By Babatis Banda: Boxing, the art of fighting is on a drip again. It is suffering from the great hype disease that has characterized this sport for ages, excerpt this time, it is purely for economic and repugnant selfish reasons. Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez have both proved a point, not once, not twice, but three times. These two guys are dead flat equal in their boxing ability.

Just like somebody said, what Pacquiao lacks in skill, he makes up in power and what Marquez lacks in power, he makes up in skill. There is some kind of terminology that even the staunchest of Pacquiao fans are happy to say….that ‘Marquez has Manny’s number’. Whatever this means, if not an excuse, it can only be an acknowledgement that Manny’s wins were nothing convincing and the verdict could have gone either way. In the same light, Marquez is well justified in believing that he did enough to win the previous fights.

If in the past three occasions there could not be a conclusive separation between the two, what then really makes the fourth meeting exciting? What is it that Pacquiao or Marquez will do that they have not done the previous three occasions, if it will not just be by pure luck? At this point in Manny and Marquez’s careers, their best is purely in the past, what remains is business and the fans are carried along the lies and hopes by the hype machine.

We are told that Pacquiao is looking awesome in training and that he has become a beast ready to tear Marquez in shreds of raw flesh, the same hype we have listened to before each fight. For the simple minded fan, the kind of fan that is blinded by unbending blind faith, this hype represents the truth and each time it is said, it gives a renewed sense of belief and a guarantee to expected results. When results goes the wrong way, there must then be an explanation, however unbelievable it can be for as long as it is an explanation.

It is understandable then, that the only really excited people about this fight are the faithful fans and no matter how much ‘urine’ Marquez will drink or how much Alex Ariza will play his part, the two boxers are cut out of the same cloth and are purely on the same level.