He looked a lot like the old Pac Man as he juked and jived his way to a dominant UD over a game but outmatched Brandon Rios?
?That win was my ticket to the boxing Hall of Fame?I beat a great champion.??Timothy Bradley
?The judges took it away. You don?t have to knock out a guy to win.??Juan Manuel Marquez
?I?ve been robbed six times in my career.??Marquez
On December 8, 2012, Juan Manuel Marquez sent Manny Pacquiao to another planet with a perfectly timed right hand KO with one second remaining in the sixth round. It was named Fight of the Year and Knockout of the Year by Ring Magazine. Round five garnered Round of the Year honors. It was one of the most shocking ends to a major fight since Sergio Martinez KOd Paul Williams in November 2011 at the Boardwalk in Atlantic City.
Strangely, however, Juan Manuel?s win over Pacquiao, while stunning and historic, never seemed to get him the publicity he warranted. Perhaps he lacked a certain charisma which his defeated opponent had. Maybe it was because he had a long history of complaining about decisions that had gone against him. Whatever the case, he did not get as much respect as might be expected with such a resounding and spectacular win.
A noticeably less ripped Marquez (especially in the back) did nothing to help his case when on October 12, 2013; he lost a decision to Timothy Bradley, another outstanding boxer who doesn?t seem to have the respect that parallels his undefeated record or confident swagger. The judges saw the bout 116-112 and 115-113 for Bradley and 115-113 for Marquez. Cementing his reputation for being something of a whiner, Juan Manuel claimed he was robbed of victory and said he wants to fight Bradley again to ?set things right.?
Meanwhile Manny Pacquiao, to the delight of his global fandom, looked a lot like the old Pac Man as he juked and jived his way to a dominant UD over a game but outmatched Brandon Rios. Even a budding (and politically inspired) tax scandal could not take the shine off of Manny?s solid performance. In fact, Pac?s options have suddenly become many (and lucrative) while Marquez?s seem limited at best. Marquez says he is not interested in fighting Pacquiao again so one way to measure the relative degree of appeal at this point is to simply to ask the question: Which fight would you rather see on pay-per-view: 1) a rematch between JMM vs. Bradley or 2) a rematch between Bradley vs. Pacquiao? Better yet, which fight would rather see: 1) Pac Man vs. Mayweather or 2) a rematch between JMM vs. Mayweather?
Everyone, except two judges (one of whom is on leave), knows that Bradley lost to Pacquiao. And everyone knows that a Bradley rematch with Pacquiao would give Bradley his opportunity to gain respect once and for all.
In boxing, one?s gravitas, appeal, influence, respect, clout, and/or juice can shift on a dime. Right now things have once again shifted in Manny Pacquiao?s favor.
