One felt a sense of disappointment over Manny Pacquiao?s performance against Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday night, a feeling that the Filipino superstar should have done better. In a fight where finality was expected, a sense of closure, Pacquiao once again had to settle for a decision that divided the judges and was open to debate. It could be that Marquez has the sort of style that will always trouble Pacquiao, the way that Ken Norton pushed Muhammad Ali to the limit in three fights.
Yet, frankly, much more was expected from Pacquiao. After all, his archrival Floyd Mayweather Jr. outclassed Marquez when they met two years ago. Pacquiao?s camp was talking about an overwhelming victory before the halfway mark. Instead, the welterweight title fight ended on a majority verdict, one round on one card from being a draw.
My TV view was that Pacquiao eked out the win. He was a bit more active than Marquez, a bit more insistent, and just seemed to be landing more punches. Marquez landed most of the eye-catching blows, though, especially the right hands that knocked back Pacquiao?s head and sent his hair flying around.
Pacquiao?s attacks were time and again halted by counter punches, and the Mexican fans roared when Marquez fired off combinations. Marquez?s left uppercut through the middle followed by the right hand was particularly impressive. Pacquiao?s darting right jabs from the southpaw stance were scoring points, though, and when he landed the straight left hand through the middle he was doing so with sufficient force to move Marquez back.
Instead of the fierce fight that was widely expected we got a nip-and-tuck, tactical boxing match that, by the middle rounds was clearly headed towards another tightly scored bout, a ?drawish? type of fight as HBO PPV analyst Max Kellerman put it.
This was the first time in three fights that Pacquiao failed to knock Marquez down. Instead of being dynamic and dominant, Pacquiao was struggling and barely stealing rounds by sneaking in a few more punches than his opponent and being busier. Marquez?s punches were thrown in a more classical manner but Pacquiao was getting there with speedy deliveries, and Pacquiao seemed to be fighting with a greater urgency than Marquez in several rounds, perhaps impressing the judges by giving the appearance of being the fighter willing to take more chances.
Marquez, although 38, has the seasoning, durability and the solid boxing skills that allow him to remain an elite fighter, and he surprised me by offering such stern resistance.
