Will the Pacquiao – Marquez Trilogy be competitive?

By John F. McKenna (McJack): Everyone concedes that when World Boxing Organization (WBO)/ World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (53-5-1, 39 KO’s) takes on WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KO’s) he will either win or go out on his shield in the attempt. There is no quit in “Dinamita”. He has too much pride for that.

Still there are those who question whether even Marquez and his trainer Nacho Beristain really believe in their hearts that he can defeat the Filipino Icon. Marquez and Pacquiao will be fighting of November 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The match will be an HBO Pay Per View (PPV) event.

The big selling factory in the Trilogy is the fact that the first two fights in 2004 and 2008 were competitive and at the same time controversial. The 1st fight in 2004 fought at the 126 pound limit was called a draw even though “Pacman” knocked Marquez down three times in the 1st round. It was later revealed that one of the judges made an error in tabulating his scorecard. The error deprived Manny of victory, although by any standard the fight was very close.

In the 2nd fight in 2008 fought at 130 pounds Pacquiao also knocked “Dinamita” down, but Manny squeaked by with a controversial razor thin win. Many observers think to this day that Marquez should have been given the nod in the 2008 fight. Since that controversy Marquez has been calling vociferously for a rematch.

Many boxing observers feel that Marquez, at 38 years old, has lost some speed since the 2008 fight. Even Marquez supporters concede that his reflexes are not what they once were.

Most telling is that trainer Beristain openly acknowledged that he would like to see Marquez get back to where he was a few years ago. Nacho’s candid statement is pretty much an admission that Marquez has begun to slip.

By the same token the Marquez camp admits that Pacquiao has gotten bigger, hits harder and has not lost any of his blazing speed since the 2008 match up.

To this writer, the comments coming out of the Marquez camp seem to indicate that Marquez has slowed down while conversely Pacquaio has gotten significantly better.
Realizing that your fighter has slipped, while at the same time admitting that your opponent has gotten better, seems to indicate that the Marquez camp itself knows that the odds against “Dinamita” are long.

18 Responses to “Will the Pacquiao – Marquez Trilogy be competitive?”