By Ton Drury: Boxing fans all over the world were once again witness to one of the best nights in boxing history last night with Juan Manuel Marquez’s 6th round knockout of Manny Pacquiao. Many fans including myself were not over excited by the prospect of a fourth fight between these two modern day greats and future hall of famers.
Well how wrong could we be? This fight has to be a contender for fight of the year. From the get go we saw the Filipino rekindle his dynamic fast paced style of fighting complemented by the aggressiveness fans became accustomed to in his earlier fights against Oscar De La Hoya, Cotto and Hatton.
Marquez came into the fight at 143 pounds, the heaviest of his career. This showed in the early rounds as he seemed heavy on his feet and slower than usual as he did in the Floyd Mayweather fight. Pacquiao was the aggressor from round 1 up on his toes throwing fast powerful combinations and hurting Marquez in the process. The Mexican had repeatedly said he was going to be the aggressor in this fight and take it to Pacquiao from the first bell in all of the press conferences leading up to the fight. This was not how it played out come fight night. Marquez, as we know, is one of if not the best counter punchers in the game, and once again used this strategy in the fourth fight to great effect.
Marquez sent Pacquiao to the canvass in round 3 with a perfectly timed straight right hand counter. Pacquiao returned the favour in the fifth and once again we had a war. The atmosphere in the MGM Grand was electric and the fight was living up to all expectation and proving to fight fans, analysts and ringside commentators these two warriors had far from finished in the fight game. Marquez was landing the straight right at will throughout the fight, easier than previous encounters with the Filipino. Marquez already showing his improved power in round three, landed a picture perfect straight right in round six that sent Manny Pacquiao face first onto the canvass where he lay motionless and subsequently would not recover.
The sight of Manny Pacquiao laying motionless, his wife Jinkee crying and Marquez standing on the ropes celebrating a career defining win, I’m sure will live long in the minds of everybody involved with boxing. There was no doubt Marquez had left nothing in the gym while training for this fourth encounter with his biggest rival and nemesis Manny Pacquiao. “El Dynamita” went into this fight with a confidence and determination never seen before and finished it in the most devastating fashion, cementing his name in boxing history and in my mind the greatest fighter to come out of Mexico.
These two fighters seem to bring the best out in each other and it seems we will be likely to see a fifth installment before they decide to hang up the gloves from the sport permanently. Both fighters should receive the utmost respect and accolades for the show they put on for us die hard fight fans. Both fighters were back to there best and the best man on the night won.
Comments are closed.