I remember having this intense feeling of foreboding heading into the close encounter of the 4th kind between Pacquiao and Marquez, as you’ll read below in how I felt on the actual day of this fight. Had Marquez not dialed up an Everlast glove full of radiation at the end of round 6, I’m fairly confident that Pacquiao would’ve finished arch-rival Marquez exactly as I had outlined. Here we are now in Summer 2014, and as it stands a fight between Pacquiao and the perennially reluctant or “scared to death” Floyd Mayweather (this is the bottom line – sorry Floyd) doesn’t look likely, so an episode V of this classic rivalry remains a possibility. I’m kinda leaning toward a clash between Pacquiao and Amir Khan this fall (which I will write about next).
But if Juan Manuel – who will try to do the best he can to be an asshole in negotiations, somehow makes his way back into the ring against Manny, he will be violently gunned down in a mostly one-sided action fight not very different from episode IV. The past is what it will be, and for the most part we should leave it right there. Then again there’s looking back on childhood photos, or being a writer and reflecting back on your keyboard in a desert oasis.
Over 36 rounds between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manual Marquez there has been no definitive winner.
Until now.
[related: Pacquiao intends to crush Marquez]
Rest assured fight fans, there will be no anxiety after 12 close rounds wondering which man will be awarded victory in the opinions of three onlookers.
By the looks on the faces of each fighter as they stared at each other following a tense weigh in, this fight and epic quadrilogy, will end in either a dramatic knockout or an emphatic stoppage.
With no championship at stake (forget the bogus “title” the WBC has attached to this event), these two ring greats are fighting for the championship of each other. Both have prepared themselves for the ultimate encounter, with Marquez in particular, looking in the best shape of his entire fistic life.
Who will win?
[related: 5 things Pacquiao must do to beat Marquez]
Manny Pacquiao seems to be carrying around an almost dismissive disdain for Juan Manual Marquez, who for his part, won?t be sending any holiday cheer to the Filipino icon anytime soon. The rivalry has created the type of tension one would feel between two relatives who can?t stand each other, but who are now forced to deal with each other.
Something has to give- and it will.
Pacquiao has not really looked like he wanted to beat someone up since his demolition of Ricky Hatton, and he appears to be of a similar make up. A man of fervent Christian faith, I believe he will fight like the devil himself at the sound of the bell. Whether ring maestro Marquez has enough holy water in his scientifically engineered arsenal to deal with this remains to be seen.
My guess is he won?t.
I believe both of them will fight with such personal conviction, that this far darker action fight will feature two fighters designed specifically for a knockout. Because it will be a firefight of wills, Marquez will get bludgeoned and gradually overwhelmed by the force of the game’s best offensive fighter. In what will be the best fight of the series, Pacquiao will systemically hunt and chop down a game Marquez over 9 beautifully violent rounds.
