By Glen Anglin: So it has finally come to pass: Marquez-Pacquiao III. This is one I have been waiting for since the last installment, 3 years ago. Both of the previous matches between these two master boxer-punchers were riveting, action packed, dramatic and fought to a very high level of competency and grit.

Both went the distance and were decided by razor thin judges’ decisions.

In the ensuing years since their last matchup, both men have fought against top competition and performed well; the only exception being the Marquez fight with Floyd Mayweather. In that bout, Marquez was made to look pedestrian in a relatively easy decision for PBF. But that loss is not so surprising considering the fact that PBF was the faster and larger man, and when Floyd wants to make sure he wins a decision rather than have a fight, he can be almost unhittable.

Regardless, Pacquiao is not cut from the same bolt of cloth as PBF. The Filipino Phenom will come to fight; you can bet the house on it. He will try to use his aggression and speed to get to JMM, which is exactly the opponents fighting style that suits Marquez, the supreme counter-puncher. One thing that these guys have in common is that they come into a ring to whip the other guy, not win rounds.

Marquez is one of the most well rounded fighters ever seen in the ring. Not really great at any one aspect of boxing, he nevertheless is good at everything. Good power, good technique, good natural aggression, good fighting mind, good conditioning. All of these ‘goods’ make one ‘great’ boxer. The sum of Marquez is better than his parts. The recent methodical destruction of Katsidis by Marquez was so thorough and efficient as to be almost artful. He is all but flawless in the ring. The only chinks in the Marquez armor may be that his hand speed is not what it was a few years ago, and that his chin is not as sturdy as the rest of his game. However, even his dentable chin often works in his favor. That’s because Marquez’s ability to recover from being hurt is so good and he is such a spirited warrior that he seems to be at his most dangerous AFTER he has been knocked down. To turn a boxing cliché on its head, when Marquez gets hit, he doesn’t stay hit. All things considered, Marquez seems to be the one guy at 140 who has the right set of tools to defeat Manny.

Describing Manny Pacquiao abilities as a boxer can tax the English language. Mercurial, flashing, force of nature, singular…….all of those things come to mind and still they fall short. He first began winning professional fights below 110 pounds and now wins championship bouts at 140 plus. He is unlike any boxer I have ever seen. He has a herky-jerky style of head movement that looks very easy to time, and yet he takes relatively few clean shots to the head. He throws various types of punches in 3, 4 and 5 punch combinations, some textbook perfect, some thrown from impossible angles, and some looking so awkward that they appear amateurish. His list of recently vanquished foes is a roster of top guys that cannot be questioned. How about Barrera, Morales, Diaz, De La Hoya, Cotto, Clottey, Hatton and Margarito? It is not only the fact that he beat these guys; it is HOW he beat them. In most cases (the notable exception is Marquez) he has DOMINATED his recent opposition, including guys who are bigger than him. The faces of Diaz, Cotto and Margarito were pulverized so badly that they looked like gargoyles when Manny was finished with them. Based upon his record of achievement, I think Manny Pacquiao can make a claim to be the best fighter at under 140 pounds in the last 50 years.

I am not one of those who think that Manny’s power has remained undiminished as he has gone up in weight class. Remember, he hit De La Hoya, Clottey, Margarito and Cotto with trainloads of punches, and could not knock them out. The effectiveness of his punches owes more to his speed, natural timing and awkward punching angles, which makes his punches very difficult to anticipate and avoid. Still, his power is easily enough to hurt the smaller Marquez, witness the 4 knockdowns he scored on JMM. (and a couple more that were not counted).

In fact, I believe that the only real difference between these two is that Marquez is more prone to being hurt by Pacquiao’s punches than Pacquiao will be hurt by Marquez. This is borne out by the fact that Manny could have lost the second fight and certainly would have lost the first fight if it were not for the knockdowns he scored. As for Manny, he has a rock solid chin.

Much has been made of Manny’s recent improvement. He has added a better right hook and foot movement to his already mile-high stack of physical abilities. Another addition is his newfound boxing strategy. In the beginning of his career, he was a ‘damn the torpedoes’ wrecking machine. In the last few years, he has learned to not stand right in front of guys bigger than him, combo and move, use angles and stay away from his opponents power alley. Despite his technical improvements, I think that Pacquiao is past his best. He doesn’t quite seem to be the same guy he was only 2 or 3 years ago. His technical ability may be better, but his speed and reflexes seem diminished.

As for his part, Marquez has refined his technique, also. His jab is much improved, which might be a big help against Manny. Some experts believe that if a good fighter can stay in the middle of the ring and use an educated, repeated jab, he can disrupt Manny’s rhythm.

I have a feeling that after not getting victory in their first two matches, the third time will be a charm for Marquez. He just seems to be the right guy, with the right tools at the right time. In their first two fights, Marquez just barely missed landing the perfect counterpunch against Manny about a dozen times. I think that this time one of his blistering counter shots will land on the button and the great Pacquiao will taste defeat for the first time since his first fight with Morales, 6 years ago.

Of course, this does not mean I would put any money on it. I stopped betting against Pacquiao 5 or 6 years ago. Until Manny Pacquiao challenges for the light heavyweight championship, you will not find me betting against him. JGA.