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Manny Pacquiao Fighter

November 13, 2011 by · Comments Off on Manny Pacquiao Fighter 

Manny Pacquiao Fighter, It’s not one that anyone would have to convince Juan Manuel Marquez the validity of. After taking Manny Pacquiao to his very limit in two agonizing close fights in 2004 and 2008, Marquez had to watch as his former rival’s career reached new heights under the tutelage of Freddie Roach in the ring and Bob Arum outside it. Whereas Pacquiao become widely recognized as the pound for pound king after successful forays up in weight against aging superstars such as Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Shane Mosley, Marquez’s career stalled after he took the one gamble that Pacquiao has been unable to take. It was Marquez that welcomed Floyd Mayweather back to boxing in 2009, and a lethal combination of a poorly planned weight gain by the lightweight champion, a heavy Mayweather’s blatant disregard for the agreed catchweight and Money’s irresistible boxing skills resulted in Mayweather easily outboxing Marquez for twelve rounds.

The result saw Marquez cast aside, no longer worthy of consideration for elite pound for pound status by most commentators. Solid victories over worthy lightweight challengers David Diaz and Michael Katisdis could not restore the luster to a reputation that had been tarnished by the ease at which he had succumbed to the sport’s errant genius. It was no surprised that Marquez spent much time campaigning for another shot at pound for pound greatness, this time against his old nemesis Pacquiao. It was the fans’ choice for Pacquiao to fight this May, a preference vindicated when a shot Shane Mosley produced a wretchedly negative performance in a dull fight.

Finally fans were given the â€?thrillogy’ fight they had wanted. It was not at the weight they wanted, with Marquez having to move up two weight classes to fight at a catchweight of 144Ibs. But the Mexican legend was confident that this welterweight match would have a happier ending for him than his first. And the omens were good with Marquez’s physique looking impressively like a fully fledged welterweight at Friday’s weigh-ins and the similar proportioned Pacquiao unable to repeat Mayweather’s trick of weighing in deliberately heavy.

And on Saturday the fight began. And Marquez was awesome.

As we noticed back in May, Mosley’s clumsy attempt to fight as a counterpuncher exposed serious flaws in Pacquiao’s game that Marquez would technically be well placed to exploit. Having coped with the weight gain better than we expected, Marquez was able to clearly outbox the champion over the course of twelve rounds.? Although it was a close, competitive fight it was the Mexican who was doing the little things that should have caught the judges’ eye. He dictated the pace of the fight, keeping his distance well and only briefly being drawn into the frenetic brawls that Pacquiao so excels at. His footwork was superb, as he would repeatedly land a punch and then immediately take a step back to avoid Pacquiao’s response. He would then be perfectly positioned for a counterpunch. Here it was where Marquez was at his best, with his precision punching allowing him to land crisp, clean punches that more than once hurt Pacquiao. An increasingly bedraggled Pacquiao was reduced to headhunting as he tried to overcompensate by forcing the pace. But just as against Mosley, he lacked the patience and the composure to work his way inside by picking his punches. Instead his wild lunges and swings were exasperated signs of his ineffectiveness, not effective aggression as Pacquiao lashed out at being made to fight and lose Marquez’s fight.

On commentary over here in Britain, Pacquiao’s friend and training partner Amir Khan sorrowfully admitted that he had Marquez winning the fight whilst doing commentary from ringside. His trainer Freddie Roach clearly told Pacquiao that he was losing the fight in the corner. And when the final bell was rung Pacquiao had the look of a beaten man.

And then the judges announced that the loser was announced the victor. Whether it was because the judges were blinded by Pacquiao’s greater celebrity or were simply giving the fighter on the front foot the benefit of the doubt in close rounds it was the wrong decision. Marquez knew it, Pacquiao knew it and the fans who booed the universally popular champion and at one point threatened to riot knew it.

And more than the result of a fight, they knew that boxing, like life, wasn’t fair.

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