Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez rivalry ended with a big bang. With Pacquaio
falling flatly on the canvass in the final seconds of the 6th round,
Filipinos were shocked to see that their boxing hero succumbed to the right
hook of Marquez. The hysteria of Jinky Pacquiao at the ringside as her husband
planked for a few seconds added more drama to the action-packed fight.
We somehow anticipated that not all the time our hero will
win his fights, but should not end this way! This horrible loss will taint
Pacquiao’s great record as an 8-division world champion. It only showed that
heydays had an end and not all endings are pleasant.
Looking at the fight, both fighters showed their greatest
performance ever in their respective careers. Rounds 1 and 2 exchanges were
equal as they tried to measure one’s strength and tactics. When Pacquiao was
downed in the third round, he obviously got more aggressive that he had also
floored Marquez in the fifth round and battered Marquez that his face was badly
swollen with blood dripping to the canvass. In the middle of the sixth round,
Pacquiao was clearly on the advantage and even pushed to finish it but the
right hook of Marquez stunned him as he fell to the canvass face first and
never recovered.
Many observations and blaming had come out after the fight.
Many said that Pacquiao’s conversion in his religion contributed to his loss.
In all of his previous fights, his rosary was always visible and he only took it
off just before the bell rings at the fight. His being a politician was also blamed
as it misplaced his attention and focus on his boxing career. Others said he
did not train well because he had other
commitments to attend to.
Dwelling to those tirades is an insult to Marquez capability
as a fighter, boxing tactician and counter-puncher. Marquez is not a lowly
boxer that defeated our champion. Remember, he is also a world champion that
was beaten and won by a hair by Pacquiao in judge’s decision. Marquez had also
trained hard for this fight and this win is his redemption.
As I see it, both fighters were great, prepared to fight and
determined to win and it was just a matter of who will hit the devastating blow
first. And this time, it was Juan Manuel Marquez who got
the right side of the coin and the nod from Lady Luck.
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