CARSON, California - Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez are set to write the third chapter of one of the more intriguing rivalries in boxing.

On Saturday, the Mexicans will meet for the third time in 11 months with Vazquez’s WBC super bantamweight title on the line.

In the first of two action-packed fights, Marquez (37-4, 33 KOs) scored a seventh-round TKO in March when Vazquez was unable to continue due to a broken nose suffered earlier in the bout.

“In the first fight, I did many great things. I fought my fight,” Marquez said. “In the second fight, I just made a lot of mistakes, and Vazquez took advantage of those. “He’s a great fighter. He’s a tough fighter. That’s what I can tell you. He took advantage of the second fight and he won it. Now, I’m just waiting for this third one, so I can bring my title back to Mexico.”

Vazquez (42-4, 31 KOs) bounced back in the August rematch, scoring a knockout in the sixth round to regain the title. The intense bout garnered wide recognition as 2007’s fight of the year.

Vazquez first earned the WBC belt in 2005 when he knocked out Mexican Oscar Larios in the third round. Prior to his first fight with Marquez, he defeated WBO Bantamweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez on September 16, 2006 in a bout where he was floored twice before rallying to win by TKO in the 10th round.

“This is obviously a much bigger fight than any other fight that I have with the same opponents because Rafael Marquez is a highly rated opponent,” Vazquez said. “He’s a great challenger and he’s a great fighter. We’ll be ready for this fight on March 1st and putting it all on the line.”

In February 15, 2003, Marquez defeated Tim Austin to claim the IBF Bantamweight title. He then went on to successfully defend his title seven times, notably with two victories over Mauricio Pastrana, a decision win over Ricardo Vargas and two knockout victories over former IBO Bantamweight champion Silence Mabuza, whom he defeated for the second time on August 5, 2006.