The Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas was the site what for must be the early candidate for fight of the year. Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez put on the show of shows Saturday night. Both fighters proved to everyone why they are true champions with a tremedous display of will and courage.
When the two fighters went to the center of the ring for the instructions, the Arena crowd was on its feet and noise was at a level I hadn’t heard in quite sometime. The Mexican and Phillipine supporters must have had a sense of what was to come.
It looked as if it would be a short night when Pacman overwhelmed Juan Manuel and put him on the deck three times in the first round. It didn’t look as if Marquez would make it, but he showed his toughness by surviving that round and then some. The early rounds showed Manny swarm JMM with his barrage of activity and straight punches and it wasn’t looking good for Marquez. Towards the end of the third round, it seemed that Marquez was getting into the flow of the fight and began to in fact get back into it. I had Marquez winning rounds 4-6 with round seven being a close one that I gave to Pac-man. As the fight wore on, all I kept thinking was how dominant Manny is and how freaking tough Marquez is. Never in my thought process did it occur to me that Marquez was close on the cards. Although I scored the last four rounds close, the 10-6 round in the first was just too much for the game Marquez to overcome…..so I thought.
As the bell sounded to end the fight, the first thoughts in my head ( and tape recorder) were “great,great fight!”, ” Marquez fought his ass off” and “Manny was just too much for JMM”. I had the fight scored 114-111 on my card in favor of Manny Pacquiao, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if the judges had it scored more one-sided for Pac-man. While waiting for the decision, everyone on press row was buzzing. High fives, screaming and cheering were in order. The fans of both fighters went into their chanting and we waited for the clear cut victory for Pacquiao to be official. The first scorcard read 115-110 for Pac-man. That seemed ok to me. Then the scorcard that just about gave me a heartattack was read. 115-110 for MARQUEZ? I couldn’t believe it. You could make the case that Marquez fought bravely and it was close, but no way in hell is that fight a five point victory for Marquez. The first round was 10-6, so for him to win by that score is almost Mathmatically impossible. I flunked math, but I think that means Marquez won every other round? Or at least 10 of 12. I think even the biggest Marquez fans didn’t see that. After they picked me up off the arena floor and gave me smelling salts, the inevitable happened. The final judge scored it 113-113….a draw.
The fight that showed everything good about Boxing ended as most do in Las Vegas, with a bad decision. I don’t have anything negative to say about Marquez. ( in fact I predicted a Marquez victory by decision) He fought bravely, was in top condition and proved that he is a true champion of the sport, but Manny Paqcuiao did the same and in my opinion deserved the victory. What’s done is done, so all we can do now is tell Erik Morales to step aside, becuase we have some unfinished business to take care of. The rematch is a must…let’s get it on!
post fight thoughts at the Grand garden
As shocked and upset as I was with decision, I was just as shocked when I started getting others opinions at ringside. It seemed it was about a 50/50 split on who eveyone thought won this great bout. I guess that is part of what makes a great fight, strong opinions and debates. I’m sure the knowledgable members of Boxingscene.com will debate over this one for awhile.
a few comments at ringside:
Richie Sandoval,former World Champion- “Marquez dominated with his jab, and was more active over the course of the fight” ” One round doesn’t make a fight.”
Dave Smith, Am 1540 The Ticket Los Angeles Drive Time Sports talkshow host- “worst decision I’ve seen in a long time.” Pacquiao obviously dominated the fight, and no way he could have caught up on the cards after the first round knockdowns.”
Ricardo Jimenez,Interpreter for Marquez- “Juan feels good, Manny is a great champion” ” Marquez won the majority of the rounds”
Bob Arum- “Immediate rematch must be made” We will talk to everyone tomorrow and determine what will happen”
Murad Muhammed- “if the scoring was done correctly in the first round, we win” “this is a hard one to take, but we figure a draw in Vegas is like a victory everywhere else” ” Manny did his country men proud”
Manny Pacquiao- “thank you to all my fans for their support” ” I believe I won” “If you watched the fight, you know” “rematch anytime,anywhere” ” I hurt my hands in the first round and it bothered me throught the fight” ” my neck was also bothering me from the second round on”
Juan Manuel Marquez-“I won the fight, won most of the rounds” “He surprised me in the first round, but I came back and won” ” I showed my heart and courage”
Post fight press conference
When the fighters came in, they showed respect to each other and embraced. It was the overall opinion that the immediate rematch will be made in Las Vegas sooner than later.
Bob Arum’s closing statement- “Let’s do it again!”
One final thought…when some genius at the press conference asked Marquez why he was knocked down in the first round……Marquez’ reply?……..he hit me. I guess that explains it?
One final thought part 2- Today I’m not as upset with the cards as I was last night. After all it’s not often that we get to see two great champions at the top of their game. It was truly a great fight.
