Marquez
Vs. Pacquiao
May
8, 2004
Boxing
fans across the country were treated to an excellent display of fighting
spirit. The MGM Grand in Las Vegas, which has hosted many terrific boxing
events, scored another hit. In this rare match of equally aggressive,
intensive fighters, boxing fans were given a opportunity to witness first hand
why my friend George Foreman says “boxing is the sport other sports aspire
to be.“ Manny Pacquiao (38-2-1,
30 KO’s) a tremendous puncher with juice enough to light the city of New
York earned his right to be here by defeating Marco Antonio Barrera. He also
beat, undefeated Emmanuel Lucero. Manuel Marquez (42-2-0,33 KO’s) has also
earned his way into this spot via his courage and take no prisoners style.
Anyone who as seen these two tough guys go for it, knew it would be a punch
till you bust event. We were not disappointed. Both of these guys love to
fight, both come from poor backgrounds, and both are hungry. As the civil
rights movement leader, Martin Luther King once said and they both are keeping
their eyes on the prize.
The
bell rang and both fighters came out aggressively, both demonstrated excellent
hand speed. Marquez tried to take control throwing hard punches; Pacquiao
ignored these attempts and came back equally as aggressive. In a beautiful
display of balance and timing, Pacquiao nailed Marquez with a solid left
cross, and bang, down he went. Joe Cortez, stepped in, gave Marquez an eight
count, Marquez, hurt yet, unwilling to surrender, stepped into the fray and
threw a combination that was met with an equally intense effort by Pacquiao
and pow, down he went again. Again, Marquez gathered himself, and took another
eight count. Pacquiao sensing victory within easy reach, attacked like a
hungry shark, and again put Marquez on the mat. Again Joe Cortez stepped in
and gave him an eight count. Thanks to the no 3 knock down rule, Marquez was
allowed to continue with less than 33 seconds in the round, Marquez did what
he had too and survived. Pacquiao demonstrated tremendous power in his left
hand. Marquez learned he could not trade with Pacquiao. Second Round; Marquez
tired to fight a little smarter. Marquez bled from both nostrils and seemed to
get better as the fight progressed. Manny Pacquio attacked continuously moving
side to side, moving in behind his never ending right jab, while Marquez
developed his counter punches and learned to measure Pacquiao’s movements so
as to move away while still punching. Both fighters demonstrated excellent
conditioning and neither willing surrender attitude. Coach's and corner men
worked equally as impressively and managed to pull the best out of their
respective fighters. Joe Cortez, again proved he deserves to be up there as
the third man in the ring. My Congratulations go out to this steadfast
gentleman who via his excellent performance and training kept the fight moving
along with as little interference as necessary. Way to go Joe!
The
entire battle was a thing of beauty. Neither fighter giving ground and neither
willing to concede defeat. It was a rare opportunity for fight fans to witness
such a tremendous display of complete dedication. Marquez adopted a different
posture, which confused Pacquiao and somehow made him less effective. Marquez
deserves a lot of praise for being able to adapt to the situation and continue
the battle. This rare quality is a sign of intelligence and flexibility. This
fight maybe one of the ones I watch several times, it was that good. The
scorecards, as usual make you wonder which fight the judges were watching. It
also makes you wonder where they dig up these guys. It could be said that
Marquez dodged a bullet; I would say it grazed him. After the scorecards were
totaled up, it came up with a majority draw. I however, saw it for Pacquiao. I
believe he won it and should have been given the decision. On the up side we
can all look forward to a rematch and can with some assurance expect an even
better fight. Marquez deserves praise for his willingness to stay in the fray
and give as good as he got.
The announcer,
Larry Merchant, who has never entered the ring himself, yet calls himself an
“expert“ again made his usual ridicules statements. I am disappointed at
his performance. It continues to be a mystery as to why HBO would hire him to
do ringside commentating. I find many of his statements disrespectful and
completely inappropriate. I’m sorry my buddy George Foreman didn’t sit on
him. To bad he missed an opportunity to shut him up. I believed that with a
little training, there are many articulate boxers who could replace him. In my
opinion he brings nothing to the game and often disrespects it. In a perfect
world, none combatants would not be allowed to express their naive
observations about a game they cannot genuinely appreciated. Larry Merchant
must live under a lucky star or be married to the producer’s daughter, to
have been given such a prestigious positions without any qualifications. So
he’s a sports writer, big deal, Sport experts are a dime a dozen. It seems
more and more that as much as I hate to admit it, it’s who you know. I am a
sports writer and I know a many hungry, ex fighters with enough on the ball to
do as good or better a job without insulting the sport. I believe the fans and
the fighters deserve better. I suggest HBO assign him to cover the dog shows
or the dog races. This guy is as boring as Oprah, who no matter who is on her
show and no matter what experience they have endured, she knows all about it,
and has had it too. If we must put up with another know-nothing ringside
commentator, at least give the fans some eye candy, not this loud mouth half
pint with a stinky attitude. His wit and humor are as dull as President Bush
speeches.
We
should also suggest Manny Pacquiao donate some of his DNA to science so that
it can be reproduced. There are millions of lazy, know-nothing individuals who
could use a shot of Pacquiao’s magic. I am constantly stunned at had how low
the bar as dropped, not only has mediocrity become normal, it seems to be
contagious. Thank God, these two fighters are made of better stuff. Which is
why I find Merchant’s statements so offensive. These men are warriors, they
deserve respect, the least would be to remove all none warriors from ring
side, or at least remove the microphones and give 'em brooms. It is rare that
a fight in this weight class generates such excitement. My hat goes off to
both these men, they have earned their place in Valhalla, where as the Vikings
say, “ the brave may live for ever”. Fights fans can look forward to
seeing both of the men, thank God. After all the black marks against boxing,
these men have managed to lift it up, at least for a while.