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Philippines, 20 Apr 2024 |
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THE ONLY WAY FOR MARQUEZ TO SCORE AN UPSET By Reylan Loberternos PhilBoxing.com Thu, 17 Sep 2009  Tungod, Inabanga, Bohol – After all the brouhaha, or perhaps the lack of it, the seemingly hard-selling pay-per-view encounter between Mexico’s pee-drinking assassin Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs) and loudmouth, egocentric, yet marvelously talented “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather, Jr.(39-0-0, 25 KOs) of the United States finally takes place this weekend at the MGM Grand Hotel, in Las Vegas, Nevada. This bout, which was originally scheduled on the 18th of July this year and moved on a later date when Mayweather allegedly sustained a rib injury (although many thought of it as just an alibi to compensate for the very slow movement of tickets), will be fought at a catchweight limit of 144 lbs. Marquez comes into this fight as the huge underdog. Age, speed, size, and effective reach are some glaring disadvantages he will have to deal with as he steps inside the squared circle this Saturday (Sunday morning, Philippine time). It may also be interesting to note that Marquez will box his 400th professional boxing round whereas his would-be opponent would take only his 276th, as the bell rings for the first time during this 12-round nontitle bout. Wear-and-tear, coupled with advancing age, could very well be a huge drawback for the fighter from Mexico City. Factor in the level of competition and the contrasting manners that these ring tacticians have carried out their respective ring performances to date and you’ll probably expect a one-sided beatdown in favor of Floyd. But, wait! Have we all forgotten how smart, skillful, and great Marquez is? He has fought probably all sorts of styles and each time, his patient, sharp-shooting, counter-punching style has given his opponents fits, no exceptions whatsoever. Hasn’t he done enough to at least deserve a benefit of the doubt in his quest against Floyd? If Marquez was able to be competitive with a younger, faster, better, and pound for pound best in Pacquiao, what makes you think he won’t be competitive with only the 2nd best?... or 3rd best or perhaps even lower? Okay, you will probably talk size, the old clich? “styles make fights”, and the issue of who’s better between Pacquiao and Mayweather are another story… but come to think of it. Marquez is in fact, in this writer’s opinion, a better counter puncher than Mayweather is. You can quote me on that… or not… whichever suits you. Enough of the introduction and all these side issues, let’s now try to focus on the real subject at hand. Yes, Juan Manuel can definitely beat Floyd. He has the necessary tools to execute a monumental upset… but the question is how? The answer, contrary to what most people think, really is quite simple. He only has to do what he does best – counterpunch. Though, this time, he has to execute it with utmost patience, control and discipline. He should employ a completely defensive approach. Majority, if not all, of his punches should be defensive in nature… that is to keep Mayweather at bay and force him to be on the offensive, unless of course if he tags Floyd and puts him in trouble, like Zab Judah did in the early rounds of their fight. Mayweather is best known for his almost impenetrable defense. This facet of his boxing arsenal is his biggest asset. Making him use it by bringing the fight to Floyd would be nothing short of stupid for Marquez to do, and he probably knows it. On the other hand, making Floyd fight offensively nullifies or even effaces it. Marquez doesn’t have to force a fight to take place. It isn’t his responsibility to make the bout interesting, much less exciting. That accountability falls on Floyd’s shoulders, noting that almost everybody is expecting him to just run over Marquez and beat him easily. Mayweather has so much more to lose. The pressure is mostly on him. This is probably the most important and almost certainly the only factor where Marquez will have an upper hand for this faceoff… and he definitely has to exploit it. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Reylan Loberternos.  |
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