Joseph R. Holzer recaps last night's Showtime double-header featuring the fourth installment of the Rafael Marquez vs Israel Vazquez rivalry and a highly entertaining bantamweight clash between Yonnhy Perez and Abner Mares.

Fans in attendance and at home got what they hoped for: a fight of the year candidate. It just wasn't necessarily the one they expected.

The fourth fight between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez was stopped by referee Raul Caiz Jr. at 1:33 of the third round. The badly bloodied Vazquez, who had been dropped to one knee earlier in the round, was absorbing clean punches from the sharper Marquez (39-5, 35 KOs), and appeared significantly worse for wear through the seven-and-a-half-minute sequel.

After suffering a nasty cut during the opening round above his left eye, Vazquez (44-5, 32 KOs) suffered another bad looking gash above his right eye early in the third after an inadvertent headbutt.  With both of his rival's eyes bleeding badly, Marquez seized the opportunity, dropping the struggling Vazquez before closing the show with a finishing rush that left Caiz Jr. with little choice but to step in.

The result may set the stage for a fifth showdown, but with Vazquez's previous eye issues and problems with tearing scar tissue, it doesn't seem likely for a while.

In the meantime, the precursor to another potential trilogy has been set. In a televised undercard, undefeated bantamweights Yonnhy Perez and Abner Mares met in a show-stealing IBF title bout.

Good friends outside the ring, the pair received a standing ovation after the announcement of their 12-round majority draw. Gwen Adair and Eugenia Williams both scored it 114-114 and 114-114, while Marty Denkin had it 115-113 in Mares' favor. This writer agreed with the115-113 score in favor of Mares.

In an action-packed bout, Mares (20-0-1, 13 KOs) relied on clever movement to counter Perez's consistent onslaught.  The 2004 Mexican Olympian pleased the predominantly Latino audience in the initial rounds, literally beating Perez to nearly every punch. His combinations were crisp and accurate, but Perez began landing at a higher frequency halfway through the third round.

The 24-year-old Mares lessened his punch output and used the ring more in the middle rounds, and the undeterred Perez (20-0-1, 14 KOs) took advantage of the challenger's relative inactivity. The defending champion steadily pressured his younger and faster opponent, earning many of the mid-rounds by forcing the pace and landing the heavier blows.

The championship rounds saw a seemingly rejuvenated Mares revert to what won him the early rounds, standing in front of the rangy Perez and teeing off with devastating three- and four-punch combos. In the final minute, Mares' cleanly landed counters had rocked Perez, 31, back on his heels.

A Perez-Mares rematch is inevitable. If Vazquez and Marquez ever meet for a score-settling fifth row, the future hall-of-famers might have to take a back seat to a newly born rivalry.

e-mail Joseph R. Holzer

For more from Joseph, check out his blog: Pugilism 101