Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
December 6, 2012
LAS VEGAS--The fourth time is the charm.
That is the hope of Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez at least, who at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday meets fellow future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao for the fourth time in the last eight years, looking to score his first official victory over the Filipino icon during their rivalry.
Many would argue that Marquez has won at least 24 of the 36 rounds the two fighters have fought in their three fights. However, Pacquiao holds the edge in having put Marquez on the canvas four times, including three times in the opening round of their first fight back in May 2004.
Since that first salvo that saw Marquez miraculously recover from nearly being stopped in the opening round of his featherweight title defense against a rising Pacquiao, Marquez has more or less dominated Pacquiao and has proven to be his most difficult foe since the Filipino star became a household name after battering Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera six months before facing Marquez for the first time.
In their first contest, Marquez barely escaped with both a draw and his two featherweight belts, mostly due to a scoring error. After Marquez was dropped three times in the opening round, the common thought was that it should be scored a 10-6 round in favor of Pacquiao. Judge Burt Clements scored it only 10-7 for Pacquiao and his final scorecard came out 113-113, a draw, while the other two judges had it once each for Marquez and Pacquiao. Clements later admitted he would have scored the round 10-6 had he been more acute.
The bout was one of 2004's best and had everyone clamoring for a rematch. Unfortunately, the two wouldn't meet for another four years, as Marquez didn't feel he was getting compensated well enough in the initial offers for a rematch. Instead, Marquez made a few defenses against lesser names and then opted to go to Indonesia and fight unheralded Chris John in his backyard for a paltry $35,000, ultimately losing a controversial decision and his featherweight belts.
It was considered one of the worst moves made by a fighter in recent times, derailing Marquez's career for a year until he was able to beat the previously mentioned Barrera in his first fight at junior lightweight.
Two fights later, Marquez and Pacquiao would meet again, but this time it was Pacquiao who had more career momentum having stopped Erik Morales, another future Hall of Famer, twice in succession after being handed his first loss by him in 2005.
The second fight was another Fight of the Year candidate with Pacquiao edging a split-decision over Marquez, in large part thanks to a 3rd round knockdown. Marquez again proved his technical dominance, counter punching Pacquiao brilliantly, yet still came up short on the scorecards by just a bit.
It was from this point that Pacquiao began to enter all-time great status. After beating Marquez at 130 pounds, Pacquiao moved up to lightweight, conquered David Diaz, and then demolished Oscar De La Hoya into retirement in a catchweight fight at welterweight to close 2008. The following year, Pacquiao starching Ricky Hatton in two rounds to claim the legitimate junior welterweight title before moving back to welterweight and batter Miguel Cotto via TKO.
Marquez, on the other hand, established credentials as the best 135 pounder in the world, handing Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz their first stoppage defeats in the process. With Pacquiao at welterweight and Marquez two weight classes below, it didn't look as though the two were going to meet for a third time.
Last November, despite the discrepancy in weight, the two met again, with Pacquiao a lopsided favorite in the pre-fight betting odds. Many felt this would be the first clear victory scored in the series as Pacquiao had just gone through a who's who of much bigger fighters while Marquez showed signs of slowing.
Instead, Marquez proved that he has the blueprint to give Pacquiao fits and managed to not get knocked down on his way to a pretty clear victory. Unfortunately, Marquez once again fell short on the undercards as Pacquiao earned a majority decision win in one of the more controversially scored bouts of 2011.
Pacquiao then went ahead and fought unbeaten Timothy Bradley this past June, and for the first time in seven years he was declared the loser. That fight carried its own questionable scoring as most felt that Pacquiao did more damage. However, it was later determined through a YouTube video that many of the times the commentary team was giving Pacquiao credit for landing shots, Bradley was actually slipping punches and showing impeccable defense.
In the interim, Bradley has been pushed aside and Pacquiao decided to give Marquez a fourth fight. For Marquez, his career won't be complete until he gets an official win over his archrival. In the past, Marquez has even worn shirts that said “I Beat Pacquiao” and even penned an autobiography called “Yes, I Beat You Manny Pacquiao”, so it is clear there is some animosity from one side.
The odds for this fourth fight have shown more favorably for Marquez, who is only a 3-to-1 underdog this time. Pacquiao has definitely slipped and his time over the past few years has seen the focus shift from boxing to other things. Pacquiao is now a Congressman in the Philippines and has rededicated himself to his family and religion after a few missteps in recent years. Bizarrely, it may have affected him negatively as a fighter.
For the fourth fight, more than a fair share of boxing insiders are pegging Marquez to win by knockout. Pacquiao hasn't even been on the canvas since the turn of the millennium, so that seems a bit farfetched, especially when considering Marquez hasn't knocked out a legitimate opponent since his days as a lightweight. There definitely exists a solid likelihood that Marquez finally gets his long-awaited victory, but the more likely result is Marquez prevailing on the scorecards.
Let's just hope we are spared some controversy and this doesn't head to a fifth fight.
Martinez News-Gazette
December 6, 2012
LAS VEGAS--The fourth time is the charm.
That is the hope of Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez at least, who at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday meets fellow future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao for the fourth time in the last eight years, looking to score his first official victory over the Filipino icon during their rivalry.
Many would argue that Marquez has won at least 24 of the 36 rounds the two fighters have fought in their three fights. However, Pacquiao holds the edge in having put Marquez on the canvas four times, including three times in the opening round of their first fight back in May 2004.
Since that first salvo that saw Marquez miraculously recover from nearly being stopped in the opening round of his featherweight title defense against a rising Pacquiao, Marquez has more or less dominated Pacquiao and has proven to be his most difficult foe since the Filipino star became a household name after battering Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera six months before facing Marquez for the first time.
In their first contest, Marquez barely escaped with both a draw and his two featherweight belts, mostly due to a scoring error. After Marquez was dropped three times in the opening round, the common thought was that it should be scored a 10-6 round in favor of Pacquiao. Judge Burt Clements scored it only 10-7 for Pacquiao and his final scorecard came out 113-113, a draw, while the other two judges had it once each for Marquez and Pacquiao. Clements later admitted he would have scored the round 10-6 had he been more acute.
The bout was one of 2004's best and had everyone clamoring for a rematch. Unfortunately, the two wouldn't meet for another four years, as Marquez didn't feel he was getting compensated well enough in the initial offers for a rematch. Instead, Marquez made a few defenses against lesser names and then opted to go to Indonesia and fight unheralded Chris John in his backyard for a paltry $35,000, ultimately losing a controversial decision and his featherweight belts.
It was considered one of the worst moves made by a fighter in recent times, derailing Marquez's career for a year until he was able to beat the previously mentioned Barrera in his first fight at junior lightweight.
Two fights later, Marquez and Pacquiao would meet again, but this time it was Pacquiao who had more career momentum having stopped Erik Morales, another future Hall of Famer, twice in succession after being handed his first loss by him in 2005.
The second fight was another Fight of the Year candidate with Pacquiao edging a split-decision over Marquez, in large part thanks to a 3rd round knockdown. Marquez again proved his technical dominance, counter punching Pacquiao brilliantly, yet still came up short on the scorecards by just a bit.
It was from this point that Pacquiao began to enter all-time great status. After beating Marquez at 130 pounds, Pacquiao moved up to lightweight, conquered David Diaz, and then demolished Oscar De La Hoya into retirement in a catchweight fight at welterweight to close 2008. The following year, Pacquiao starching Ricky Hatton in two rounds to claim the legitimate junior welterweight title before moving back to welterweight and batter Miguel Cotto via TKO.
Marquez, on the other hand, established credentials as the best 135 pounder in the world, handing Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz their first stoppage defeats in the process. With Pacquiao at welterweight and Marquez two weight classes below, it didn't look as though the two were going to meet for a third time.
Last November, despite the discrepancy in weight, the two met again, with Pacquiao a lopsided favorite in the pre-fight betting odds. Many felt this would be the first clear victory scored in the series as Pacquiao had just gone through a who's who of much bigger fighters while Marquez showed signs of slowing.
Instead, Marquez proved that he has the blueprint to give Pacquiao fits and managed to not get knocked down on his way to a pretty clear victory. Unfortunately, Marquez once again fell short on the undercards as Pacquiao earned a majority decision win in one of the more controversially scored bouts of 2011.
Pacquiao then went ahead and fought unbeaten Timothy Bradley this past June, and for the first time in seven years he was declared the loser. That fight carried its own questionable scoring as most felt that Pacquiao did more damage. However, it was later determined through a YouTube video that many of the times the commentary team was giving Pacquiao credit for landing shots, Bradley was actually slipping punches and showing impeccable defense.
In the interim, Bradley has been pushed aside and Pacquiao decided to give Marquez a fourth fight. For Marquez, his career won't be complete until he gets an official win over his archrival. In the past, Marquez has even worn shirts that said “I Beat Pacquiao” and even penned an autobiography called “Yes, I Beat You Manny Pacquiao”, so it is clear there is some animosity from one side.
The odds for this fourth fight have shown more favorably for Marquez, who is only a 3-to-1 underdog this time. Pacquiao has definitely slipped and his time over the past few years has seen the focus shift from boxing to other things. Pacquiao is now a Congressman in the Philippines and has rededicated himself to his family and religion after a few missteps in recent years. Bizarrely, it may have affected him negatively as a fighter.
For the fourth fight, more than a fair share of boxing insiders are pegging Marquez to win by knockout. Pacquiao hasn't even been on the canvas since the turn of the millennium, so that seems a bit farfetched, especially when considering Marquez hasn't knocked out a legitimate opponent since his days as a lightweight. There definitely exists a solid likelihood that Marquez finally gets his long-awaited victory, but the more likely result is Marquez prevailing on the scorecards.
Let's just hope we are spared some controversy and this doesn't head to a fifth fight.
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