The bell rang for the 12th time and Manny Pacquiao and Juan Marquez went exchanging blows like it was still in round 1. The fight was dead even and with Marquez connecting with a right hand to the body and Pacquiao with a left hook to the head fans were cheering endlessly chanting there names back and forth. Until the bell sounded for the last time and both warriors raised their fist in the air declaring victory.
The fight was a classic and either way both fighters are declared winner. Manny Pacquiao has set some high standards on all his fights that being declared a split decision or without a knockout victory people get frustrated and criticized his performance. Pacquiao has made a vast improvement from what I’ve seen last Saturday. The head movement and footspeed was always there but I was amazed on his controlled aggression and his body movement. If it was an ordinary fighter Manny had already floored him in the first round. But Marquez was such a beauty watching his boxing clinic hitting Manny and neutralizing his left hand with good right jabs and body shots. The fight could go either way but a knock down in the 3rd round proved to be the focal point in the judges decision.
Although Marquez lost his belt but his legacy is still intact proving his worth against Eric Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera. He is the only fighter who could withstand the Filipino’s speed and power and although it was a close decision but I scored the fight 114-113 for Manny. Statistically it was Marquez who landed the most hits on Pacquiao but Manny has landed the more meaningful shots in the fight.
I would understand Marquez emotions and with his brother losing to a decision against Israel Vasquez last month. It’s a bit frustrating to loose a fight with so much pride and with a lot of things involved. With two belts, a chance of redemption and with the Mexican nation at his back it was just too much to handle.
I think Marquez did what it took to win the fight but I guess Manny also done his homework. Fans are calling for Pacquiao-Marquez 3 with so many controversies involved and to finish the unfinished business once and for all.
So who really won the fight between the two top pound for pound fighters in the world today? It’s us the fans….Kudos to top rank and golden boy for making this fight a reality.
And with still so much hype going on I can already smell a trilogy coming…
March 17, 2008 at 10:26 am |
trilogy? marquez is 34 years old..
March 17, 2008 at 12:32 pm |
i guess its better if they will fight later this year… Marquez is getting older and eventhough he has still some gas on his tank and with lesser fights compared to Barrera and Marquez he can surely mixed it up again with Manny. But this time it would be on the 135lb division. We dont want to wait another 4 years before they decide to fight again…i hope not…
March 18, 2008 at 1:00 am |
so who do you think won man? i though it was a draw.
March 18, 2008 at 2:28 am |
i’m a big pacquiao fan but i saw marquez ahead by 3 rounds at the final bell. inspite of the knockdown, marquez won most of the remaining rounds. he totally dominated pac at the 8th and schooled him at 2, 5, 6, 7, and 12. round 1 was close but marquez landed the hardest shot before the closing so i gave it to him. round 9 was also close but i gave it to marquez because of his effective counterpunching. i gave round 11 to pacquiao because he was the agressor but still its a very close fight, most observers gave it to marquez though. i understand where claims that pacquiao received a gift decision are coming from. one thing for sure, pacman’s win was not convincing. the marquez saga remains unfinished business. there should be a third fight either at 130 or at 135 before pacquiao looks for other opponents. pacquiao wag mong takbuhan si marquez, lumaban ka uli hehehe!
but i think the trilogy should be made early next year, 2009. making two of the same fights immediately by experience do not generate much revenue for the promoter. Pavlik vs. taylor II is one example.
March 18, 2008 at 3:45 am |
@fouledout- i scored it a split decision. I got 6-6 even but awarded the split decision to Pacman having a 10-8 round in the third
@Kwentongwalangkwenta – good insights bro.. but i also think Pavlik and Taylor are not the same level with Pacquiao and Marquez since Pavlik clearly won the first fight. Pacquiao-Marquez fights were all too critical and too hard to tell who really won. A fight in the 135lb division would favor Pacquiao since he doesnt have to drain himself just to fit his body in the 130lb division. Marquez is a power puncher with good counter punching skills but his power diminished after he went from 126lbs to 130 lbs. It was evident in almost all his crucial fights ( Barrera by decision and Juares by decision). 135 lbs would clearly favors Pacman. But then again the contrast of styles makes them both exciting and unpredictable. We all love to see them fight again… hopefully late this year or early next year… fingers cross….
March 18, 2008 at 5:11 am |
@hingedman, kwentongwalangkwenta
i hope we see a rematch. though pacquaio won now, i think marquez deserves a rematch. they are evenly matched and it would be nice to really see who’s the better boxer. i’m a filipino, but i have no problem if manny loses to a better fighter.
March 18, 2008 at 6:33 am |
March 18, 2008 at 5:12 pm |
Hi, everyone!
For me, no need for a rubber match.
Pacquiao is the only reason why those two fights went exciting!
Manny floored Marquez 4 and 1/2 times…
Marquez seemed very happy with his counter punching that bored us to death and couldn’t put Manny’s ass down even just for once…
Yeah, I would say JMM’s style bores me like what he did in his last fight with MAB.
While Manny, whoever his opponent is, he always makes a great show…
This is not to disparage these great Mexicans…I have a lot of respect to them.
I am just after the reality that Manny puts “ADOBO” on the table!
P.S. Manny should move on…
He wants to maximize his body @ lightweight…
So be it!
Thanks for your time…
March 19, 2008 at 2:33 am |
@ bugoy
if manny wants to move up to lightweight. then let them fight in that division. sorry man, but the win was not that convincing. except for the knockdown, manny and marquez are pretty much tied. A third and final match will decide who’s the better boxer.
March 19, 2008 at 8:41 am |
Bring it on.. Pacquiao-Marquez 3!
March 19, 2008 at 9:50 am |
before the rematch, i really thought pacquaio would just run through marquez like he did in the third fight against morales. in that fight, countering pacquiao would be futile because he was just landing punch after punch without regard to what his opponent would do. his improved style even made him more dangerous because while he storms through morales, he was at the same time difficult to hit and in many occasions, able to land counterpunches.
pacquiao was just too tentative against marquez and was confident he could win a boxing match against him. when the fourth round began and marquez was clearly still hurt and out of rythm, the pacquiao flurries that i was expecting was simply not there. me thinks that was being too disciplined in a wrong situation. pacquiao should not lose his old self by trying so much to be a boxer. now that he has improved his technical skills, i think that should give him more confidence to walk through his opponents knowing he could go back to boxing anytime the situation calls for it.
March 19, 2008 at 9:58 am |
to bugoy– in contrast to what you said, i think it was marquez who was pressing the action against barrera when they fought. while marquez may have been knockdowned many times, pacquiao never dominated him. in fact marquez still has a good claim to being the real winner in both matches.
i think pacquiao can do better than his performance last week. that’s why there should be a rematch so pacquiao can finally carry the name “mexecutioner” without any argument on the contrary.
March 20, 2008 at 6:50 am |
oh yeah! let’s get it on! they definitely need the rematch!
April 7, 2008 at 7:41 pm |
No need for rematch. Pacquiao clearly won both fights (though the 2nd was close).
April 7, 2008 at 7:42 pm |
No need for rematch. Pacquiao clearly won both fights, and he crushed Marquez the 1st time (though the 2nd time was close).
April 10, 2008 at 11:17 am |
yup as far as things go its already a finished business
April 21, 2008 at 6:24 am |
indeed its close fights, and its blade decision who really won.but remember the power of pacman still there,if JMM really want to dominated Pacman he should KO Pacman in any round to prove to the world that he is the best fighter..sorry to say Pacman floored JMM 4 times and no question about it…
April 21, 2008 at 6:33 am |
JMM all I can say is : A man doesnt know how to accept defeat is not a real gentleman..so be a gentleman and better luck next time !
April 22, 2008 at 4:41 am |
true that Engineer Rey Tentia
April 22, 2008 at 2:01 pm |
I think JMM should replaced his AKA name, because he is no longer DNAMITA…for me he’s just like small party poppers like WATUSI…Im Yeye 12 years old.
April 29, 2008 at 6:11 am |
He he he he !….you mean Juan Manuel Watusi Marquez…ya !…ok but do not engaged to much in boxing you’re only 12 years old..focus with your studies ok !
April 29, 2008 at 6:38 am |
@yeye- so impress about your boxing knowledge at age 12.. keep it up and like Engr. Rey said focus in your studies because it can take you to places…
July 31, 2008 at 2:14 am |
I love this “most people thought Marquez won” claim. Now, I have no idea whether it’s true, but I think it started with someone who posted an entry on Wikipedia consisting of scores of boxers/media–but with a catch: This entry contained only those scores in favor of Marquez. I could cite nearly 30 in Pacquiao’s favor (including the matchmaker at GBP–Marquez’s promoter), but some people are only interested in facts that support their argument. Same goes for CompuBox stats: True, Marquez landed more in total during the fight, but fights are scored round by round on a ten point must system. Of course, when you look at it round by round (CompuBox numbers), Pacquiao would have the edge. By the way, I don’t believe that CompuBox should be the determining factor in how you score a round or a fight, but supporters of Marquez have used it to justify the “Marquez won”/”Marquez was robbed” assertion.