By Will Shung
For the third time in the history of these two men the bout went the distance and was decided by the score cards.
The first fight was an epic that saw Marquez get knocked to the mat several times, only to get back up and come back stronger; so strong that by the end of the fight you could have called it a Marquez fight if you had tuned in more than half way through. At the end, the seesaw battle was deemed too close to call, and hence was called a draw.
The second encounter was not too shabby either. Pacquiao once again was able to put Marquez on his rear, but only to have Marquez storm back and valiantly lay it all on the line in a slugfest to the finish. Once again, the fight went the distance, but this time, the judges seemed to have gave a slight edge to the fighter who simply was busier that evening and technically did score a knockdown. Minute differences decided that Pacquiao escaped with a split decision. Needless to say, the Marquez camp was not pleased.
On Saturday night, the third installment of the Pacquiao/Marquez saga was unfolded and it once again delivered. It was more than seven years ago the two men first stepped into the ring against each other. They have both come a long way. The latest fight was a marvel of well-thrown punches and wily defense; a duel between two tacticians. Marquez, despite going into this fight the much older and supposed slower of the two, kept up with Pacquiao and looked like the Marquez of old. Manny, on the other hand, seemed less involved, even though he was still the busier of the two fighters (that will later on prove the deciding factor). Twelve rounds of nearly even boxing that would have been impossible to score accurately unless one has scored fights such as De La Hoya/ Trinidad or any of the Ward/Gatti's. At the end, as much as most begged to differ and saw it much differently, Pacquiao was the victor; this time in a majority decision ( one judge scored it a draw).
Between the seven years since the first fight between the two men we have seen one fighter rise to the level of super-stardom, whereas the other has only gotten by as merely a respected fighter. Some would say if the results of the previous two fights were any different, the roles would have been swapped by today - Marquez could have been the one at the top of the weight division and drawing astronomical paydays. The reality is Pacquiao is the man right now. He is dubbed by most as the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, and fuel to the ever-burning flame of a possible super bout between him and the always cocky, but still undefeated, other guy in the weight class: Floyd Mayweather.
Mayweather is only a couple of months removed from another multi-million dollar payday after "technically" knocking out the young, up-and-coming, champion in his own right, Victor Ortiz. The result of the bout was regretful, but Floyd knocked him out fair and square.
So with the inevitable showdown now tentatively set for May of 2012, we take a look one more time, but certainly not the last, at how Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather match up against each other.
One important thing to look at when comparing these two fighters at this point in time is to reflect on their most recent fights and results. In both fighters' last five fights, they are a combined 10-0. But what about the quality in opponents they have faced? Mayweather has gone up against everyone from "viscious" darkhorse rising talents in Victor Ortiz to Hall-of-Famers in Oscar De La Hoya. All of them, which included the likes of Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Shane Mosely, were meticulously dismantled and beat to shame by Mayweather.
Pacquiao hasn't faced hobos either. Starting with a late fight TKO of Miguel Cotto, Manny has gone on to beat his next four oppenents (Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margaritio, Shane Mosely, Juan Manuel Marquez) in decisions.
Two things stand out in both fighters' previous five bouts that shed a bit of light onto a pattern that could spell trouble for Manny Pacquiao. First, Mayweather has gone on record to accuse Pacquiao of fighting his "leftovers" - Ricky Hatton and Shane Mosely have been defeated by Mayweather prior to their bouts with Pacquiao (Marquez, who also fought Mayweather and lost before his scheduled third meeting with Pacquiao, can be excluded from that trend simply due to his history with Pacquiao and their third fight was merely another chapter in the Pacquiao/Marquez saga). But more glaringly is the fact that Manny Pacquiao has, over the past few matches, fought opponents who have been either significantly bigger, or are slightly bigger, but are fighting in their career long weight classes (do not forget that Pacquiao became pro when he was a mere featherweight, now fighting almost forty pounds heavier than when he first started). The obvious question you ask is: so what? Well, Manny has always been fast, and despite moving moving up three weight classes throughout his career, he has managed to maintain his speed. But as of late he's been taking on fighters who have been flirting with breaking into the middleweight division, hence they were at the welterweight division to start with. As we all know, the bigger they get, the slower they punch (and move). Let's face it, the Klischko's don't move or punch as fast as Manny or Mayweather, but they sure as hell pack a lot more power. However, despite establishing a size disadvantage with his opponents, Pacquiao more than makes up in his speed and would consider that an advantage. Coupled with his crafty footwork, Manny swoops in, connects with his flurry of combos, and ducks out of his counterparts' sight seemingly without them even knowing he was up in their grill at all. But what would happen if he were to come across a guy with impeccable defense, equally neat footwork, hand speed that is stuff of legend, and unparelleled accuracy? What would happen if he came across a Floyd Mayweather? May 5th, 2012. Be ready.
