5 record is proof he has pop.

All but one of those knockouts, however, occurred at 118 pounds. The lone exception came in his first fight (March 3, 2007) with Vazquez, which Marquez won in seven rounds.

But entering that bout, Vazquez had issues with his nose. It was broken six months earlier during a TKO win over Jhonny Gonzalez, and some in Vazquez's camp said it hadn't completely healed when the initial fight with Marquez took place.

Marquez's stiff left jab would reveal that assessment to be accurate. He landed the jab so many times it fractured Vazquez's nose again.

In the subsequent fights, Vazquez's nose would not be a liability. Minus the weakness in Vazquez's armor, Marquez had to rely primarily on his superior boxing skills.

Marquez had little choice. Aside from his punching-power disadvantage, Marquez also can't match Vazquez's physical stature. Vazquez is a true super bantamweight, Marquez is not -- he's just a big bantamweight.

Vazquez's superior size and strength would turn out to be too much for Marquez in each of the following fights. Marquez was overpowered and stopped in six by Vazquez in their rematch on Aug. 4, 2007.

But the physical edge Vazquez possesses would be most evident in the rubber match Saturday night. Marquez got off to a fast start, using his jab to score repeatedly. His footwork helped him to elude the pressuring champion.

When Vazquez began closing the gap by the third round, Marquez went to work on the body. Marquez was so sharp in the early rounds that he appeared on his way to an easy victory. He punctuated his early domination with a right hand in the fourth that dropped Vazquez.

Just in case his left jabs and hard rights weren't discouraging Vazquez enough, Marquez tossed in a number of low blows. The low-blow tactic would eventually cost Marquez a point deduction in Round 10.

But long before the point deduction, the fight was slipping away from Marquez. Vazquez ate a lot of punches during the first six rounds, but he was never deterred.

He continuously stalked Marquez. And whenever Vazquez got close enough to land a powerful body shot, he did.

By the seventh round, he was walking through Marquez's defense. In the 12th, all the muscling paid off as Vazquez jumped off his stool and went right after Marquez.

He pushed Marquez all around the ring, landing rights and lefts seemingly at will. After being muscled around nonstop for several rounds, Marquez had nothing left in his tank to ward off Vazquez in the 12th.

The only thing he could do was backpedal. But Vazquez wouldn't let him escape; he forced the weaker Marquez to fight.

Hard rights landed flush on Marquez's face while lefts softened his midsection. The accumulation of punches would set up a left that sent Marquez sprawling into the ropes with seconds remaining on the clock.

Referee Pat Russell ruled a knockdown. Marquez protested.

"I wasn't down," he said. "Yes, I was holding on to the rope. I was fine. I don't know why that referee gave me the count."

Vazquez's dominating performance in the final round would earn him the win. Judge Max De Luca scored it 114-111 (Vazquez), Tom Kaczmarek favored Marquez 114-111 and James Jen-Kin decided the matter with a card that read 113-112 for Vazquez. Marquez saw the fight differently.

"I won this fight. I boxed well and dominated," Marquez said. "Look at his face, come on. I can't believe this happened."

He has reason to believe the rubber match should have gone his way. Marquez dominated Vazquez early and proved he was the more skilled fighter. But size and strength is what ruled in this trilogy.

Marquez is the best bantamweight in the world, but he's the second best super bantamweight. That distinction goes to Vazquez, who absorbs lots of punishment in order to dish out much more and get the job done.

"It was a hard fight but I did what was necessary to win," said Vazquez, who improved to 43-4, 31 KOs. "I knew I had to finish strong and I put a lot of pressure on him."

There are whispers of a possible fourth match between these two, but that should not happen.

This was a great trilogy. Vazquez and Marquez gave everything they had in each fight, but to ask them to give more blood, more sweat, more physical punishment would be cruel and unusual.

Besides, in the long run it will be Marquez who suffers most. He can't keep getting hit by Vazquez and expect to walk away unscathed.

Vazquez punches too hard and too often to be beaten at 122 pounds. Marquez can hang with Vazquez for a few rounds, but as the two most recent fights show, the longer it goes, the worse it gets for Marquez.

They should not fight each other again. Vazquez is just too big and a bit too strong.

Franklin McNeil covers boxing and mixed martial arts for The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J.