After Manny Pacquiao defeated Juan Manuel Marquez via split decision during the epic and sensational Pacquiao-Marquez 2: Unfinished Business fight on March 16, Marquez’ camps contested the results and even questioned the system of judge selection. While Pacquiao camps were so ecstatic for the win to mind the lamenting Marquez camps, some sports analyst were also discontented on the bout’s outcome. Many sports writers who scored the bout at ring side had the outcome separated by a point, or a draw just like the first Pacquiao-Marquez fight in 2004. This goes to show how tightly-contested the fight was.
Some had it in favor of Pacquiao because they saw his aggressiveness in throwing punches at and following Marquez around the ring. History backs up that judges favor more the aggressor and in this fight, Pacquiao showed more aggressiveness than Marquez. The hard-hitting blows he threw had knocked Marquez down in third round. Had it not been for the round- saving ring of the bell, Pacquiao could have finished the fight with a technical knock out.
But Marquez stood his ground. He made it difficult for Pacquiao when he gave him a nasty cut in the eye that made him staggering inside the ring. He showed to everyone that he has the heart of a real fighter even after he got a nasty cut near his right eye in the seventh round. Marquez also got the final damage as he landed more punches than his opponent. He landed 172 punches, or 34% of his total compared to Pacquiao’s 25%. Pacquiao threw more jabs, and Marquez landed more power shots.
People lamenting and complaining on the result of the fight, in my opinion, is hurting the boxing sport. Bob Arum was right. We should live with the decision and accept that Pacquiao deserves the hard-earned title. Sure, Marquez was as aggressive as Pacquiao but he is not too strong for Pacquiao to handle. Marquez always brings out the best in Pacquaio and it is a fact that we have to live with. I also agree with Freddie Roach when he said that it could have gone either way. Marquez has the style that will always make Pacquiao look so bad after a fight. Marquez left Pacquiao bloody with 17 stitches after the fight.
Now, the big question lies: Is the business really over and done with? Will Pacquiao agree on a rematch? Well, I think, this is a very nice and interesting point of contention.
General Santos Time
7 Comments
March 17th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
sour grouping what else..that mexican, they know that many’s undefeated huh..
and hey, what the Diva down under blogging on boxing ha..:)
regards Scot, yah promote our country’s HOnors
[Reply]
March 17th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
@ AJ: Hahaha! Siempre, kapitbahay ko ata si Manny!
Baka mabalatuhan pala ako, hehehe!
[Reply]
March 18th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Ayos ka Ellaine ah?hahaha, siguro dati nabalatuhan kana kaya namihasa ka charing!
Kahit ani gawin nila panalo si Manny oy, maglabas nalang sila ng bagong tatalo kay Manny kung meron.
[Reply]
March 19th, 2008 at 4:27 am
Ellaine,
i saw the fight for the third time last night. talagang panalo si Manny. mga foreign commentators kasi yung mga nagcocoments during the fight and they really love how manny fought. kahit ako i have no doubt after watching the fight for the third time that he won although not as dominating as his previous fights.
[Reply]
March 21st, 2008 at 11:38 pm
hi scot kumusta na …ingat just checking here today…
[Reply]
September 12th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
hehehe, hnd talaga kaya ni Marquez c pacquiao.
but for Marquez, magaling dn ciang mag-boxing and his next bout against casamayor would be interesting – Marquez VS Casamayor
[Reply]
November 17th, 2011 at 3:52 am
Hi sis, Pacquiao’s cut was due to an accidental headbutt, not from Marquez’ punches. At the end of the fight, mas bugbog sarado ang mukha ni Marquez – all from legitimate punches – compared to Pacquiao’s face (without the nasty cut due to the accidental headbutt).
I watched the fight live and for me, Marquez camp’s robbed him of any chance to win because they keep telling Marquez that he’s winning – a no-no during the game because it makes the boxer relax and be less aggressive (especially in the last few rounds).
I commend Freddie Roach because he created a great game plan. He knew that without the knock-downs of Marquez in their previous matches, Pacquiao would have lost because Marquez dominated Manny in terms of punches. In their third fight, Roach made sure that Manny became more aggressive in putting more numbers in the statistics and beat Marquez in the category – the knockdowns would just have been the icing on the cake (although it didn’t happen).
People expected at least a knockdown (because Marquez fell in their previous matches) and when it didn’t happen, they thought that Pacquiao’s game is not that good. Let’s not rob Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach of the credit because boxing is not just about throwing punches and making your opponents fall. When it reaches the end of the game and the fate of the winner relies on the scorecards – the one with the best strategy wins.
Sheryl of georyl.com recently posted..The Corruptible by Mark Mynheir
[Reply]