Pacquiao's performance against Marquez an Indication of readiness for Mayweather Jr?

By Vitali Shaposhnikov: The following paragraphs are not only meant to express my own opinion, but to ask yours as well. Since there have probably been more articles on Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao than any other dream fight in the history of boxing, facts along with wild speculations blend into one big mess, allowing very little room for unbiased thought.

The following question came up in a conversation I recently had with a boxing enthusiast at a local bar where I live: “What if Juan Manuel Marquez gives Pacquiao a run for his money in their upcoming bout, and the fight ends up being much closer than most believe, will that indicate that since Mayweather Jr. was able to easily dismantle Marquez in their fight, he will do the same to Pacquaio if they ever meet inside the ring?” This was a pretty good and valid question, to which unfortunately there are two completely opposite possible answers of yes and no.

The YES: Despite the fact that Marquez is a smarter fighter as well as more technical one in his fights, both Pacquiao and him have one big stylistic commonality: they are both offensive boxers. Marquez and Pacquiao love to come in and trade anywhere in the ring, moving back only to readjust and change up the angle before coming back inside. Both fighters rarely come in with a single punch in mind, instead making it worth their while with multiple punch combinations upstairs as well as to the body. This way of boxing is Pacquiao’s bread and butter, as I have never seen him fight a patient fight. Marquez, as far back as I can remember, has always been the same fighter, with the same plan and identical execution. His ring IQ made all the difference in the world, as his ability to adjust turned the tables quickly, leaving his opposition in abandonment of their own game plan. There were multiple reasons why Marquez looked like a struggling amateur against Mayweather Jr., but one of the most important ones was the fact that Mayweather can fight real well off the back foot (something that neither Marquez nor Pacquiao have mastered in their careers). Jumping in and throwing a barrage of punches will land anyone in trouble against Floyd, as he quickly steps back and fires unbelievably accurate counters. We know that Pacquiao is not afraid of being hit, and that he is capable of keeping constant pressure for the entire fight if needed. Exactly this might end up being his downfall. If Marquez can give Pacquaio any trouble, and Pacquaio fights the same fight against Floyd, the Pacman will be chasing a ghost the entire night.

The NO: Styles make fights, and it’s the job of a good coach to re-mold their fighter into a properly adjusted boxer focused on the right plan. We have seen many fighters look a certain way in a given fight, only to come back completely different in a rematch. Game plans are mostly built on what the opponent is capable of, and how to take advantage of their mistakes. If for example your opposition poses no threat to your chin in terms of their punching power, a coach is likely to instruct you to get inside and knock them out. But if they are powerful yet slow, you might want to fight a more careful patient fight, pecking at them through the rounds. In case of Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr., Freddie Roach is the key to the solution. Being a master tactician, he concocts an individualistic game plan for every fight, giving Pacquiao just the right advice to take full advantage of the other fighter’s mistakes. Juan’s and Floyd’s fighting styles are on the opposite ends of the spectrum, thus I would expect Roach to plan accordingly. I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised to see a more reserved Pacquiao, although I feel that this style would play more against him rather than for him in any fight. I have been wrong many times about if and how Pacquiao was going to win, so my expectations and predictions on this man are no longer as solid as I used to think they were.

What do you think? Does it matter how Pacquiao performs against Marquez, and do you see it as an indication of his ability against Mayweather Jr.?

eastsideboxing.com

In Lieu of the Trilogy, Marquez vs. Pacquiao 1 Fight Recap

By Karim ‘Kato’ Godfrey: Every now and again two fighters enter the ring and put on an amazing performance. The crowd, the media and the commentators are totally engulfed in the moment and the only bad part about the entire affair is that one of those fighters has to lose. May 8th, 2004 was just such a day.

A mere 6 months prior, Manny took on and beat Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera. With an ambitious fight schedule Manny then set his sights on the second most dangerous Mexican, Juan Manuel Marquez. The HBO analysts were all enamored with the Filipino warrior and waited anxiously for the fireworks to start. Manny was a significant favorite to win and the first round of the fight looked exactly as it was supposed to be scripted. However, Juan Manuel Marquez never cooperated. After being dropped 3 times during the first round, Marquez readjusted after the third round and countered Manny the rest of the way.

On November 12th, 2011 the trilogy will be complete. With the two previous fights being so close, I had to re-watch them and dissect each and every round. After re-watching the fight several times, there is no way in my book, Marquez won the first fight. In lieu of their November trilogy, here is my take and recap of the entire first fight. There were several close rounds that could’ve gone either way but even if I gave Marquez Rnd. 4, 5, 8 & 11; Pacquiao still pulls it out. (Please note, the judge who scored the fight 113/113 admitted he did not score round 1 a 10/6 round as he was supposed to given the fact that Marquez was dropped 3 times.)

1. Round 1: no doubt went to Pacquiao with a huge 10 – 6 margin. (Rnd. 1 to MP)
2. Round 2: wasn’t as close as the commentators made it seem. Marquez was still dusting off the cobwebs and Manny was calm, cool and collected. (Rnd. 2 to MP)
3. Round 3: Marquez made in ring adjustments and countered Manny’s aggressive power shots throughout the round. (Rnd. 3 to JMM)
4. Round 4: This was a very close round. Manny controlled the first minute or so of the round and Marquez came back with some great counters. I gave this round to Manny because even though he took some big shots from Marquez, Manny always answered every shot right back and continued pressuring the entire rest of the round. (Rnd. 4 to MP, easily could’ve gone to JMM)
5. Round 5: Manny got staggered a bit with 1:30 left in the round but came right back and caught Marquez with a stiff 1,2 and finished the combination with a straight left. With 28 seconds left in the round, Marquez pressed the action and caught Manny on the ropes with two straight rights that. Manny was off the ropes in no time and fired some shots of his own. This was a really close round to call. (Rnd. 5 to MP, easily could’ve gone to JMM)
6. Round 6: Hard straight right stuns Pacman at the 1:40 mark of the round. Marquez controlled this round with precise counter shots. (Rnd. 6 JMM)
7. Round 7: Manny kept the pressure on Marquez throughout the round. Manny made out better during most of the exchanges. (Rnd. 7 to MP)
8. Round 8: Another very close round. The round was still up for grabs with 1:00 remaining. Manny started to box a little more and kept pressure on Marquez with the jab, jab, straight left which landed almost every time. However, Marquez was able to counter and pressured Pacman a bit more in this round. (Rnd. 8 to JMM)
9. Round 9: The round was pretty even but Manny maintained the pressure and was able to land the jab and hook several times. Manny was the more energetic of the two and landed the harder shots when the flurries started to fly. (Rnd. 9 to MP)
10. Round 10: Pacquiao continued applying the pressure as Marquez continued the counter attack. Pacman still looked the fresher fighter and kept on his toes as he bounced and moved side to side and found his range again and landed consecutive straight lefts. Marquez did well also because he was always ready to fire back as soon as he got tagged. (Rnd. to MP)
11. Round 11: Started out much the same way with Manny pressuring and Marquez counterattacking. This was the first round where Marquez looked really dominant as he landed the better shots and made out better during exchanges. (Rnd. 10 to JMM)
12. Round 12: Marquez started out the round landing big straight rights as Manny turned it up a notch with 1:30 left in the round with big winging left hooks. Marquez held his own but Manny landed the stiffer shots and came out better during the exchanges. (Rnd. 12 to MP)

This fight was the fight that put Marquez over and made him a household name. Despite it being a draw, Marquez had never been in such a drama filled fight his entire career and he performed well and much better than most anticipated. Marquez has been performing at this level ever since and is still a dominant force at 135 lbs. He is constantly taking on the best level of competition in his division and has even exposed a few promising up and comers like Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis. His only loss within the past 3 years came at the hands of boxing wizard Floyd Mayweather Jr. So, why are some people not giving Marquez the benefit of the doubt in his upcoming trilogy against Pacquiao? Yes he is 39 years old but, didn’t Hopkins prove that age is just a number? Yes he doesn’t perform well above 140 lbs. but, I doubt anyone other than Pacquiao could perform well against Mayweather at any weight. Marquez is the first fighter I’ve seen take it to Pacman the way he did. Sometimes a fighter just has another fighters’ number. Antonio Tarver vs. Roy Jones and Vernon Forest vs. Shane Mosley were just such encounters.

I hope my opinions and analysis will clear the misconception that Marquez was robbed of a win because there is no way he won the first fight. History has a way of leaving out the details and blurring reality to suit an agenda. The proof is out there, re-watch the fight for yourselves and let me know who you think really won. I will provide a recap of the second fight next week and hope people realize that this trilogy needs to happen. Who knows, this could be the one to win Fight of the Year 2011.

Source: eastsideboxing.com

Manny Pacquiao vs. Marquez Should Go Head-to-Head with Mayweather vs. Ortiz

Fight fans, we all have been talking about the big news of Floyd Mayweather Jr. returning on September 17th to face Victor Ortiz for his WBC welterweight title.

Here's an idea that all of the multi-millionaire boxing powers can pay me a nice handsome consulting fee for: How about putting Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez III head-to-head on the same very night as Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Victor Ortiz.

Before you get too excited, hear me out first. Mayweather has been very vocal about always being the main attraction, the big draw, the cash cow, what have you, so this would be the ultimate test to prove it.

Have Pacquiao vs. Marquez III go head-to-head with Mayweather vs. Ortiz on the same night, September 17th.

Pulling that off is very possible, seeing that Mayweather is on HBO, so his fight will most likely be HBO PPV and Pacquiao is now pretty much Showtime, so his will probably be Showtime PPV.

Top Rank would pretty much promote the Pacquiao fight and it's been reported that Mayweather Promotions, with Golden Boy, will promote Mayweather's fight.

HBO 24/7 will promote Mayweather vs. Ortiz just as Showtime Fight Camp 360 would promote Pacquiao vs. Marquez III, and if they are smart, they will get CBS on board again as well.

After both fights, no matter the actual outcomes, the real war would be the war of numbers.

Who sold more at the live gate? Who sold more pay-per-view buys?

The one clear winner would have all the bragging rights of the world and truly be the pound-for-pound champion of pay-per-view and the No. 1 cash cow draw.

This fighter would also have the upper hand in negotiating the larger cut of the purse percentage when, not only if, they ever fight (Pacquiao and Mayweather), but in all future fights from now on.

It would be historic and legendary, and it would shut up a legion of annoying obnoxious fans who are so utterly frustrated that they have been trolling hard against each other ever since a Pacquiao vs. Mayweather fight was even brainstormed several years ago.

Top Rank, move the Pacquiao vs. Marquez fight up to September 17th and thank me later. I'll take just a small, yet handsome, percentage of all four fighters purses for my genius consulting fees.

I should be on these executive board room meetings for boxing for giving you guys such brilliant, amazing ideas.

This would be the most insanely successful marketing and promotional plan ever for Pacquiao and Mayweather, should they ever fight each other.

It would wake up not only America, but the world, and get them all on fire for the sport of boxing once again put it on top where it belongs.

Source: bleacherreport.com