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The boxing world has been turned upside down as Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1 40 KO’s) has defeated the multiple division champion known as “Pacman”, Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2 38 KO’s).
But no one, including myself, could have possibly expected something of this nature to happen to either one of these adversaries.
After crashing to the deck in round two but coming back and evening the score with a knockdown of his own in round five, Manny Pacquiao was simply executed in round six.
Juan Manuel Marquez unhesitatingly sunk in his right hand money shot in the closing second of the sixth and brutally finished the popular pinoy sensation.
Pacquiao was confident after knocking down the Mexican in the fifth, breaking the nose of Marquez and slicing open a cut on his eye during an absolutely vicious assault that nearly ended it all.
Late in the sixth, both men were drained from an entertaining round but the momentum was still pumping in Pacquiao as he recklessly plodded forward into a counter overhand right by Marquez that left Pacquiao out cold on the canvas.
This was a chilling scenario. Pacquiao was up on the judge’s cards in an already awkward fight by a margin of 47-46, which ironically was identical to my own, when he was put out in a knockout of the year candidate by a man known for respectable power. Marquez had never produced anything like this before.
As a dedicated boxing observer, it brought a mixture of excitement, sadness and applause into me. As a writer, I strictly remove the biased thoughts from my mind but seeing Pacquiao fight at that good guy stage for so many years and be smashed like this wasn’t a really happy sight.
But still, this fight was highly entertaining and rejuvenating for the sport.
My prediction in a pre-fight analysis done on Saddoboxing was that Marquez would win a close decision, which I got extremely wrong, but obviously picked the correct fighter.
Why did Pacquiao lose? I said it before and I’ll say it again; Marquez is a tough, durable counter-puncher with a crushing right hand. Opponents should not ever plod forward toward him, but rather use tactical aggression and employ rugged lateral movement as a defensive key.
Pacquiao moved around the ring well at times but did not make that a primary focus, however. He also violently walked forward to much and that’s exactly how he absorbed that “money punch”.
Boxing is a game of patience, which describes many of Victor Ortiz’s defeats, for example, and the reason why many Irish and Mexican fighters fail at world class without granite endurance.
Manny used to have that killer instinct where if he had an opponent hurt, he’d slam a sure-shot blow in from a sharp angle that nearly always managed to gain him the win.
This is the victory of a lifetime for Marquez, a nearly career halting loss for Pacquiao and, of course, an excellent battle for the sweet science.
Although, post-fight, it seemed Pacquiao was more confident of attempting another fight than the laid-back Marquez. Pacquiao’s trainer, Hall-of-Famer Freddie Roach, also confirms and recommends an easier build up fight before stepping in with Juan Manuel Marquez again, or any other elite-classed opponent.
The undercard saw a duet of uneventful fights building up as IBF Lightweight Champion Miguel Vazquez (33-3-0 13 KO’s) and Dominican Featherweight prospect Javier Fortuna (21-0-0 15 KO’s) outboxed their opponents, Pinoy-American Mercito Gesta (26-1-1 14 KO’s) and Irish import Patrick Hyland (27-1-0 14 KO’s) over 12.
Plus Cuban Super Feather sensation Yuriorkis Gamboa (22-0-0 16 KO’s) struggled past the tough brawler Michael Farenas (34-4-4 26 KO’s) scoring two knockdowns and suffering a lone knockdown himself in the process.
Hope you enjoyed the fight week coverage on Saddoboxing, always glad to provide news and updates.
Corey Quincy is a boxing writer for Saddoboxing.com, his blog Blboxing.com and other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter at Quincyboxingfan and like his boxing Facebook page, Boxing Legends.
