Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez: a retrospect of their 4th fight in view of their 5th fight

By Ivan Ivanov - 08/12/2013 - Comments

marquez5By Ivan Ivanov: This was a climatic episode of a famed rivalry and a defining moment in Juan Manuel Marquez’s career. I’d like to focus on the knock down and KO punches thrown by Marquez because it was basically the same shot and it looked like JMM had prepared it specifically for his nemesis, a tailor made “Pacquiao special”. The move was designed individually for Manny Pacquiao taking into consideration his southpaw stance, fighting style, temper and usual reaction to attack.

There were opinions that the KO was caused by a lucky punch, a fluke combined with lack of focus on Pacman’s part who thought his opponent was finished. This wasn’t the case and JMM laboriously executed his game plan while he was being outclassed and on the verge of being stopped by the congressman.

The specialty weapon he used was a feint to the body and a shot the chin in the same motion. The punch started as a body shot and it changed midway into a head shot. Call it a bolo-cross punch if you will but it was not a sucker punch. It did not come from nowhere as a lightning bolt in a bright sunny day. It was a fine piece of “deception”, a trap, and Marquez worked for it. There was a degree of a “once in a life time fortune” and sporting chance smiled to Juan as he landed the KO punch with 1 second left in the round but the shot came as a logical result of a sound blueprint.

He laid down the groundwork by throwing solid right hands to the body in round 1 and 2. He did not always get away with it, you can’t against Pacman, but he created a pattern. This pattern of body shots was his purpose and the basis of his success. It lulled Manny into a state of confident semi-amusement; he flexed his six-pack as he anticipated a body punch coming and waited to throw spectacular counters. The Mexican pugilist seized his opportunity in the 3rd when he feinted to the body and redirected the right hand to chin. He had set up his special punch well and it landed on the button of the smug Pacquiao.

Manny came back more than strong and ripped apart the “Dinamita’ busting him up badly and putting him in on the verge of his reserves. With one second left in the 6th, Marquez summoned his will and manhood and pulled of his special trick again, this time only squatting as if to throw a body a shot, Pacman treating him as if he was already finished and the sky opened for Marquez and the earth opened for Pacman.

All credit goes to JMM for preparing the ambush and executing the blueprint in a timely and patient manner. I believe he would have been stopped in the next round, but his smart tactics which consisted of a single downstairs-upstairs punch personally adapted for his long time rival paid off triumphantly. A single right hand against a southpaw is always a good idea if the timing is right.

There should be a 5th fight even though I thought the 4th fight was redundant before it started. Brandon Rios is out of his depth against Pacman and only his youth could help him. There is a good chance JMM will lose on pints to Bradley and it will diminish his bargaining power for the 5th episode. In any case the long time rivals are the best immediate option for each and for their fans regardless of the outcome of their scheduled bouts.



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