DID MARQUEZ GET THE OLD SHAFT?
Las Vegas, NV- In what was a see-saw type of fight, both Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez could have had their hand raised after 12 rounds as it was a close one. To some Manny won the fight, while others proclaimed Marquez the winner. When it was all said and done, the final ruling after 36 minutes of battle gave Pacquiao a split decision victory with scores 115-112 & 114-113 Pacquiao, and 115-112 Marquez.
MARQUEZ CLEARLY WON MORE ROUNDS!
Watching the fight with friends, I thought that while the Filipino Pacquiao landed the harder shots, but then I thought Juan ?controlled? the fight more as far as rounds won were concerned. A knockdown in the third of the Mexican warrior Marquez must have seemed like d?j? vu to both men, seeing Juan went down thrice in the first round of their initial encounter in May 2004.
CAN YOU SAY PUGILSTIC D?J? VU?
After tasting the canvas in the third, Juan was rocked again before the bell ending the round. Dazed, stunned, and hurt, Marquez went to the wrong corner when the session ended. Just like the first fight, Marquez, showing the heart and courage of a champion, he rallied back with right hands in the fourth. From that point forward, the flow went back and forth. An unintentional clash of skulls in the seventh heat had crimson flowing from both men.
PACMAN FIRED UP FROM BUTTS & CUTS!
Pacquiao seized the moment and finished the round well. At this point, even with the knockdown, the majority of people I watched the fight with were of the opinion that the underdog Marquez was ahead. Up by three at this juncture, Marquez seemed more comfortable than Manny whenever the fight was in the center of the ring. The all out aggression that is Manny Pacquiao, it seemed thwarted when the pair were ring center.
THE TIDE TURNED BACK THE OTHER WAY
Come the eight round, Juan was in control as he beat on the Filipino icon for almost the entire round. A Pacman rally in the ninth seemed to turn the table of momentum once again. With Manny winning the tenth with ?hard? punches, it seemed that Pacquiao would need to win the two final rounds, or score a knockdown or knockout to win, as Marquez was ahead in rounds. Instead of winning the 11th and 12th in an attempt to take back a fight he appeared to be losing, Marquez instead won the final two frames.
CONSENSUS SCORING GAVE IT TO JUAN
The consensus card of six of us had Juan wining 115-112, the same score of veteran judge Jerry Roth. On the flipside, (that?s a term for phonograph records, not a racial term) the experienced Duane Ford had it 115-112 Pacquiao. Judge Tim Miller, he was the deciding factor with a 114-113 scorecard for Manny. Had the Filipino icon not scored the knockdown in round three, this fight would have ended up a draw.
STYLES, THEY DO MAKE FIGHTS
As the subtitle says, ?styles make fights.? And while Manny had his moments, they didn?t seem to be enough to warrant his hand being raised by referee Tony Weeks. All in all, it was a good fight, but not ?fight of the year? material as Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez?s third fight at the beginning of March was a much more exciting battle. With the win, Pacquiao goes to 46-3,-2, 34 KOs. A very disappointed Marquez drops to 48-4-1, 34 KOs.
BOTH ON ?RING TALK RADIO? TONIGHT!
Listeners to the longest running talk show in boxing history, ?Ring Talk Radio,? will get a chance to hear from both Pacquiao and Marquez tonight at 9 PM PDT. There will be a special LIVE RADIO link here at www.RingTalk.com that will be posted later in the day.
