By Van Dunn: On last week the boxing world was treated to what is now viewed as a potential fight of the year and most certainly the knockout of the year when Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez clashed for the 4th installment of their classic bouts. First of all, we must congratulate Marquez on his “Rocky” like performance in finally conquering his demons of not getting a clear cut victory over his nemesis in the seemingly indestructible Manny Pacquiao.
What Pac fans are calling a “lucky punch”, was actually a “perfect punch” when Marquez connected on a devastating right hand that dropped Pacquiao cold and ended the fight abruptly.
Both fighters suffered knockdowns early in the fight, but it was Marquez who showed patience and composure after he was finally able to floor Pac for the first time in the third round. After Manny got up from the initial knockdown, Marquez didn’t get excited or careless, he didn’t rush in to finish Manny off, he was still patient in looking for the opportunity to land a good counter shot. Pacquiao, on the other hand, after his knockdown of Marquez, continued to rush in with reckless abandon and throw a ton of punches, which when they connected left Marquez hurt and in a bloody mess, but when they missed, it left him wide open for big shots.
Marquez was never really out of the fight, even though Manny and Roach thought otherwise, and Marquez went on to prove why you can never get too comfortable with a boxer who has the perfect counter punching skills. So, now that the fight is over, aside for the “lucky punch”argument that the Pac fans are running with, they have now tossed around the most comical and somewhat bizarre theory that Marquez was “juicing up”! Did we boxing fans miss something here? Isn’t these the same fans that mocked Floyd Mayweather and ridiculed him to shame when he questioned Manny’s ability to move up in weight and challenge bigger and stronger opponents but dispatch them with shocking ease of speed and power?
Manny never failed a drug test they would say and the Nevada State Athletic Commission urine test is sufficient enough to detect any illegal substances. The Olympic style drug testing, they would say is just a farce by Mayweather, and who is he to try to change the rules? Manny Pacquiao, Freddie Roach, Bob Arum and the legion of Pac fans has NEVER had a problem with the urine testing that boxing currently has in place to detect drugs, but now Roach and Pac’s fans are all of a sudden the new drug ambassadors of the sport? Well to the Pac fans I would ask, when has Marquez ever failed a drug test? Has PEDS ever been found in Marquez’s system? Didn’t Marquez adhere to the same drug testing that is currently in place that Manny adheres to? Didn’t Marquez passed the drug test with flying colors?
Team Pacquiao had an opportunity to take a stand on the drug testing issue by demanding a more stringent method of testing for his opponents and they chose to be comfortable with what is currently in place, so it is hypocritical for them to start questioning Pac’s opponents on the issue now. Why in the world would Team Pac and his fans say anything about Marquez taking PEDS is rather silly to me because Pac just got careless in the fight and got caught. Pac throws a ton of shots but he has also taken a lot of hard shots to, and the KO by Marquez was due to happen to Pac because of his fighting style. Pac is getting older and his tendency to get wild and reckless when he throws punches is becoming his biggest liability.
This PEDS accusation that the Pac fans are now coming up with is just a shameless and pathetic attempt to rob Marquez of the victory that he earned. The Pac fans that have now become the new drug ambassadors of the sport, and now want to counsel the boxing world on the infallacy of the current urine testing have no one to blame on this issue but themselves.
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