The definition of injustice could not be shown in more crystal clear clarity when Manny Pacquiao was awarded a split decision over Juan Manuel Marquez at the MGM Grand after it looked as though the Mexican warrior had got the upper hand in their third encounter on Saturday night.
Manny could never find a way inside Marquez and was constantly bombarded with right hand counters to the head. As in their first two bouts, Manny leaped in wildly, trying to score with blistering combinations but found himself on the receiving end of said shots. By the ninth round Pacquiao sensed desperation as he put the pressure on the Mexican veteran and turned up the intensity, but it seemed to be a little late for him and both fighters exchanged in the championship rounds with wild punches in very close range. As before, Marquez was able to capitalise on the lack of balance of Pacquiao and the filipino superstar, whose potential fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr has been heavily talked about for the past year or so, found himself knocked back occasionally from being countered whenever he came shooting in. The head was not the only target as Marquez also found Pacquiao’s body with ease, aiming left and right hooks toward it.
Unfortunately for Pacquiao, he demonstrated that he did not have the gift of adapting to his opponent and repeated the same tactics on Marquez, who easily knew what was coming ahead. Once the final bell rang to end the championship twelfth round, Pacquiao had the look of somebody who had been defeated, but to everybody’s shock and amazement, scores of 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112 were read out for Pacquiao which made the attending crowd erupt in anger. Marquez, understandably, left the ring and declined to be interviewed, shaking hands with adoring fans as he made his way toward the exit.
Pacquiao said in the post fight interview, “Marquez is a good fighter. I got hurt a couple of times.”
“I am determined for these two to fight once more. I had Manny winning this. Maybe we will do it again in May. If we do it again then it will set all monetary records for Pay Per View”, said promoter, Bob Arum.
One can only feel tremendous sympathy for Juan Manuel Marquez tonight as it looks already as though another mega fight between these two could be on the horizon. But one must wonder what Marquez has to do in order to win! Whatever happens, Pacquiao’s reputation will have possibly taken a little bit of a beating in light of tonight’s events and that is a great shame for him considering what he has achieved so far. But it is hard to feel sympathy even though he was not on the judging panel.
In the end, even though he may not have got the official verdict, Juan Manuel Marquez will, from now on, be rightfully respected as the ‘Peoples Champion.’ And he can proudly hold his head up high when the sun slowly rises across the Vegas desert on Sunday morning.
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