By Miguel Antonio “Miggs” Barragan: When it comes to making predictions on a competition, be it a football game or basketball or whatever subject it may be, often times it’s between two entities. In this particular case, the subject is one boxer versus another. When a person is asked to make a prediction, whether or not that person has any knowledge on that subject is irrelevant, he/she essentially have a 50/50 chance of getting it right.
It’s only when that person is asked how their predicted winner will win, that we find out just how much that person truly knows about the subject.
I attended the Pacquiao/Marquez 4 weigh in at the MGM Grand Garden Arena last Friday, which was an exciting experience that I will not soon forget, if ever. When it was over, I lingered around the casino taking pictures of the scenery that encapsulated the excitement for me. At every corner, I ran into and sparked mini conversations with fellow Juan Manuel Marquez fans.
The most common question that I was asked was “If this fight goes the 12 rounds, do you think the judges will get it right this time?” It was obvious that they were most certainly rooting for another Marquez masterpiece; however they were concerned with what the assigned judges could potentially cook up as a scorecard. As were most if not all Marquez fans. My answer to them was not only a complicated one, but also the topic of this article. My answer to them was a most un-enthused “no”. There was no reason for me to believe Marquez would be awarded the decision by the judges should the fight look anything like their 3rd bout.
You see, in the 36 rounds that these two men furiously fought leading up to their 4th bout, there really wasn’t anything I saw from Marquez that would have led me to realistically believe that we would see what we saw in the 6th round of last Saturdays fight. A shocking and fight ending one punch knockout that left a faced down Pacquiao motionless for several moments, definitely a scary scene for the crowd, particularly for Mannys family and fans.
In these previous 36 rounds, the best Marquez had done in regards to seriously hurting or even stopping Manny, was a wide right and left hook at the end of a combination that staggered Manny badly near the end of the 2nd round of their second encounter. And that was about it. I was confident that Juan Manuel was going to outbox and land cleanly on Manny, as I believe he did in the three previous bouts. But to absolutely thrash Manny as he did at the end of that fateful 6th round left me completely in awe. To say my jaw went crashing to the floor would be an understatement. It weightlessly dropped quicker than Manny himself. In short, I was aghast.
Considering he was knocked down early in the first two bouts with Manny, the general consensus amongst Marquez fans, was that all he needed to do in their 3rd fight was not get knocked down early, or at all, and chances were his slick counter punching would win the day and he would finally get his just desserts. In an apparent attempt to piss everyone off, the officials judging their 3rd bout clearly elected to prove us wrong. So when a fourth bout between these two warriors was originally proposed, I preached to just about anyone within hearing range, that it was a bad idea for Marquez to accept it. By this time, Marquez was already 39 and in recent bouts, had been hurt badly by Juan Diaz, and knocked down by both Floyd Mayweather Jr and Michael Katsidis. Thus without a knockout, I was sure Marquez was going to be shortchanged once more should their 4th bout reach the final bell.
My girlfriends brain became mush as I explained to her repeatedly that Marquez does not have the power to knock Manny out, and he wasn’t going to be awarded a decision victory by brilliantly counter punching him either. As if she hadn’t already heard me enough times. It became obvious that the judges were forcing Marquez to stand toe to toe with Manny and essentially risk getting knocked out in order to win rounds decisively and ultimately win a decision, or get knocked out trying. It would be a lose/lose for Juan Manuel in my opinion. Besides a generous payday, there was no reason for Marquez to accept a 4th fight at his age, and risk a severe knockout. It would only add another loss to his record.
To the delight of both the judges that were let off the hook and fight fans around the globe, Marquez did just that. As a true prize fighter, he risked it all and put he in the line of fire, knowing that this was the only avenue of certainty, this was how it needed to end. It absolutely had to end this way, neither by a close decision, nor by a controversial lop sided decision, but by a definitive knockout. Either be knocked out, or knock out his opponent. This is boxing, as with most combat sports, it’s either him/her or you. In this case, it was Manny who bit the dust, not Marquez. How fitting that this fight ended with the counter puncher, counter punching.
As Daniel Tosh says “And for that, we thank you”. Hell, I thank you, thank you Juan Manuel Marquez. Thank you for doing your part in delivering a riveting throwback fight. A fight that took my father back to days of old, how boxing used to be. When he ordered a pay-per-view fight, he got a fight. Thank you for coming out on top with another scintillating victory, and finally putting to rest the “what ifs.” But above all, I thank you for proving me wrong. I honestly did not think you could do it, but you did. You did not come out unscathed, but damn it, you did it. You made me eat my words and in turn forced the biggest piece of humble pie I’ve ever had to consume down my gullet. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would actually enjoy eating humble pie. You taught me to be the bigger man and admit when I was wrong. Perhaps a soft blow like this could teach me how to grow up and possibly apply this humbling experience to another facet of my life.
Aw the hell with it, never mind that last part. I don’t want to grow up. I’m a Toys “R” Us Kid……..
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