CARSON (California), March 2: Israel Vazquez registered a split decision victory over fellow Mexican Rafael Marquez to retain his World Boxing Council (WBC) super bantamweight title on Saturday.
In an action-packed 12-round contest at the Home Depot Center, Vazquez won a tight verdict from two of the three judges to improve his career record to 43-4 with 31 knockouts.
Vazquez, who first claimed the WBC belt in 2005 with a third-round knockout of Mexican Oscar Larios, dominated the last three rounds with a flurry of combinations to seal victory.
Judge Tom Kaczmarek gave Marquez the fight by 114 points to 111 but Vazquez gained the other two verdicts 114-111 and 113-112.
Vazquez, a native of Mexico City, came close to ending the fight with a knockout in the final round.—Reuters