Pacquiao vs. Marquez 4: What it means for them both……

By Nationvegas - 11/14/2012 - Comments

Image: Pacquiao vs. Marquez 4: What it means for them both......by Rusty Nate: I see myself as a fan of the sport and an admirer of every man that has ever dared to lace up gloves and risk their lives for the sake of the people’s entertainment.

Obviously I have fighters that I have preferred watching over the years. Marco Antonio Barrera, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Shane Mosley, Thomas Hearns, Floyd Mayweather and the list goes on and on. When I write about this sport and the fighters in it I tend to try and put my personal thoughts and feelings about my favored fighters to one side and give an objective view or pose a pertinent question that will allow the forum posters to discuss the subject objectively and without unnecessary bias.

With regards to the up coming bought between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez I am trying to put across here how I see this fight going and what the outcome could mean for either fighter and the future of the sport as far as these fighters are involved.

Let me first get out there that I love both these fighters, and I have enjoyed watching their careers from the very early days. I have no preference to the winner of the upcoming bout although if a Pac win is going to mean we get to see Mayweather Vs Manny then that’s maybe the best thing for the fans and the sport.

There has been a lot of outspoken trainers and fitness conditioners in the Pacquiao camp stating that Manny is in amazing shape and condition and is looking like a “caged animal” in training. Well honestly I take this with a pinch of salt, I would love this to be true but a person can only cry wolf so many times and we have heard Alex Ariza and Roach claim this very thing for the past 3-4 fights.

Marquez we don’t really need to know how the training has gone. He has always been in top condition for every fight I have seen him in and so I expect no difference this time round.

The problem I see is this…….Pacquiao has slipped in the last few fights, that’s just a sad fact of father time catching up. He still has the hand speed and he still has the power of course but the footwork is a little slower than it used to be. This cant be helped it happens to the best of us over time.

Now, let us say that Ariza and Roach are correct in that Manny is looking 5 years younger and in devastating form, will this really help him?

Manny was in this kind of form for at least the first 2 fights with Marquez and although they ended in a draw and a win for Manny they were still incredibly close with many fans believing that Marquez should have won both.

Sometimes there is just a fighter out there that has your number – they don’t crumble when they get hit, they don’t give up when they are floored 3 times in the opening round and they have the experience to change the way they are fighting in order to get the best result from each exchange. I believe Marquez maybe this fighter for Pacquiao.

The result.

I will not personally be calling a winner or loser in this fight because I truly believe that it is always going to be close and often controversial between these two.

If Marquez finally gets the win he has craved for years then will this be the final outing of this aging Mexican warrior who will then be able to retire in peace knowing that he went out as the best he could possibly be?

Will Marquez then chase a final big payday in a rematch with Floyd? Will he even consider a Hatton fight if Ricky wins his comeback and looks for the next big name to fight? That would also net him a huge payday with Ricky’s massive fan base. Or maybe he will fancy fighting Bradley for the world title. The money would not be huge in this fight but the pride will be if Marquez can defeat Manny’s “conqueror” (I don’t think Bradley won that fight by the way but he got the decision so I respect the win)

The possibilities are wide for Marquez if he wins!!

Manny is in a very different situation. If he wins by anything other than KO then he will not have proved anything different unfortunately. If a point’s win by a tight margin happens then the haters will still keep on about the promoters and the judges gifting a decision in order to promote a future Mayweather bout.

If he wins by a wide and obvious point’s decision then the haters will claim that Pac only won the fight because Marquez is now so much older than he was the previous 3 times they fought.

Where does Manny go if he wins? Where does he go if he loses?

I guess what I am trying to get across is that this fight makes all the sense in the world for Marquez, win or lose but no sense at all for Pacquiao win or lose.

As a fan I will still be watching, I don’t boycott fights that I don’t agree with happening because I love the sport and I just hope these guys can recapture their youth of 3-4 years ago and give a fight like we saw the first time they met or even better.

Either way I personally would advise all true fans of boxing to watch this fight!!!……

We could very well be watching the final act of two truly great warriors and ambassadors of the sport when they meet for the 4th time!



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