It looks like the old clich? of how good things come to those who wait is rooted firmly in truth. For the boxing fan inside all of us, it?s been a long, sometimes empty, four years. Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez first locked horns on May 8, 2004 in what wound up being one of the most scintillating showdowns of the decade. But the end result of the bout was marred in controversy, thus resulting in a searing demand for a rematch.
After Marquez was floored three times and almost stopped in the opening round of their epic initial encounter, the Mexican figured out the tricky Pacquiao jigsaw puzzle and boxed his way back into the fight. The tussle was declared a draw, though many boxing insiders felt one guy deserved it over the other and vice versa.
Finally, after almost a half decade of anticipation and salivation, both Marquez and Pacquiao dazzled and electrified the Sweet Science?s loyal followers on Saturday by delivering a candidate for fight of the year (though Juan Manuel?s younger brother Rafael will probably take home those honors alongside rival Israel Vazquez for their magnificent rubber match a few weeks ago).
Marquez began their rematch with clever footwork and ring generalship; he backed away from Pacquiao and circled to his left, mostly muting the Filipino?s powerful left hand. After two plus rounds of peppering ?Pac Man? with stiff jabs and sneaky right hands, punctuated by a sizzling right/left at the end of the first round, it looked like the Mexican had his nemesis figured out. If Pacquiao couldn?t penetrate Marquez? defense or properly cut off the ring, it was going to be a long night.
Luckily for Pacquiao and his legion of rabid fans, his trademark left hand detonated on Marquez? jaw late in the third. The punch eradicated everything Marquez had already achieved against his foe inside the squared circle and within seconds, the Mexico City native was on his side, trying to crawl back up to his feet.
Marquez survived the knockdown and from there, with that solitary left hand grenade from Pacquiao, a grand declaration of war was issued.
Pacquiao and Marquez dragged each other down into the undertows of Limne Pur with their fistic savagery; one routinely battering the other only to succumb to the exact punishment himself. Round after round the two 130 pound warriors elicited choruses of adulation from the near sold out Las Vegas crowd inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center and as the fight?s conclusion drew near, it was a mystery as to which fighter?s style the three judges will have favored.
Once the final bell tolled to mercifully end the twelve rounds of the controlled chaos Pacquiao and Marquez administered to one another, their faces were swollen, sanguinary tapestries showcasing such unmatched barbaric, yet beautiful, battery.
Ringside observers were torn as to who the victor was.
Would it be Marquez with his more fluid combos, surgical precision and deft counter punching? Or was Pacquiao?s hand to be raised for the sheer power he displayed, encapsulated by his knockdown of Marquez in the third and the near felling of his opponent in the tenth? Did the judges prefer Marquez? style of brilliant boxing or Pacquiao?s sporadic bursts of strikes?
As it turned out, one judge favored Marquez; Jerry Roth had it 115-112. His scorecard was offset by both Duane Ford and Tom Miller as they awarded the brawl to Pacquiao 115-112 and 114-113, respectively.
In the moments immediately following the decision that was read aloud by veteran ring announcer Michael Buffer, disgust and virtual turmoil ran rampant in the stands. Thousands of Marquez supporters vehemently booed the decision, easily muting the screams of pleasure from the Pacquiao loyalists who felt the verdict was just.
Nevertheless, the 11,061 in attendance knew they saw a remarkable fight.
Regardless of how the three official ringside judges scored the bout, the rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez was far beyond worth the price of admission and pay-per-view combined. The showdown did everything it was designed to do: It clearly lived up to the hype, it drew in over a $3 million live gate (a record for the weight class), it seized candidacy for year-end awards and it was as entertaining as it was close. So sublime the battle was yet so dubious the decision, it warrants a third go ?round between the two, not an achievement many a fight can accomplish.
Whenever there is a fight as wondrous and aesthetically pleasing as Pacquiao/Marquez II and as long as the fight goes down to the wire as to who is the possible victor, the final outcome shouldn?t be held in question. The winner?s celebration and the judges? decision should never be taken hostage from hostile observers because the duel delivered on the two most important character traits of a mega fight: entertainment and competitiveness.
Many of the rounds were so close they could have gone either way. Marquez seemed to land more punches than Pacquiao and he appeared to land the better combos and cleaner punches. However, Pacquiao?s power was the great equalizer and he pressed the action the vast majority of the time. With that said, the fight could have gone to either Pacquiao, Marquez or a draw and whichever result would have been handed down by the three men appointed by the Nevada Athletic Commission would have been justified.
Those who relish the verdict and defend a triumph by the Filipino are cogent in their belief because, well, Pacquiao probably deserved to win. However, the antithesis of that particular argument lays in comfortable juxtaposition to said debate because, well, Marquez probably deserved to win as well. And whoever felt the fight was a draw, well, that decision is probably justifiable also.
I personally felt that Marquez won the fight 115-112 but it?s understandable in my opinion that someone feels otherwise. A hurried survey of several ringside reporters revealed a wide margin of opinion as writers perched in various positions of press row widely differed from the reporter to his left or right.
Diehard Marquez fans probably have a right to gripe after they watched a fight in which they felt their hero was robbed. It was a to-hell-and-back affair and within the allotted 12 frames of brutality were stanzas that were at times too close to call. The fight could have gone to either man; either way it would have satisfied thousands and angered just as many. But to sit back and writhe in vitriol because of some sort of phantom highway robbery is laughable because the fight was an epic. And more importantly it was as close as they come.
Yes, I felt Marquez should have gotten his hand raised in victory but I?m not going to pine over what I felt was the incorrect decision and nor should anybody else who witnessed one of the year?s best fights (though it?s only March). What boxing fans should gripe about, however, is the notion that Pacquiao/Marquez III probably won?t happen anytime soon, if at all. If a third bout between these two future hall of famers never materializes, it?ll be a travesty ten times the size of the minor bellyache about how Marquez didn?t get the decision he probably deserved.
You can reach Mike Sloan at [email protected]
