Ever since the final bell rang ending the third bout between two sure-fire Hall of Fame boxers there was a cacophony of controversy that ensued. The fight was so evenly matched that it could have gone either way. When it comes to the judges' final decision the aggressor almost always walks away with the decision no matter how slim it may be. We've become so used to Manny annihilating all his opponents that anything short of a knockout would be a major disappointment.
I've watched Manny grow and evolve from a 106 pound boxer into the formidable force he is now fighting at 144 pounds. It's unheard of in such a sport like boxing to make that staggering leap and retain or even increase speed and power. So when this fight ended with a very disappointed Marquez once again claiming he was robbed then it just added fuel to the fire. In today's social media world, reactions were lightning like and instantaneous with status updates spreading like wildfire even before the final bell sounded. My own network of just over a couple thousand friends lit up my timeline like fireworks. I'd say about two-thirds of my friends are of Filipino descent and it was surprising to read the reactions.
It was clear that a lot of them had lofty expectations myself included. I met Manny a couple of weeks before the fight at his penthouse in the Palazzo and he looked in great fighting shape. After I saw him I just thought he would end this fight in three rounds and leave no doubt who was the best. Many of my friends had predictions of the fight ending in 6 or 7 seven rounds. I'm sure that so many bets were wagered on Vegas that it would end up like that. I could tell that after the first two rounds this was going to be a long night for Manny. Marquez was playing his game to perfection and flustering Manny to perfection. Sure, after the fight there were videos on Youtube showing Marquez stepping on Manny's feet several times and throw him off balance. The video below bears witness to Marquez step on strategy.
Although not illegal a lot felt that it was the reason why Manny could not tee off on him. But really, the overwhelming reaction was "Why couldn't Manny demolish Marquez?" I could read a lot of my friends' status updates bemoaning the fact that Manny lost the fight or at the very least should have been a draw. To the casual boxing fan if a fight does not end up short of a sensational knockout then it wasn't a good fight. To the boxing purist this was like a chess match between two grandmasters. The main difference here was Pacquiao was clearly the aggressor and initiated the action. Going into the 12th round Marquez' trainer was heard saying that he was winning and astoundingly for a master boxer he believed it. On the other side of the ring Freddie Roach was heard exhorting Manny to take the fight to Marquez. When your fate is to be determined by three judges sitting at ringside the train of thought should be to fight hard till the final bell sounds.
The video above demonstrates the difference in mindset and styles of both fighters and as the final bell sounded both fighters would raise their arms in victory. Who really won? This is debatable amongst millions of people and for those who believed Manny failed to win because he didn't dominate that's their opinion. For me
No comments:
Post a Comment