Marquez’ patience pays off

Juan Manuel Marquez was never known to be a one-punch knockout artist. It’s not his style to take out an opponent with a single shot. Groomed as a technician by his long-time Hall of Fame trainer Nacho Beristain, the Mexican relies more on his skills and smarts than power to win fights.

But at 39, Marquez knew to stay competitive in the game, he had to develop a cracker – something that can turn a fight around when things aren’t going according to plan. Against a quicker Manny Pacquiao whom he had fought thrice previously, Marquez figured the only way to win was to strike fast and hard on the counter. Marquez realized he would be at a disadvantage if Pacquiao went side-to-side, creating angles for his dynamite left. So he patiently waited for Pacquiao to come forward. Once Pacquiao was within the strike zone, then it would be just a matter of timing.

Marquez fought Pacquiao like a 39-year-old fighter would in their fourth duel in Las Vegas last Saturday. He had no false hopes of reliving his wonder days breaking down the likes of Manuel Medina, Marco Antonio Barrera, Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz. Marquez faced up to the reality that he’s no longer a spring chicken. His gambit was to fight Pacquiao like George Foreman fought Michael Moorer in 1985. Foreman was 45 and Moorer, 27. Foreman was stronger than Moorer and knew he wouldn’t be able to chase down the defending WBA/IBF heavyweight champion. So Foreman waited patiently for an opening. He was behind on all three judges’ scorecards when finally, Moorer stood his ground to engage. Foreman scored a one-punch knockout in the 10th round.

Marquez did the same thing to Pacquiao. The Mexican never strayed from his fight plan. He didn’t attack aggressively. He just waited for the moment. His preparation for the bout was all about power-packing. Conditioning coach Angel Hernandez, an admitted dealer of performance-enhancing drugs, worked Marquez’ body to resemble a Herculean physique. How he did it is a mystery. At the weigh-in last Friday, Marquez scaled 143 to Pacquiao’s 147 but his body was bigger, his muscles were more defined and his physique was more sculpted. Clearly, Marquez’ strategy was to overpower Pacquiao, to catch him coming in and unleash his fists of fury. Note that in three previous meetings, Marquez never dropped Pacquiao. But with his new-found power, Marquez floored Pacquiao twice, the second time for good.

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Pacquiao, 33, fought like he did when he was in his 20s, when he used to bowl over opponents with an avalanche of punches. But in those days, Pacquiao faced opponents in the lighter weight categories. Now in the welterweight division, his knockout rate has dropped to 30 percent from 70 percent so the indication is he hasn’t been able to consistently bring up his power to the 147-pound category. Freddie Roach himself doubted if Pacquiao could turn back the hands of time. “Manny wanted to go back to the Manny of 2004,” said Roach. “I wasn’t sure that was possible.”

Pacquiao punished himself in the gym to prepare hard for Marquez, so much so that he was confident of scoring a knockout. That’s why from the onset, he was firing from all angles. He hardly went side-to-side or in-and-out. It was just one gear for Pacquiao – he felt he could bulldoze his way past Marquez’ defense. His assumption was Marquez couldn’t be stronger than he was in their first three bouts. He was sure he could take Marquez’ best shots the way he did before.

Obviously, Pacquiao underestimated Marquez’ souped-up armor. Not only was Marquez able to withstand Pacquiao’s blows, he was stronger in his delivery. Hernandez did something magical in the gym to prepare Marquez for his revenge. 

Mexican impressario Fernando Beltran, who runs Zanfer Promotions, said Marquez is now “built like Hulk” and he couldn’t be more accurate. “It might be hard to knock down Hulk but it’ll be harder to knock him out,” said 15rounds.com.     

Marquez never hid the fact that his training was concentrated on building up power. “I know how difficult it is in there with this guy,” said Marquez, quoted by Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times. “I’ve been training for four months. So when you work that hard, it’s impossible not to get stronger. I just work hard to get better every day, to get more physical and aggressive with him. I just want to be as strong as I can be.”

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Pacquiao got a taste of Marquez’ power in the third round when a wild right sent him down on the seat of his pants. But he got up and in the fifth, dropped Marquez who was in danger of being stopped. Marquez survived the assault and in the sixth, was still on the receiving end when against the ropes, he uncorked a short right that caught Pacquiao flush on the chin coming forward. It was a lucky punch. Gerry Peñalosa called it an accident, “disgrasya.” Pacquiao was going for the kill when he left himself open for a counter right. It was the opening that Marquez waited patiently for, that he trained to exploit.

The knockout came with a second left in the sixth. If Pacquiao had been more cautious, more patient, he wouldn’t have charged in so recklessly after hearing the 10-second clapper. For a split second, he lost his composure and his emotions led to a moment of imprudence. In boxing, that’s all it takes to score a knockout – a split second. Marquez never lost his cool and when the opening presented itself, executed what he and Beristain worked on for four months.

“The change in rhythm was important,” said Marquez quoted by Steve Carp in the Las Vegas Review Journal. “We knew he was going to come at us aggressive so we had a fight plan that was built on technique. We worked strength. We worked speed and you can see the result. I felt he was coming to knock me out for the last three rounds and I knew he was going to be wide open. As soon as I saw the opening, I landed a hard right hand. Once I knocked him down the first time, I felt I could knock him out. We always work on that punch.”

Hopefully, the impact of the knockout blow won’t create a lingering or lasting negative effect on Pacquiao. If at all, it should be a reminder for Pacquiao to fight his age next time, to execute a plan that is based on smart strategy not just guts and heart. Beristain put one over Roach last Saturday. If ever there is a fifth meeting, you can be sure Roach won’t allow another oversight and Pacquiao won’t be careless again.