Pacquiao Vs. Marquez-A Boxing Masterpiece
The web is on fire with debates and conflicting opinions regarding the outcome of the recent Pacquiao-Marquez 3 fight at the MGM Grand on November 12, 2011. The mexican and his fans just cannot accept that once again they lost a very close contest in the ring. Why, because Juan Manuel Marquez, the mexican's last hope to exact revenge against the pound for pound king Pacman who has demolished the best mexican boxers of this era in a fistic fight came so close to owning the "mexicutioner" but once again came short in the final stretch.
Coming to the fight as 9 to 1 underdog being a natural lightweight going up to welterweight at 38 years old was a great handicap but he proved the doubters wrong except his opponent who did not buckle down to his determination and the neutral people who were tasked to judge the fight did not see enough from him to win. For 12 rounds the two pound for pound fighters showed why they are two of the best and smartest fighters in the world of boxing.
Pacquiao, the volume puncher created controled aggression to frustrate and pile up points. Marquez, the master counter puncher displayed a masterful technique to combat the volume punch aggression of Pacquiao. There was no dominant fighter as it proved to be again a very tight fight at least in the eyes of non biased spectators. Both fighters had their best moments with Marquez displaying the most sensational performance because of his clean shots visible to the audience. Pacquiao on his part kept on going back to his fight plan everytime he is drawn to his instinct of following the backpedalling counter puncher.
Because of the controversy, I watched the replay again specially the HBO version and I started to appreciate how Pacquiao repeatedly caught Marquez with his right hook whenever he comes in. Marquez staggerred a little bit but he was able to take it well with his added weight. Marquez on his part caught Pacquiao flush in the face and body in the middle rounds creating a thudding sound heard across the audience enough to create a shiver to the bones of the most nervous pacfan. To the Pacman it was nothing new. He stepped up his controlled aggression to his devil may care style in the last four rounds with the aim to knock out Marquez knowing fully well that leaving the outcome in the hands of the judges will imperil his hold to the belt and pound for pound throne. When the smoke cleared however, it proved that his rally was enough to seal the win in the eyes of the judges but not in the eyes of the mexicans and the fans who expected too much from Pacquiao. To them Marquez should have won because he was sensational with his counter shots. In fairness to Pacquiao though, his fast hands deceived the eyes of the audience and unless we saw a visible effect such as a knockdown of Marquez these only served its purpose to the compubox and the judges who had the clearest view of the match. Of course it relieved the Pacquiao fans who have not witnessed their idol struggle in a boxing match since their 2nd fight in 2008.
It was a masterpiece of boxing show for two combatants who knew each other well only to be surprised that they have not yet cracked each other's secrets fully. I call it masterpiece because the more you see the replay the more you appreciate the skills of both boxers. In the end the fighter who has the bigger heart won. We should not question the outcome because in a close contest like this with a lot of followers for both boxers it can create chaos and I do not recommend a 4th fight because the emotion will only brew higher if the result will prove to be a close contest again. Arum was forced to offer a 4th fight because he said the mexican fans wanted to lynch him after the verdict was announced. It might be good for business but boxing may suffer.
Coming to the fight as 9 to 1 underdog being a natural lightweight going up to welterweight at 38 years old was a great handicap but he proved the doubters wrong except his opponent who did not buckle down to his determination and the neutral people who were tasked to judge the fight did not see enough from him to win. For 12 rounds the two pound for pound fighters showed why they are two of the best and smartest fighters in the world of boxing.
Pacquiao, the volume puncher created controled aggression to frustrate and pile up points. Marquez, the master counter puncher displayed a masterful technique to combat the volume punch aggression of Pacquiao. There was no dominant fighter as it proved to be again a very tight fight at least in the eyes of non biased spectators. Both fighters had their best moments with Marquez displaying the most sensational performance because of his clean shots visible to the audience. Pacquiao on his part kept on going back to his fight plan everytime he is drawn to his instinct of following the backpedalling counter puncher.
Because of the controversy, I watched the replay again specially the HBO version and I started to appreciate how Pacquiao repeatedly caught Marquez with his right hook whenever he comes in. Marquez staggerred a little bit but he was able to take it well with his added weight. Marquez on his part caught Pacquiao flush in the face and body in the middle rounds creating a thudding sound heard across the audience enough to create a shiver to the bones of the most nervous pacfan. To the Pacman it was nothing new. He stepped up his controlled aggression to his devil may care style in the last four rounds with the aim to knock out Marquez knowing fully well that leaving the outcome in the hands of the judges will imperil his hold to the belt and pound for pound throne. When the smoke cleared however, it proved that his rally was enough to seal the win in the eyes of the judges but not in the eyes of the mexicans and the fans who expected too much from Pacquiao. To them Marquez should have won because he was sensational with his counter shots. In fairness to Pacquiao though, his fast hands deceived the eyes of the audience and unless we saw a visible effect such as a knockdown of Marquez these only served its purpose to the compubox and the judges who had the clearest view of the match. Of course it relieved the Pacquiao fans who have not witnessed their idol struggle in a boxing match since their 2nd fight in 2008.
It was a masterpiece of boxing show for two combatants who knew each other well only to be surprised that they have not yet cracked each other's secrets fully. I call it masterpiece because the more you see the replay the more you appreciate the skills of both boxers. In the end the fighter who has the bigger heart won. We should not question the outcome because in a close contest like this with a lot of followers for both boxers it can create chaos and I do not recommend a 4th fight because the emotion will only brew higher if the result will prove to be a close contest again. Arum was forced to offer a 4th fight because he said the mexican fans wanted to lynch him after the verdict was announced. It might be good for business but boxing may suffer.
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