By Wyatt Johnston

At Caesars Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada IBF bantamweight Champion Rafael Marquez put on a near-perfect performance to retain his title against previously undefeated Silence Mabuza. The referee and ringside physician consulted to stop the bout on cuts in the fourth round, giving Marquez a win by technical knockout. Marquez put the South African down in the first round with a left hook, and he followed with combinations that rocked Mabuza throughout the rest of the round.  Although Marquez controlled the fight, Mabuza did well to survive the early attack and landed a few good shots to make it an interesting fight. Mabuza was cut under his right eye and over his left eye. It appeared the cut over Mabuza's eye was started by an accidental headbutt, so he has an argument that a technical draw was warranted, but certainly the cut worsened as a result of Marquez's excellent combinations.  Marquez, Boxingtalk's #1 rated bantamweight, improves to 35-3 with 31 KOs while Mabuza falls to 18-1 with 15 KOs but should not be taken lightly.