By Ian S Palmer
Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will go at it for the fourth time on Dec. 8 when they meet in the ring at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand in a 12-round welterweight bout. The first three bouts were extremely close and after 36 rounds of boxing there’s not much of a gap between these two warriors.
Pacquiao won two of the first three fights and the other ended in a draw. There are some fans who swear Marquez of Mexico beat the Filipino in all three bouts while others swear by Pacquiao. All of the scraps could have gone either way and that’s what makes this matchup a compelling one for the fans, even though fighting the same opponent four times is a rarity in this day and age.
There’s a good chance this will be another controversial decision because of their styles. There’s usually a lot of action, give-and-take and ebb and flow to their bouts. What there isn’t though, is a decisive winner, at least not in the first three showdowns. There’s a lot of pressure on the southpaw Pacquiao to win this contest, especially after losing a controversial decision to Timothy Bradley in his last outing. If he loses two in a row, some historians and experts may begin to think he wasn’t really as good as he was built up to be.
Pacquiao is getting on in years at 33 years of age, but he’s still six years younger than the 39-year-old Marquez and that might be a factor here. He’ll enter the ring with a fine record of 54-4-2 with 38 Kos. His losses have come against Bradley, Erik Morales, Medgoan Singsurat, and Rustico Torrecampo. Bradley beat him by a split decision while Morales took him by a unanimous one in 2005 and Singsurat stopped him in the third round in 1999, with Torrecampo knocking him out in the third round in 1996. He had a technical six-round draw with Agapito Sanchez in 2001 and a draw with Marquez in their first bout in 2004. That fight will always be remembered for the fact that Pacquiao decked Marquez three times in the first round, but couldn’t finish him off.
Marquez also has an exceptional record at 54-6-1 with 39 Kos with losses to Pacquiao (twice) Floyd Mayweather Jr., Chris John, Freddie Norwood, and Javier Duran. The loss to Duran came in his very first pro bout back in 1993 when he was disqualified. He’s shown an excellent chin over the years and has never been stopped.
The public wasn’t really crying out for a fourth meeting between these two, it isn’t shying away from it either. Fans know what to expect after seeing the first three fights and this will probably offer up more of the same. It should be entertaining as usual and hopefully there will be a clear-cut winner this time around. Many people are surprised that Pacquiao chose to meet Marquez again though since he gives him so much trouble. Even though Pacquiao lost to Bradley, anybody who saw the fight probably had him winning it, and it appears he would have had an easier time against Bradley in a rematch and to prove the first bout was spoiled by incompetent judging.
Pacquiao and Marquez are no longer at their peak, but neither were Ali and Frazier when they presented us with the Thrilla in Manila, and that was one of the greatest fights in history. Since both boxers here are so close to each other skill-wise, we could see a classic if lucky. Pacquiao will usually land the flashier punches while Marquez stands his ground and likes to land with solid counter shots. Both men are about equal in size at 5-foot-7 and have 67-inch reaches. Pacquiao’s more used to fighting in the welterweight division though, but there’s nothing really new here as the pair met just over a year ago.
Prediction
Since the first three bouts were so close and many feel Marquez has been shafted by not winning at least one decision, the judges could subconsciously favour him. Pacquiao needs to win the rounds more decisive if he wants to avert another close call. Look for him to pick up the pace and leave the ring with a wider, less controversial decision this time around.
