Pacquiao vs. Marquez

Pacquiao weathers a brutal upper cut from Marquez

Manny Pacquiao won a majority decision over Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday (November 12, 2011) in Las Vegas. It  was the duo's 3rd world title meeting. Their two previous encounters were closely contended and both ended in a shroud of controversy. The first bout was called a draw. The second was a split decision win in favor of Pacquiao. Last night the fight concluded with Marquez storming out of the ring disgusted by the judges' decision and a large contingent of his supporters booing Pacquiao and throwing debris toward the ring. The event was suppose to answer the question once and for all, "Who is the better ring technician"? In the end neither fighter was able to definitively dominate the other one.

Each man gave as well as he took. Pacquiao was clearly the faster of the two. He lumped up Marquez's face with quick left crosses thrown from different angles. Not to be outdone, Marquez snapped Pacquiao's head back with deadly accurate right cross counters and hard left hook body shots which kept Pacquiao from flurrying and taking his attack inside.

If the margin of difference was minimal, why was Pacquiao declared the winner? Pacquiao showed greater ring generalship through skilled footwork and willingness to come forward. But most importantly Pacquiao through more punches than Marquez. Like it or not, punch count statistics overwhelmingly decide winners and losers in boxing. Also Marquez did not stay the course. He unwisely let up off the gas pedal in the 12 round, because he and his corner assumed they were winning the fight. Quite frankly Marquez and his trainer should have thought better. Boxing gives you nothing. You have to take championship belts. Had Marquez shown more aggression in the final round, he might have swayed the judges in his favor. Marquez otherwise gave Pacquiao all he could handle and more in a close and evenly matched bout.

Unfortunately, Marquez will have to settle for being Pacquiao's near equal on the scorecards.