It begs the question really, do the first two fights actually matter when speaking of a third showdown between the two superstars?
Since their last encounter, Juan Manuel Marquez has established his name as the best Lightweight in the world. Aged yes, but only in numbers as in terms of skill Marquez has yet to see any of his decline translate into a disadvantage in the ring. He’s still one of Boxing’s best in-ring tacticians with the ability to adjust mid-fight to any fighter’s style and develop a strategy for victory on the fly.
Pacquiao on the other hand, well, we all know what happened to him as we saw his star rise to epic proportions. Pacquiao has since become Boxing’s biggest attraction and is adored by fans the world over. His dominance can only be compared to that of a Muhammad Ali, whose transcendent popularity is passed on to Pacquiao.
The first two fights between Pacquiao and Marquez saw both fighters unravel before our very eyes. It was as if these two fighters were made to fight each other over and over again. Unfortunately, Boxing is as much a business as it is a sport and out-of-ring issues prevented the two from ever fighting when they should have (the gap between their first fight and the second one is four long years).
If we can take anything from the first two fights between these two elite fighters, it’s that they are a matchup made in heaven, technique wise. Styles make fights and theirs make a perfect combination atop the squared circle.
Marquez’s pinpoint counterpunching versus Pacquiao’s devastating relentlessness and speed, that’s the premise we dealt with in I and II, and that’s what we expect to see in III.
But you can’t really predict the outcome of the third fight with the first two fights as your basis. Frankly speaking, they’re irrelevant now. The two pugilists are far different fighters now than when they last fought in 2008. Marquez has aged and has declined physically yet has gained better experience and has mastered his technique. And Pacquiao on the other hand has bulked up to be a Welterweight beast that carries his power and speed well in the higher weight class.
Simply put, the two fighters we saw in 2004 and 2008 are nowhere to be seen irrelevant of what most boxing analysts bring up when speaking of these two fighters. 2008 was a million centuries ago, 2011 is something completely different. Both Marquez and Pacquiao have improved dramatically with no question.
Just how much each has improved over the other will be the deciding factor.
Any which way, Pacquiao – Marquez III will be a slobberknocker. Just don’t expect something like the first two fights, it’s not going to be a repeat. I don’t think, as well as others, that Marquez has the ability to hang with Pacquiao at Welterweight.
Source: http://fightcardboxing.net
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