Quijano: Pacquiao-Marquez IV: Winner takes all

I’M noticing a ho-hum reception locally to Manny Pacquiao- Juan Manuel Marquez IV . I say locally because I read somewhere that the Mexicans are gung-ho over their countryman’s 4th chance to duke it out with Pacquiao.

And I can’t blame our Mexican brethren. Despite the fact that Marquez continues to pontificate that he won the second and third fights against the Pacman, the record books will forever bear out that he still has to score that coveted W.

All my readers know that I would have preferred a Timothy Bradley reckoning , hence, I too feel a bit reticent towards this fight on account of that partiality.

But as a fight fan, how can you not love this fight?

Hell, Pacquiao and Marquez could fight each other everyday, once at breakfast, twice at lunch, and slap each other weakly during dinner and I would watch it every time.

HISTORY. In the modern era, two boxers fighting each other four times is a rarity. In the good old days, when there weren’t too many contenders and fights were easier to make, legends like Sugar Ray Robinson and Gene Tunney fought opponents more than 3 times.

Just recently, Israel Vasquez and Rafael Marquez, younger brother of Juan Manuel, fought each other four times between 2007-2010.

Each man won twice, and two of those fights were fight of the year winners, hence, nobody seemed to mind that they wanted to bash each other’s brains with unmitigated abandon and with a frequency that was quite uncommon.

In their case, the impetus seemed to be the unmitigated action each fight delivered, but in each of those fights, there was a clear winner with only one instalment lasting 12 rounds.

In marked contrast, the raison d etre for the Marquez-Pacquiao series is different as it has a lot to do with the controversial verdicts rendered in each bout.

The first fight was arguably the one in which Manny was most dominant, having knocked down Marquez three times in the very first round.

But somehow, “Dinamita” willed himself back into that fight and outboxed Manny over the next couple of rounds to overcome that seemingly insurmountable lead.

The manner in which Marquez rallied made a strong case for a rematch.

In their second encounter, Pacquiao started out strong, and eventually scored a knockdown, but Marquez was right there with him, punch for punch, combo for combo.

It could arguably have been scored for either fighter, and the split decision verdict for Pacquiao was deemed controversial.

Marquez seemed to dominate the third match, and the collective silence of the Filipino fight fans at the fight’s denouement seemed to confirm that fact.

However, Pacquiao got the nod via Majority decision, and the verdict was pilloried by many fans.

WINNER TAKES ALL. The seemingly cold response to the 4th instalment I can attribute probably to some people’s aversion to another controversial decision. Let’s hope this time there will be a clear and unequivocal winner.

There is so much more to this 4th fight than meets the eye. For Marquez, a dominant win will confirm his claim that all along he was the better fighter and that Manny was just lucky on the cards.

For Manny, a clear victory brings an end to all the controversy and affirms his superiority over his Mexican rival.

It’s a fight that carries with it the hubris of the previous three. It’s a winner-take-all. Remember, history is written by the victors.

RODEL MAYOL. Please take some time to say a good one to the Man up there as our very own Rodel Mayol takes on Juan Carlos Sanchez for the IBF Superflyweight title in Sinaloao Mexico. Good luck gaw!

LAST ROUND. It’s on my favourite judge, Hon. Charina Navarro Quijano, as we celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary this week. Cheers!

(jingo_quijano@yahoo.com)