In a week that saw Boxing lose one of its truest warrior it is only fitting that Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez take to the ring for the third time to perhaps settle their long standing score. While I will not go so far as to predict the same carnage that Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier produced in Manila, I do expect another exhilarating battle between these two. Like Ali and Frazier their styles just mesh perfectly and while there are concerns about Marquez fighting above his best weight class and at a very advanced age for a lighter fighter. I, for one, expect another huge effort from the Mexican bad ass.
Remember the good ole days when the scorecards were the topic of conversation when these two came up? I do, but most seem focused on weight classes and what either man may or may not be putting into their body. While there is validity in those topics, I prefer to focus on the seventy-two minutes of rock solid evidence that they make magic when pitted against each other in combat.
The fight will take place at 144 pounds for Pacquiao?s Welterweight title. Much too much is being made of this. Manny was a Welterweight in the ring when they last fought and many, including myself, predicted that his size and strength would be too much for the aging Marquez in their last encounter. We all know what happened there and while Manny will have the advantage of not cutting weight, I think Marquez razor sharp counters are much more responsible for Pacquiao?s reduced output than a rough weight cut was. Then there is the other side of the coin, people point to Juan being out-classed by Mayweather in his only venture this high up in weight. Do any of you really believe that was all about weight? Floyd?s style would have been a nightmare for Marquez at any weight class. Is Marquez a Welterweight? Not if he was squaring off against the actual Middleweights that occupy the division. But he was 145 pounds in the ring against Michael Katsidis and in this one he is taking on a familiar foe with the same three to five pound advantage on him that he has always had. As for the added bulk on Juan, he was never built like his Mexican contemporaries Erik Morales & Marco Antonio Barrera. Marquez has always been built like a piece of steel. Put the shenanigans to rest folks, this isn?t about pounds! It?s about two gladiators near the twilight of their Hall Of Fame careers renewing what has possibly been the most intriguing style clash of this generation.
