Time to rally behind Manny

LOS ANGELES – It was clearly one of Manny Pacquiao’s toughest fights as nobody expected Juan Manuel Marquez to take him to the limit in their WBO welterweight title bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas last Saturday night (Sunday morning, Manila).

The odds were so absurdly lopsided that only the most daring risk-takers wagered on a win by Marquez. On the day of the fight, the betting line showed Pacquiao a -950 favorite and Marquez a +650 underdog, meaning a $950 wager for the Filipino would earn only $100 but a $100 bet on the Mexican would bring in $650. 

As it turned out, Pacquiao won by a majority 12-round decision – the closest he got to gaining a sweep of the three judges’ nods in three outings. The judges – Dave Moretti, Glenn Trowbridge and Robert Hoyle – agreed to score rounds 1, 3 and 6 for Pacquiao and rounds 4, 5 and 7 for Marquez. The score was even at 76-all in two cards after eight rounds. Then, Pacquiao took the last four rounds in two of the three cards to seal it down the stretch.

The punchstats showed Pacquiao outlanding, outthrowing, outjabbing and outpower-hitting Marquez – something he didn’t do in the first two meetings. But while Pacquiao had the edge in the firepower departments, it wasn’t a big margin. The fight was close as indicated by the judges’ scores – 114-114 by Hoyle, 115-113 by Moretti and 116-112 by Trowbridge.

Despite the punchstat discrepancies, Pacquiao showed a drop in his work-rate as he averaged only 49 punches thrown a round. In the first bout against Marquez, he averaged 53 and in the second, it was down to 51. Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach was recently quoted by Gordon Marino of the Wall Street Journal as saying the Filipino ring icon averages 80 punches a round.  The slide reflected a slowdown that some fans interpreted to be a sign of the beginning of the end.

Pacquiao himself was disappointed that he failed to finish off Marquez and write a definitive closure to their trilogy. In his dressing room after the fight, the mood was subdued even as Pacquiao tried to lift everyone’s spirits by singing Queen’s anthem “We Will Rock You.”  

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Pacquiao did enough to beat Marquez as the punchstats indicated and there’s no reason to doubt the integrity of the three judges who are veterans in the business. To speculate that gamblers influenced the voting is both unkind and unfair to Pacquiao. 

“It’s God’s will,” said Pacquiao. “I won and I fought to bring more honor to our country. I was the aggressor throughout the fight and Marquez just waited to counter. I know fans have high expectations from me to score a knockout or a decision by a wide margin. I was cut by a headbutt (in the ninth round) but I fought until the end.”

Obviously, Pacquiao has spoiled his millions of fans who expect nothing less than a devastating and spectacular performance from him every time he steps into the ring. That’s the price for being the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter and a cover boy of Time and Newsweek. It doesn’t entitle him to an off-night. But let’s face it. Pacquiao is human like you and me, with faults, weaknesses and frailties. 

Against Marquez last Saturday night, Pacquiao wasn’t at his best. He was slow on the attack and too careful in staying out of harm’s way. He didn’t show the bravado that has been his trademark since breaking into the lucrative US market in 2001. He wasn’t the unpredictable dervish who fought with reckless abandon. It seemed like there was a heavy weight on his shoulders or a problem that compromised his focus. Still, Pacquiao earned the decision despite the sub-par performance and for that, he should be credited. Pacquiao fought a determined gladiator, took his licks and finished proudly. He certainly deserves recognition for beating a tough opponent on an off-night.

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For fans to question the decision must pain Pacquiao. When he’s winning in grand style, everyone’s jumping into his bandwagon. His victory is for all to enjoy and celebrate. But now that he’s been severely challenged, the fans who once praised him to high heavens won’t even give him the benefit of the doubt. It’s the crab mentality all over again. Instead of understanding his situation, they wonder if he’s on the decline, if the judges were paid off. Instead of encouraging Pacquiao to learn from this lesson of near-defeat, they castigate him for an escape act, probe into his private affairs and try to dig up dirt to besmirch his reputation. 

It must be pointed out that because of their styles, there will never be a conclusive ending to a Pacquiao-Marquez fight. It’s like they’re meant for each other. If a fourth fight materializes, the debate on who’s the better fighter will still be unsettled when the smoke clears. That’s the way it is. And as Pacquiao said, that’s boxing. But it must be mentioned that in Saturday’s fight as in every fight, judges will always score close rounds in favor of the more aggressive fighter. So in cases where a round could’ve gone either way, Pacquiao got the benefit of the doubt because he was definitely more aggressive than Marquez. Sadly, it’s the same benefit of the doubt that some of his fans won’t care to give him now.

What was in Marquez’ favor, however, was his ability to score cleaner shots impressively. Some of his punches found their mark accurately but they came few and far between as the punchstats proved or at least relative to Pacquiao’s connections. Pacquiao has always been known to be a volume puncher compared to Marquez who is more selective and more technical in his approach. In their third fight, quantity bailed Pacquiao out of trouble and the fact that he was busier and more aggressive made the difference.