Pacquiao vs. Marquez IV – A Fistful of Zeal

12/10/201212/10/2012 ESB

Pacquiao vs. Marquez IV – A Fistful of Zeal By Marc Livitz: Boxing received a cattle prod to the backside on Saturday evening and amazingly, it took but one bundle of dynamite from a certain “Dinamita”.

It was the sweet science’s rendition of a Saturday night special which likely sent one nation into hysterical levels of celebration and another into a deep sadness. To further illustrate the significance of Manny Pacquiao’s knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez: the news of the Filipino Congressman’s defeat as posted on the website of the Manila Times took brief (and hopefully very brief) precedence over the destruction unleashed upon the Philippines by Typhoon Bopha, which has left the country in a state of utter devastation.

Simply because the nature of Marquez’s savage gift of unconsciousness passed on to Pacquiao was delivered in the style that it was, the dying seconds of round six from the MGM Grand will do more than just remain etched in the hearts and minds of boxing fans worldwide. This is a flash bulb memory moment to be sure.

Pacquiao/Marquez IV: The Winners and Losers

09/15/201612/09/2012 ESB

By Dave Cacciatore, photo: Chris Farina – Top Rank – The fourth edition of this rivalry far exceeded most boxing fans expectations. Usually a measured defensive fighter in his biggest encounters, JMM showed one punch power in stopping the Filipino superstar. Pacquiao also showed the same gradual decline in both power and activity from his recent contests. This fight was also important for it’s implications, lets examine how this will effect the boxing landscape moving forward.

Losers

Manny Pacquiao – The great trainer Emanuel Steward taught us that youth and aggression fighters have a shorter shelf life. That lesson was painfully drilled into Pacquiao’s head by a single Marquez punch in this fight. His time at the top is clearly over and there is little hope that Manny can regain the devastating tornado like fury that allowed him to blaze to the top of the pound for pound rankings.

Freddie Roach – The trainer of Manny Pacquiao’s reputation took a significant blow on Saturday night.

Pacquiao-Marquez IV – The Shock Of The Year, The Fight Of The Year, The Round Of The Year, The KO Of The Year!

09/15/201612/09/2012 ESB

By James Slater, Photos Chris Farina – Top Rank — The great, often troubled sport of boxing delivered in style last night; with all the good, the fabulous and the awe-inspiring things that make it so special being witnessed in glitzy Las Vegas. Going into the fourth instalment of the fierce, controversial and utterly compelling Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez rivalry, fans knew they could once again expect something special.

What they got was something totally unforgettable.

Never will any fan privileged to have seen this barnburner of an epic fight – the 5th-round being utterly remarkable – forget the way the action made them feel. Then came the wholly unexpected ending. Never will any fan who saw Mexican legend Marquez send Filipino idol Pacquiao to the canvas in a face first manner be able to shake the image from their mind. Up there with the incomparable Sugar Ray Robinson’s 5th-round icing of the steel-chinned Gene Fulmer, Tommy Hearn’s annihilation of Roberto Duran and, more recently, Pac-Man’s KO over Ricky Hatton, “Dinamita’s” KO was as disturbing as it was electrifying.

The questions came thick and fast after the shock of seeing the seemingly unstoppable (Forget Manny’s early career stoppage defeats to Rustico Torrecampo, when he was a skinny novice, and to Medgoen Singsurat, when a body shot felled the weight drained 112-pounder. We all know that Manny Pacquiao was a raw learner, not yet with Freddie Roach) Pac-Man KO’d so brutally: will Pacquiao fight again? If So, will there be a fifth fight with Marquez? Will a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight now never happen (and don‘t we all want to know what Floyd has to say about last night‘s earth trembler!)? Is there anything at all to the suggestions that Marquez has taken illegal stimulants?

Rafael and Malignaggi pick Marquez to beat Pacquiao tonight

12/08/201212/08/2012 ESB

By Steve Mabbott: Dan Rafael of ESPN and WBA World welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi see Juan Manuel Marquez beating Manny Pacquiao tonight in their fourth fight together. Rafael sees it as a law of averages type of thing, whereas Malignaggi believes that Marquez will win a fight decision.

Mayweather Sr. not interested in Pacquiao-Marquez 4 bout

12/09/201212/08/2012 ESB

By Bill Phanco: Floyd Mayweather Sr. doesn’t have a whole lot of interest in tonight’s clash between Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KO’s) and Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KO’s), because he says he’s seen too many fights between them in the past where the wrong fighter got his hand raised after the fight.

Boxing Losers v. Winners

09/15/201612/08/2012 ESB

By “Old Yank” Schneider

Sentimentalism Defined:

The bloom is off the rose. We all saw it coming with Freddie Roach “wishing” his way to win after win with Amir Kahn. But one more win was not in the cards. Roach fighters would continue to lose. Senshenko…Chavez, Jr….Pacquaio. Wilting in boxing is uglier than it is in any other sport because of the utter sense of downer that follows. There are no other team members to pick you up. When the wilting begins only the solo bloom is there, losing its petals, in what seems a one-act play following an often brilliant career; the soliloquy spoken to an audience that has painfully, quietly and sadly if not pitifully already left the theater. Losing it at the end of a career in boxing is the ultimate solo performance — this rose by any other name does not smell sweet.

The fans are already leaving. We know it to be true. It is the legacy of the old ushering in the new — especially so when all the others have gone — evidenced by them playing their hedging comments out in the blogosphere before the bout has even begun.

Marquez wants to KO Pacquiao to remove the judges from the equation

09/15/201612/07/2012 ESB

By Bill Phanco: Former four division world champion Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KO’s) will be looking to knock Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KO’s) clean out on Saturday in their fourth fight between them. Marquez, 39, wants to take the judges completely out of their position of being able to sit as the decider in this fight by knocking Pacquiao and making sure that he won’t be on the receiving end of another controversial decision like in the past three fights.

Speaking with the BBC Sport, Marquez said “I am looking for the knockout. I have trained really hard, and I feel ready. I am looking for the knockout because the judge gave another [bad decision in last Pacquiao fight].”
Marquez has got the body and the strength now to accomplish his goal. He looks even more muscular than in his last fight against Pacquiao, and in that fight Marquez looked powerful.

If Marquez’s extra muscles equate to more power than Pacquiao could be in for a brutal beating tomorrow night because he and his trainer Freddie Roach have already said that they’re going to take the fight to Marquez to try and overwhelm him with punches. Roach seems to believe that the answer to beating guys like Marquez and Floyd Mayweather Jr. is to try and overwhelm their defenses.

Pacquiao expecting Marquez to be a stationary

09/15/201612/07/2012 ESB

By Rob Smith: Manny Pacquiao has a perfect explanation for why he’s not looked good since his win over Miguel Cotto in 2009. He says it’s because all of his opponents have been literally running from him in the ring instead of standing stationary and slugging it out in an old fashioned style of fighting that Pacquiao favors.

Pacquiao thinks that his opponent for Saturday night Juan Manuel Marquez will look to slug it out the entire time so that they can giving boxing fans a show that will please them, and at the same time finally prove who the better fighter is between them.

Pacquiao said to Sky Sports News “It just happens that in the last three fights I’ve fought people who run around, who won’t fight me toe-to-toe. I expect more action…I’m expecting him [Marquez] to try to prove something and fight toe-to-toe with me.”

Pacquiao with four pound weight advantage over Marquez

09/15/201612/07/2012 ESB

By Steve Mabbott: Juan Manuel Marquez had looked huge during his training video on the HBO Pacquiao-Marquez 24/7 episodes, but during today’s weigh-in for Saturday’s Las Vegas based fight, Marquez weighed in at only 143 lbs, a whole four pounds lighter than the 147 pound Manny Pacquiao.

This is interesting because unless Marquez rehydrates to a much higher weight, we’re likely to see Pacquiao as the bigger guy tomorrow night. It sort of makes a lot of sense because Marquez walks around at 145 lbs in between fights, and he has to eat like crazy just to stay up in weight. He’s a light welterweight, and Pacquiao is now a natural welterweight.

The last time Pacquiao fought Marquez in November of last year, Pacquiao had a one pound advantage in weight at 143 to 142 for Marquez. In their 2008 fight, Marquez had a one pound weight advantage at 130 to 129 for Pacquiao. And in their first fight in 2004, both fighters came in at 125 lbs.

Official weights: Pacquiao 147, Marquez 143

09/15/201612/07/2012 ESB

By Rob Smith: Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KO’s) made weight today for his bout tomorrow night against Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KO’s) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Surprisingly, Pacquiao weighed in 4 more than Marquez. Pacquiao weighed in at 147 pounds, while Marquez weighed 143 lbs. Marquez looked bigger than Pacquiao despite being four pounds lighter, but much of Marquez’s weight was in his upper body.

Pacquiao is the favorite in this fight with the oddsmakers, you have to ignore them and focus on who has been looking like the better fighter of late. That would have to be Marquez. He arguably beat Pacquiao last year in November, and then followed it up with a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision win over a very defensive minded Serhiy Fedchenko last April.

Marquez may not have looked as good he normally does, but he was facing someone that was running away each time he would even hint at throwing a punch in Fedchenko. Pacquiao looked poor against Marquez and then looked even worse in his loss last June to Tim Bradley. Boxing fans as whole saw Pacquiao as the winner of that fight, but he still looked bad in that fight, and nothing like what he once did in his prime.