On 8th May 2004, tough Mexican and future Floyd Mayweather Jr. opponent Juan Manuel Marquez fought current pound for pound champion Manny Pacquiao in a memorable contest.
To look at this fight and analyse it, one has to turn back the clocks and see where each fighter was in their careers at this point in time.
Juan Manuel Marquez was the IBF Featherweight Champion and the WBA Featherweight Super Champion. He had only lost twice beforehand and one of those losses was a DQ, so really Marquez had only been truly beaten once. He himself was on the verge of becoming the top fighter in the division, but there was someone in his way; this was Manny Pacquiao.
Fight Night Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez
The opening round was a huge round for the Filipino. Pacquiao floored Marquez three times in the opening session, using his speed and aggression to befuddle the Mexican. Make no mistakes about it, these were far from flash knockdowns, but Juan Manuel showed great heart to last the round and weather the storm. This was a huge 10-6 round for the Filipino, and showed Marquez had a lot of work to do to save the fight.
In the second round, Marquez tried to steady the boat. Unfortunately for him, Pacquiao was still coming forward like a buzzsaw, but Marquez at least managed to stay on his feet in this round. However, the damage had been done by this point, and Manny had managed to gain a five point lead over his opponent in the first two rounds.
Round three saw Marquez truly get into the fight. His legs were steady by this point, and he seemed to be able to deal with the power of Pacquiao a lot better. He had also managed to slow the pace down, which meant Pacquiao wasn't throwing any more relentless combinations at Marquez. This was great news for the Mexican counter puncher.
The next three rounds saw the fight continue at the right pace for Marquez, although arguably Pacquiao nicked the fourth narrowly. Freddie Roach was urging Pacquiao to up the pace again, as it was obvious from the start that Marquez couldn't deal with the power of the 'Pac-Man'. However, he didn't, and there is a case to say Marquez took 4, 5 and 6.
Pacquiao did better in the seventh though. He got through with several head shots which seemed to hurt Marquez. Juan showed admirable heart though staying on his feet.
Rounds 8 and 9 were very close. There was a case to say either round went either way, and this fight was starting to have 'classic' written all over it.
Round 10 wasn't quite as close though. Marquez slowed the pace of the fight down again, and even stunned Pacquiao with a hard head shot. At the end of the round, Roach once again read Pacquiao the riot act, imploring his man to up the pace, as he felt the last two rounds were neccessary to win the fight.
Pacquiao was just too tired to fight at a faster pace though, and Juan Manuel did better in the championship rounds than his opponent. This was a fantastic turn around on behalf of Marquez and this showed that he was most definitely the real deal.
So the judges had to render their decisions on the fight. John Stewart marked the fight 115-110 to the 'Pac-Man'. Guy Jutras gave the fight to Marquez by the same margin, and unbelievably, Burt Clements scored the bout at 113 a piece, making the fight a draw.
The Implications Of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 1
This showed that Marquez was a true warrior, as most fighters just simply don't have the heart to scrape themselves off the canvas three times and fight eleven more rounds. As for Pacquiao, he lost nothing in this fight and gained credibility by taking what he did off Marquez.
These were two different fighters fighting two different fights. Marquez was a tactical counter puncher that looked for openings, and Pacquiao at this point was an all out attack fighter with superb movement. There was a rematch of this fight four years later, but the result of this won't be given away now as this may feature in this new 'Classic Fight Of The Week' article at some point in the future.
However, what can be said about the fight is that both fighters moved onto bigger and better things. Pacquiao as of now is considered as the top pound for pound fighter in the world, while Marquez is preparing for a massive fight against Floyd 'Money' Mayweather. Both of these fighters are future hall of famers, and Pacquiao vs Marquez 1 is a must see fight.
Source: http://www.suite101.com
PACQUIAO vs MARQUEZ I Video Highlights:
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