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Monday, March 17, 2008
Manny makes Marquez fall
LAS VEGAS -- Manny Pacquiao won a narrow split decision to defeat Juan Manuel Marquez and claim the WBC super featherweight title, in a sensational bout that left two of the world's best boxers bloody and triumphant.
Though Marquez landed more punches at a higher percentage, Pacquiao (46-3-2) knocked down the Mexican (48-4-1) in the third round and persevered through a nasty cut.
Pacquiao-Marquez round-by-round
Marquez also was cut, but neither backed down from one scintillating exchange after another. Both fighters believed they won.
The bout in Las Vegas prompted the Philippine Army to declare a seven-hour truce with insurgents, and also provided a welcome distraction for President Arroyo, who has grappled with widespread calls for her resignation over a corruption scandal.
"He is truly one of our nation's heroes who can unite us even in times of divisiveness," said Arroyo, who immediately congratulated Pacquiao by phone.
The first Pacquiao-Marquez matchup ended in a draw in May 2004. Marquez was knocked down three times in the opening round of that bout, but improbably rallied to win most of the later rounds in a career-saving performance.
Close call
An immediate rematch was scuttled by financial arguments, and Pacquiao went on to cement his spots atop the sport and in every Filipino's heart, while Marquez made a long climb back to a match he eagerly accepted this time.
This second fight was just as tight and every bit as exciting.
Judge Duane Ford favored Pacquiao 115-112 and Jerry Roth called it 115-112 for Marquez, while Tom Miller gave a 114-113 edge to Pacquiao, despite giving the last two rounds to Marquez. The Associated Press narrowly favored Marquez, 114-113, on the strength of his 12th-round performance.
With outstanding action in nearly every round producing bloody injuries and heart-stopping moments, the fight showed why both boxers are at the peak of their profession.
One defining moment came when Pacquiao nearly had the fight won when he dropped Marquez in the third round, but the Mexican kept his feet.
"I thought at that point I was in control of the fight," Pacquiao said.
Nasty cuts
"But when he cut my eye in the fourth round, he made it more difficult for me, and I couldn't take control of the fight...I wasn't sure (heading into the 12th round), but I always treat the final round as the most important. I don't take any chances."
From the opening bell, the action was frenetic at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Marquez staggered Pacquiao in the second round, but Pacquiao floored Marquez in the third with a left hook.
Pacquiao then wobbled Marquez again late in what's sure to be one of the year's best rounds, but couldn't finish off his opponent.
"I don't like the decision," Marquez said. "I still feel I am the champion. It was a bad decision. That first knockdown, he got me cold, but then I adjusted my game plan and I thought from then on, I dictated the whole fight...The people are the best judge, and the people are booing him. I won."
Pacquiao won a major world title in a third weight division, and he intends to move up another division for his next fight against David Diaz, the WBC lightweight champion who won on Saturday's undercard.
"I don't think so," Pacquiao said of a third fight with Marquez. "This business is over."
Exchange
Marquez, whose brother Rafael just finished a three-fight epic with Israel Vazquez, landed 172 punches, or 34 percent of his total compared to Pacquiao's 25 percent. Pacquiao threw more jabs, and Marquez landed more power shots.
After a cautious start, both fighters showed glimpses of their fearsome potential in the second round. Pacquiao won several tough exchanges, but Marquez wobbled Pacquiao with a three-punch combination in the final seconds.
The third round was nonstop action, with both fighters trading quality punches before Pacquiao put Marquez on the canvas with a left hook. Marquez was leaning against the ropes by the end, but wouldn't go down.
Marquez cut Pacquiao with a punch in the fourth round, but Pacquiao staggered him again in the seventh, and a collision of heads opened a nasty cut near Marquez's right eye.
Marquez then split Pacquiao's right cheek early in the eighth, but Pacquiao kept charging forward to take punishment with his obscured vision.
Discipline
They traded quality punches until the final minute, when Marquez landed a handful of combinations to do the final damage. Both fighters' cornermen raised them in victory.
"It was a close fight, but we came back at the end," said Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach. "It could have gone either way, in my mind. Manny followed him around the ring too much. He didn't cut off the ring like he should have.
Marquez may have had a lot to do with that as well. Manny was more disciplined in training than he was in the fight tonight."
Marquez could have had this fight shortly after their first bout, but his management complained about the financial terms.
Marquez ended up fighting for a small purse in Indonesia, where he lost his WBA featherweight title to Chris John two years ago, but Marquez claimed the WBC super featherweight title last year by beating Marco Antonio Barrera. (AP)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Manila. (March 17, 2008 issue)
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