Was Marquez really cheated in his two fights with Pacquiao?

By Boxing News - 08/15/2011 - Comments

Image: Was Marquez really cheated in his two fights with Pacquiao?By John F. McKenna (McJack): WBO/WBA/Ring lightweight champion Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez (54-5-1, 39 KO’s) has been insisting for years now that he was cheated of victory in his previous two contests with WBO welterweight champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KO’s).

The whole basis for a Trilogy between Marquez and Pacquiao is that “Dinamita” has been clamoring for another fight since their second match in 2008. Marquez claimed after that fight that he was robbed of victory in both the 2004 and 2008 fights.

Let’s take a serious look at both fights to see what really happened.

In the first fight between Marquez and Pacquiao in 2004 when the combatants fought at 126 pounds the contest was called a draw, despite Marquez having been knocked down three times in the first round. It is true that Marquez did turn around the tempo of the fight, but what he declines to tell people is that one of the judges made an error in his scorecard when tabulating the points for each fighter. The judge ruled the first round 10-7 in favor of Pacquiao instead of the 10-6 that it should have been scored because of the three knockdowns. If the scorecards had been tabulated correctly Pacquiao would have been the winner. The judge later admitted his mistake. Despite this Marquez still clings to the notion that he actually won the fight.

In the second fight in 2008 Marquez and Pacquiao fought at 130 pounds. Marquez lost the fight by a split decision. Marquez thought he had done enough to win but a third round knockdown scored by Manny was the deciding factor in his winning the decision. Granted it was a close fight but again there appears to be no basis for the Marquez camp to make the assertion that he was deprived of victory.

When two boxers fight it out down to the wire in a competitive and close fight, the loser almost always feels that he won the fight. That is a normal phenomenon in boxing. “Dinamita” has been beating the drums for such a long time that he was cheated of victory in his two fights with Pacquiao that many people have been swayed into believing him.

Marquez has received much attention through his non stop comments to the press that Pacquiao did not deserve victory in the previous two fights. His campaign finally paid off in that he will be meeting “Pacman” for the third time on November 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. For Marquez, who is in the twilight of his career, the Trilogy against Pacquiao will be his most lucrative fight. Even if he does not pull off a victory he will benefit financially in his fight with Pacquiao.

Manny Pacquiao is confident that he will end all the controversy when he steps into the ring to do battle with Juan Manuel Marquez.



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