Even the best have an off night. Manny Pacquiao experienced this in the third leg of his battle with the three-division Mexican champion Juan Manuel Marquez. It?s not that Pacquiao was floored or battered around in their recent World Boxing Organization welterweight title bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. But as a 7-to-1 favorite, and the winner of 14 consecutive bouts entering the fray, Pacquiao didn?t exhibit his usual flair and dominance.
Even so, Pacquiao was still able to lay claim via majority decision, but was a one-handed fighter who threw single punches and rarely followed up even when he did land a flurry. Marquez must have noticed. ?I?m frustrated,? he said. ?I connected with solid punches. The best judge is the audience.? It was surprising the man regarded as the best boxer in the world and an eight-division title holder would allow the 12-round fight to proceed in this manner. ?It?s very clear that I won,? Pacquiao declared. ?He?s waiting for me to create action and counter. He?s looking for a good shot. It?s not easy fighting Marquez, who?s a good counter-puncher.?
In their initial match in 2004 at 125 pounds, it ended in a draw, and the second fight four years later at 130 pounds resulted in a split decision for Pacquiao. Before the weigh-in, five-time trainer of the year Freddie Roach felt confident. ?This is the best camp we?ve ever had,? he said. ?Marquez has put on weight, and when you do you?re going to be slower.?
It was a different story afterward. ?Manny was moving to his left and Marquez landed the right hand. Marquez hit him with some good shots, but not great shots.? Pacquiao won the punch-stat numbers, but didn?t want to stage a war in the middle of the ring, and that?s what led the 16,368 fans to believe Marquez (53-6-1 with 39 knockouts) had won. ?I?m happy about my performance tonight,? said Marquez, who had a three-fight winning streak snapped. ?I don?t know what I need to do to change the mind?s of the judges. The people were rooting for me. Everybody knows what happened. I won in the ring and with the fans.?
The final two rounds were crucial, because that was the margin of victory for Pacquiao (54-3-2 and 38 KO?s) as two of the three judges favored the Filipino congressman. Dave Moretti had Pacquiao winning 115-113, and Glenn Trowbridge scored it 116-112. Robert Hoyle called it 114-114. ?Pretty much I was surprised by how it went,? said Roach. ?It was a very close fight. I was way off. I thought Manny won the last two rounds.?
Pacquiao landed 176 total punches compared to 138 for Marquez, 59 jabs to 38, and 117 power shots to 100. The Pac-Man was also busier than Marquez, throwing more power punches (274-254), total punches (578-436) and jabs (304-182). And so it went on an evening that Pacquiao wasn?t at his best. And that?s the bottom line.
