At the weekend, Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao gave a much-needed boost to a profession plagued by controversy
It was one hell of a fight. A perfect straight right hand from Juan Manuel Marquez landed on the mouth of Manny Pacquiao, who walked right into it.
Because of the respect that these two fighters command, dissenting views are only to be expected after this fourth encounter between them. Just look at the chat rooms on the Internet.
Nevertheless, credit must be given to both fighters for their performances, in and outside the ring, and for giving boxing fans four memorable fights. Both fighters had promised to be more aggressive in this encounter, suggesting that the bout might go the distance, like their last three fights. They definitely lived up to their words. Like the other three matches, this meeting exceeded expectations. The same thing cannot always be said about high-profile fights between well-known prizefighters. In a sport where show-offs and loudmouths are a dime a dozen, and where humility and sportsmanship are often lacking, these two personalities are a breath of fresh air.
But regardless of how one views the fight, in the final analysis the outcome of Pacquiao-Marquez IV is good for boxing. Given the fact that the first three fights were controversially close, the boxing world needed this rematch to produce a definitive winner. Pacquiao might be leading the series between them with two wins - the other meeting resulting in a draw - but because of the closeness of the first three fights, he needed to win big to prove that he is the better of the two fighters.
This fight delivered a definite victor, but it wasn't Pacquiao. Nevertheless, it gave the fans the kind of action and level of excitement that they had witnessed in the first three fights.
The first two rounds were tactical, combined with superb boxing skill. Marquez scored a spectacular knockdown of Pacquiao with a right in round three, and capitalised on the advantage throughout the fourth, with more hard rights and body shots.
The Filipino fought back in the fifth, and the fierce exchanges bloodied Marquez's nose, after which he was knocked down by a Pacquiao straight left. Pacquiao continued to give Marquez hell in the sixth, with his speed and movement showing at last. And then came what many commentators described as a perfect punch - perfect in the way it was delivered and perfect in the way that Pacquiao walked into it. The timing of it couldn't have been better. That one huge right hand changed everything.
It was frightening to see the Pacman fall face-first and remain unresponsive on the canvas for several minutes. But true to his nature, Pacquiao, once recovered, displayed great sportsmanship and gave his opponent due respect.
Professional boxing is an industry that has come under scrutiny because of fighters' showboating and promotional hype. There is a lot of name-calling and abuse, particularly in the case of the prospective Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather match. There have also been other accusations and speculation about doping. All of this negative publicity has taken up too much space and has got more attention than it deserves.
This recent fight is certain to go down as the fight of the year. For one boxer to emerge victorious in a convincing manner only enhances the greatness of their rivalry. It also put to rest the controversial results of their first three fights. One can still argue over who is the better boxer, but what difference will it make after that sixth round of the fourth fight?
One can also argue that Pacquiao versus Mayweather is no longer the big deal it once was. Any fight between the two will now be fought for a lot less money and the interest will not be the same as it might have been with the Pacman still in invincible mode.
When boxers perform at the level we saw at the weekend, the sport doesn't need any promotional hype. But the only thing we can be sure of is that the hype won't go away.
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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2012/12/12/boxers-restore-some-pride-to-a-battered-sport/
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