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Will Manny Pacquiao Retire Juan Manuel Marquez?
It’s a given that Manny Pacquiao will
beat Juan Manuel Marquez when they
meet on November 12 in Las Vegas.
The only question on everyone’s mind
at this point is: just how badly will
Pacquiao beat him? A lot of factors have to be taken into
account when discussing this fight. For
one, the history involved. This, of
course, is the third and final meeting
between Pacquiao and Marquez – two
fighters who have established quite the storied past with one another in
and out of the ring. Back in 2004 when the pair clashed
the first time, they left more questions
unanswered by the time the match
ended than there had been when the
match began. The bout concluded in a
draw, but both men -- particularly Pacquiao, who had been wronged by
judges in their scoring -- felt as though
they had been victimized and
deserved to have won the match. In 2008, when Pacquiao and Marquez
met for a second time, all of the
questions were supposed to be
answered. No more incorrectly
tabulated score sheets, no more
doubt. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Despite the fact that Marquez fought a
more thorough match than his
counterpart statistically, the judges
ruled in favor of Pacquiao – thus
creating another firestorm of
controversy. In the aftermath of that second clash,
Marquez and Golden Boy’s Richard
Schaefer immediately demanded a
third bout to settle the debate of who
was better once and for all. Pacquiao
and his team rebuffed the overtures made by the other side, however –
citing that they had proven what they
needed to prove and were done with
Marquez. Not even Marquez’s
misguided trips to the Philippines
could change anyone’s minds. Now, in 2011, after Pacquiao had
firmly and undeniably established
himself as one of the two best pound-
for-pound fighters in the sport, he
finally agreed to give Marquez a shot
at redemption. The fight that everyone wanted to see three years prior got a
green light from all parties involved. Only it shouldn’t have. The Pacquiao that is slated to step into
the ring on November 12 is a much
different man than the one who got a
tough battle from Marquez back in ’08.
This version of the Filipino champion,
Pacquiao 2.0 if you will, has left a trail of mangled boxers and careers in
his rearview starting with Oscar De La
Hoya and Ricky Hatton, and ending
with the ghost of “Sugar” Shane
Mosley. In fact, Pacquiao latest victim in
Mosley was pummeled so painstakingly in their match, that at
one point, he begged for his corner to
throw in the towel. Beginning with the De La Hoya fight
that occurred nine months after his
controversial win over Marquez,
Pacquiao started to dominate his
competition in a fashion that hadn’t
been seen in boxing for a very long time. Not only did he beat everyone in
sight, but he improved with each
passing match. He refined his
technique, enhanced his aim and
perhaps most importantly, dominated
his opponents in such a way so that he could preserve his own body and
sustain minimal injuries. As shocking as it may sound, the 2011
Pacquiao is better than the 2008
Pacquiao who some would argue beat
Marquez fair and square. Marquez, meanwhile, has been
following the trajectory that most
fighters follow as they age. He’s
slowed down. He’s not as precise or
mechanical against his opponents
anymore. And even though he ravaged Likar Ramos in the first round
of their recent much -- thus giving
some of his supporters the false hope
that he could hang with Pacquiao --
the truth is, it was an aberration that
couldn’t have come at a worse time. Now, instead of being complacent and
underestimating Marquez, Pacquiao
will devote his full attention to the
man. Nobody thinks Marquez has a shot in
this one. Not Vegas, not the fans, not HBO and probably not even Marquez’s
own corner. In recent months, Marquez has made a
few token comments about believing
that he can beat Pacquiao, but that’s
showmanship more than anything
else. In all likelihood, he’s already
resigned himself to the fact that he’s going to take the beating, eat the
payday like Mosley did before him,
and move on to greener pastures. Here’s to hoping that Marquez isn’t
underestimating just how massive of a
thumping he’ll have to take in the
coming match, though.
beat Juan Manuel Marquez when they
meet on November 12 in Las Vegas.
The only question on everyone’s mind
at this point is: just how badly will
Pacquiao beat him? A lot of factors have to be taken into
account when discussing this fight. For
one, the history involved. This, of
course, is the third and final meeting
between Pacquiao and Marquez – two
fighters who have established quite the storied past with one another in
and out of the ring. Back in 2004 when the pair clashed
the first time, they left more questions
unanswered by the time the match
ended than there had been when the
match began. The bout concluded in a
draw, but both men -- particularly Pacquiao, who had been wronged by
judges in their scoring -- felt as though
they had been victimized and
deserved to have won the match. In 2008, when Pacquiao and Marquez
met for a second time, all of the
questions were supposed to be
answered. No more incorrectly
tabulated score sheets, no more
doubt. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Despite the fact that Marquez fought a
more thorough match than his
counterpart statistically, the judges
ruled in favor of Pacquiao – thus
creating another firestorm of
controversy. In the aftermath of that second clash,
Marquez and Golden Boy’s Richard
Schaefer immediately demanded a
third bout to settle the debate of who
was better once and for all. Pacquiao
and his team rebuffed the overtures made by the other side, however –
citing that they had proven what they
needed to prove and were done with
Marquez. Not even Marquez’s
misguided trips to the Philippines
could change anyone’s minds. Now, in 2011, after Pacquiao had
firmly and undeniably established
himself as one of the two best pound-
for-pound fighters in the sport, he
finally agreed to give Marquez a shot
at redemption. The fight that everyone wanted to see three years prior got a
green light from all parties involved. Only it shouldn’t have. The Pacquiao that is slated to step into
the ring on November 12 is a much
different man than the one who got a
tough battle from Marquez back in ’08.
This version of the Filipino champion,
Pacquiao 2.0 if you will, has left a trail of mangled boxers and careers in
his rearview starting with Oscar De La
Hoya and Ricky Hatton, and ending
with the ghost of “Sugar” Shane
Mosley. In fact, Pacquiao latest victim in
Mosley was pummeled so painstakingly in their match, that at
one point, he begged for his corner to
throw in the towel. Beginning with the De La Hoya fight
that occurred nine months after his
controversial win over Marquez,
Pacquiao started to dominate his
competition in a fashion that hadn’t
been seen in boxing for a very long time. Not only did he beat everyone in
sight, but he improved with each
passing match. He refined his
technique, enhanced his aim and
perhaps most importantly, dominated
his opponents in such a way so that he could preserve his own body and
sustain minimal injuries. As shocking as it may sound, the 2011
Pacquiao is better than the 2008
Pacquiao who some would argue beat
Marquez fair and square. Marquez, meanwhile, has been
following the trajectory that most
fighters follow as they age. He’s
slowed down. He’s not as precise or
mechanical against his opponents
anymore. And even though he ravaged Likar Ramos in the first round
of their recent much -- thus giving
some of his supporters the false hope
that he could hang with Pacquiao --
the truth is, it was an aberration that
couldn’t have come at a worse time. Now, instead of being complacent and
underestimating Marquez, Pacquiao
will devote his full attention to the
man. Nobody thinks Marquez has a shot in
this one. Not Vegas, not the fans, not HBO and probably not even Marquez’s
own corner. In recent months, Marquez has made a
few token comments about believing
that he can beat Pacquiao, but that’s
showmanship more than anything
else. In all likelihood, he’s already
resigned himself to the fact that he’s going to take the beating, eat the
payday like Mosley did before him,
and move on to greener pastures. Here’s to hoping that Marquez isn’t
underestimating just how massive of a
thumping he’ll have to take in the
coming match, though.
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