On this day, Fernando Vargas and Raul Marquez took place. Fernando Vargas won the fight by TKO at 2:00 in the 11th round of a scheduled 12-round bout, in gruelling affair. Raul Marquez lost a point in the 6th round for a low blow, which speaks to the aggressive nature of the fight.
Fernando Vargas, who entered the bout with a record of 16-0 (16 KOs), was the IBF junior middleweight champion. Raul Marquez, with a record of 30-1 (20 KOs), was a former world champion.
There was intense rivalry and animosity between Vargas and Marquez, primarily fueled by Vargas' ongoing feud with Oscar De La Hoya. Marquez was a friend of De La Hoya's and had trained for the fight at De La Hoya's Big Bear gym. This added to the tension between the two fighters, as Vargas couldn't stand Oscar De La Hoya.
Despite their personal rivalry, the match served as a title defense for Vargas, who had previously won the IBF junior-middleweight title from Yory Boy Campas. Vargas had a reputation for his aggressive fighting style and always going to close the show with his knockout power. Marquez, on the other hand, had lost the same title to Campas in 1997 and had fought only by request in the year-and-a-half away from the sport.
Vargas would inevitably face Felix Trinidad, who he would lose to in a highly anticipated fight that took place on December 2, 2000. The fight was for the unified WBA and IBF light-middleweight titles.
