Pacquiao loves to please fans, still deserves respect

Pacquiao loves to please fans, still deserves respect by Lorne Scoggins, Fort Smith Boxing Examiner November 18, 2011 I thought it would be a blowout. So did you, most likely. Pacquiao has a history of dominating nearly every fighter he’s squared off against, avenging his last loss against Eirk Morales by knocking him out twice. Many pundits assumed Pacquiao’s more refined skills would lead to a knockout victory against the last guy that gave him any real trouble in the ring – Juan Manuel Marquez. That assumption was wrong. After nearly a solid week of heated disagreement that has even divided Pacquiao fans, the debate rages on in various Internet forums. Even those who claim to believe that Pacquiao won have managed to find loads of excuses as to why Marquez gave him fits. If you think he won, why the excuses? “Manny had an argument with Jinkee,” they say. “Manny had an argument with Ariza,” they assert. “Manny had too many distractions,” they cry. Hasn’t it been well documented that Manny always has a lot of distractions? Advertisement “Marquez stomped on his feet” is the one that I find the most humorous. Pacquiao, a southpaw, has undoubtedly had his toes stomped on by orthodox fighters more times than one could count in fights that he still managed to dominate. But some folks are counting his last opponent’s foot stomps. The unofficial tally of Marquez’s foot stomps against Pacquiao is at 17, last I heard. A video also came out that featured Pacquiao stepping on Marquez’s feet. Nobody counted. The most die-hard Pacquiao fans have declared war against every writer and commentator who feels that he got an undeserved victory and the most die-hard Marquez fans have declared war on everybody who doesn’t think Marquez won. I happen to believe that Pacquiao did enough to get the W, but only by a razor-thin margin. I have no argument with anybody who feels otherwise but I don’t understand the hostility towards the champ. Pacquiao didn’t fight as well as he usually does. There’s no doubt about that. His fans know it, his critics know it, his team knows it, and he knows it. To his credit, he expressed his desire to turn right around and fight Marquez again. I think Pacquiao deserves to be admired for is his determination to do whatever he feels he needs to do in order to please the fans. He won the fight, but he knows that people aren’t satisfied so he’s ready to do it all over again. Let’s not forget that the man has been the greatest ambassador for the sport in recent history. His popularity has attracted scores of new fans. He trains like a madman to prepare for every fight, and let’s face it; most of his performances have been more than impressive. So to all the radical, angry, keyboard warriors; put the mouse down and step away from the computer. Pacquiao is a blessing to the sport and his accomplishments shouldn’t be forgotten just because he had a rough night. Even at his worst he’s better than most. Lorne.Scoggins@Gmail.com Continue reading on Examiner.com Pacquiao loves to please fans, still deserves respect - Fort Smith Boxing | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/boxing-in-fort-smith/pacquiao-loves-to-please-fans-still-deserves-respect#ixzz1eABZgL1N