UNRIVALED “RIVALRIES”
Nyem qhov OS to Watch Round 12 From Ayala-Tapia I & Tune-In Tonight To Re-Live The Full Fight (SHO EXTREME® tom 10 p.m. LI/PT)
Photo Credit: Tom Casino/SHOWTIME
NEW YORK (FEB. 4, 2016) – Round 2 of the SHOWTIME Sports® 12-round celebration commemorating 30 years of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® continues in February with “Rivalries’’ onSHO EXTREME®.
This month will be highlighted by five of the most exhilarating and memorable fights in boxing history: the two Paulie Ayala-Johnny Tapiabattles and the first three Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez wars.
Ayala-Tapia I was 1999 Fight of the Year; Ayala was 1999 Fighter of the Year.
The initial three Vazquez-Marquez showdowns are universally acknowledged as among the best of all-time and were consensus Fight of the Year winners in 2007 and ’08. Additionally, the third round of Vazquez-Marquez II earned Round of the Year honors in ’07 while the fourth of Vazquez-Marquez III was 2008 Round of the Year.
These epic rivalries will air on “Throwback Thursdays” all month long at10 p.m. LI/PT SHO huab thiab yeej muaj SHOWTIME xav tau txog®, SHOWTIME TXHUA SIJ HAWM® thiab ntawm lub network hauv internet streaming pab. Kev sib ntaus txhua yuav qhwv hais lub ntsiab lus teb thiab tawm tswv yim los ntawm cov kev ua si SHOWTIME party Brian Custer.
Hauv qab no yog cov sij hawm SHOWTIME huab lub hli dhau los ntawm lub ob hlis ntuj premieres:
- Hnub no/hnub plaub, FEB. 4: Ayala vs. Tapia kuv
- Hnub plaub, FEB. 11: Ayala vs. Tapia II
- Hnub plaub, FEB. 18: Vazquez vs. Marquez kuv & II
- Hnub plaub, FEB. 25: Vazquez vs. Marquez III
Nyob hauv kev ua koob tsheej ntawm tus rivalries zoo rau SHOWTIME, xyuas hauv qab no rau ib sab ntawm SHOWTIME kev ua si cuag analyst thiab boxing historian tshwj xeeb Steve Farhood.
RIVALRIES
Yog Steve Farhood
Boxing tsis rivalries yuav zoo ib yam li kev xaiv tsa yuav tsis muaj debates.
Rivalries muaj ntuj, tshwj xeeb tshaj yog nyob rau hauv cov boxing. Leej twg yog tus prospect zoo nyob rau lub zos?
Leej twg yog tus bantamweight hauv Mexico zoo? Leej twg yog tus zoo tshaj fighter nyob tas ntiaj teb?
Kiv cua xav paub, thiab no, ua tus fighters, tshwj xeeb yog hais tias yog yuav muab ib tug kuj teb ib matchup ib keev ib.
Cov piv txwv uas zoo tshaj los ntawm lub rivalry zoo tshaj plaws hauv keeb kwm, tsis hais kev ua si nawv: Thaum twg Muhammad Ali thiab Joe Frazier clashed nyob rau hauv lawv cov roj hmab match nyob Manila, lawv ntaus yeej loj tshaj lub ntuj heavyweight npe dab tsi. Lawv ntaus rau cov championship uas sib.
Ali-Frazier … Robinson-LaMotta … Louis-Schmeling … Barrera-Morales … Mayweather-Pacquiao … Pep-Saddler … Leonard-Duran... Holyfield-Tyson: Boxing keeb kwm yeej qhia los ntawm nws cov juiciest rivalries.
Nyob rau hauv 30 xyoo nco fighters unforgettable fights, SHOWTIME boxing keeb kwm lom zem ntau yuav hais txog nws cov rivalries thiab.
Nyob rau SHOWTIME heev, peb yuav tsum focusing rau ob rivalries particular ua: Rafael Marquez-Israel Vazquez and Paulie Ayala-Johnny Tapia.
Marquez-Vazquez is the equal of any pairing in recent history. So compelling were the battles, so consuming was the rivalry that many fans can’t tell you what the final scoreboard read. It didn’t matter all that much.
(Fittingly, the fighters split four bouts.)
What made Marquez-Vazquez different from most rivalries: They were defined more by similarities than differences. Most rivalries feature stark contrast. Think Borg-McEnroe. Or Bird-Magic. Or Evert-Navratilova. But Marquez and Vazquez were both classy champions from Mexico who needed each other to raise their profiles and all-time standings.
They gave us no trash-talking, no posturing, no hatred, real or imagined. Instead, they punched and bled and fought proudly and at the highest level. And because of the classic ring drama they created, that was more than enough.
Suffice to say that two of their bouts were chosen as Fight of the Year. And Marquez-Vazquez III was surely among the best fights I’ve covered live in my 37 years in boxing.
It was a bit different with Ayala and Tapia. When they first fought, Ayala wasn’t a familiar name. Tapia, on the other hand, was an undefeated and long-reigning champion with a unique personality and a distinctive ring persona.
A suitable rival is exactly what Tapia needed to fully realize the potential that we sensed when he soundly defeated New Mexico rival Danny Romero two years before.
A pair of controversial decisions, the contentiousness that marked the negotiations preceding the rematch, Tapia tus nyoos tig tau los ua Ayala-Tapia ib feem ntau yog ab rivalry.
Nws yog ib tug tsim nyog nco rivalry thiab.
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