Inside the ring, Juan Manuel Márquez makes many believe that he is better than Manny Pacquiao. Other than that, the pound-for-pound king keeps knocking him out.
The two ring gladiators dueled inside the ring twice, once in 2004 and once in 2008. Boxing fans, judging by forum threads and blog comments, not to mention what some boxing writers are saying boxing, they prefer a third in 2011. Marquez and his friends have also launched an intense publicity war, apparently with the goal of securing a Pacquiao trilogy. Although Marquez appears to be in the mix of future Pacquiao ringmates, there are signs everywhere that suggest there’s no way he’s going to win that war. Here are some of them.
one, the boxer
Marquez drew no more than 5,000 paying fans to his fight against Micheal Katsidis last week. Another fighter in that mix, Shane Mosley, had shown better ticket sales in his previous fights. Mosley may have been dismissed by some boxing pundits as wanting, judging by his last two outings, the ability to deliver quality boxing. The fact remains that more paying fans have been flocking to Mosley than Marquez.
A point of contention: Is it the quality of a fight that sells or is it the prize money in professional boxing that promotes quality? Obviously, fight fans can answer the first one. They pay for the brand; if they buy Toyota or Ford, for example, they know they are buying quality. If they buy a Pacquiao ticket, they know they’re buying quality boxing. (Side note: On the Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito undercard on Nov. 13, Mike Jones gave everything he had in the second round against Jesús Soto-Karass. It was a record-setting effort. “Real Mexicans don’t they give up!” is also a mark. .) The boxers themselves, on the other hand, can answer the second question. Professional boxers, we can add up, sweat and bleed (some die) for the prize. A boxer who has no interest in the prize is like a businessman who has no business; he is like a politician who does not have a seat.
That’s where we find Pacquiao, and all the professional fighters like him. He won’t settle for less than first prize. He will not settle for Márquez.
Two, proxy war
Ties between Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Márquez, and Bob Arum’s Top Rank, which promotes Pacquiao, have recently gone from hostile to unpleasant.
In 2001, no major American promoter found commercial value in the little fighter from the Philippines, except for Murad Muhammad. In 2003, Pacquiao beat Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera, beater of then-undefeated Erik Morales and Naseem Hamed, and everyone wanted a piece of Pacquiao. Shelly Finkel finally snatched Pacquiao from Murad’s predatory jaws. In January 2006, Pacquiao avenged his loss to Morales (another Mexican legend) and US promoters pushed each other not only to have a piece of Pacquiao, but to make sure he didn’t slip out of the pen.
Golden Boy thought they had Pacquiao locked up, only to discover that Top Rank, after legal process and a court settlement, had the lion’s share of the trap. Since then, Golden Boy and Top Rank have become adversaries because of one man. They snarled at each other whenever they faced each other, from ringside to bargaining tables to courtrooms.
When Marquez teamed up with Golden Boy in 2006, Golden Boy and Top Rank were still on speaking terms. He probably had no idea that any Pacquiao-Marquez matchup, from then on, would also escalate into a Golden Boy-Top Rank proxy war. In fact, after 4 years of begging, he got the rematch he wanted with Pacquiao. That might have been the high point of civility between the two camps. He has been going downhill since 2008.
The other day, Arum just called Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy, “a jerk.” De La Hoya responded by suggesting that Arum has driven boxing, and boxers, closer to extinction. “Thank you my people, boxing is suffering and no fights are being made because of you,” he complained via Twitter.
Shane Mosley may have read the writing on the wall (Scheafer suggests he read his contract instead). He stated that he has severed ties with Golden Boy and, in fact, sent the message to his ilk that the other side is where the money is. While this may represent nothing more than a shift in friends’ loyalty to oneself, this should be enough to please Arum and win Pacquiao’s coveted award. Anything that hurts the enemy is welcome.
So what gives? Excellent boxing from Márquez. Moved into Foxy’s career by Mosley.
Three, sense of culture
The call for a Pacquiao-Marquez trilogy reverberated in 2008, after both fighters successfully moved up a higher division from super featherweight to lightweight. Now, as Pacquiao searches for the second-best opponent given Floyd Mayweather’s reported unavailability, that call has reached crescendo levels. It’s not just because the heist Pacquiao gives his opponents has become too hackneyed to inspire a craving for variety, so to speak; it is also because the protests over the outcome of two previous fights have not yet died down.
In the first fight, Pacquiao dropped Marquez three times in the first round. Mark got up every time he went down. He rallied in the later rounds to close out the fight, so close that fans remain divided to this day as to who won that fight. Even the three judges who ruled the official result (a tie) differed in their score: John Stewart saw it 115-110 in favor of Pacquiao. Guy Jutras had it backwards, 115-110, for Márquez. Burt A. Clements scored even at 113-113 (he eventually admitted he was wrong in his count, crediting Pacquiao 5 points instead of 6 for the 3 knockdowns he scored in round 1, and which should otherwise lead to a final score of 114 -113 and majority victory for Pacquiao).
In the second bout, Pacquiao again dropped Marquez once (in the third round). As in the first fight, Mark recovered. The fight was complete and the result was decided once again by all three judges: Duane Ford, 115-112-Pacquiao; Jerry Roth, 115-112-Marquez; Tom Miller, 114-113-Pacquiao. Official records labeled Pacquiao the winner of the second fight via split decision. However, none of these meant that everyone agreed with what the records say.
In a premeditated and obviously publicity-driven salvo, Marquez and his team wore T-shirts emblazoned with “Marquez beat Pacquiao twice” minutes after he punched Micheal Katsidis on November 29 in Las Vegas, Nevada. De La Hoya echoed what the shirts said, played audio and went further: “Pacquiao forces his opponents, including me, to lose weight and leave everything in the balance.”
De La Hoya lamented a condition recently put forth by Team Pacquiao for Pacquiao’s next fight: 147 pounds, no catchweight, no exceptions. “One more proof that they are avoiding me,” says Márquez.
Three months after Pacquiao stole the super featherweight crown from Marquez in their 2008 rematch and an eternity of the latter’s plea for a trilogy, Pacquiao traveled north, picking up the lightweight belt from David Diaz along the way. . Márquez suspected that it was Pacquiao’s way of avoiding it; So he set out to run after Joel Casamayor’s lightweight title and, after winning it, he put himself in a position to forever taunt Pacquiao into accepting his standing invitation for another ring date.
Two years ago, Marquez said: “I will fight Pacquiao anywhere and in any weight division.”
A month after the Pacquiao-Márquez rematch, Márquez visited the Philippines, ostensibly to photograph a product promotion. It was also a chance for him to face Pacquiao outside the ring, and he wasted no time in taunting the Filipino. “Get out pen and paper. Let’s sign the contract now,” he challenged Pacquiao in front of television cameras. Pacquiao’s Filipino responded with a smile. Márquez probably didn’t know this, but being hospitable to guests is an almost sacrosanct culture in the Philippines. In the same way, no visitor can abuse it.
It was almost unthinkable to sell a product that has been touched by someone who freely applies directness to the point of arrogance. Mark lost his job as a sponsor, but he may have earned Pacquiao’s eternal derision for him.
Two years after the Pacquiao-Márquez rematch, boxing history has been written and rewritten, but Márquez’s dream for three never died. In an incredible run that may never be equaled, Pacquiao has outpaced the opposition in the top divisions. In two years, Pacquiao crushed bigger opponents and won titles in the lightweight, light welterweight, welterweight and super welterweight divisions. Pacquiao became the only boxer to win world titles in 7 different weight divisions. After annexing his eighth title at the expense of Antonio Margarito last November, Pacquiao has also become the only boxer to have broken Pacquiao’s record.
It seemed that Marquez couldn’t keep up with Pacquiao. He tried to break into welterweight against Mayweather. Failure. But he has been winning elsewhere. He kept his dream alive.
In the press conference that followed Pacquiao’s TKO victory over Miguel Cotto in 2009, Pacquiao was asked how he rated himself due to his record-breaking performance. He replied: “I’m just an ordinary fighter.”
In the press conference that followed Márquez’s TKO win over Katsidis last week, Márquez didn’t need to be asked any questions. The world saw what he wrote: Márquez beat the ordinary fighter twice.
Pacquiao and Márquez are two opposite styles in and out of the ring. Marquez gives Pacquiao trouble both in and out of the ring. Unfortunately for Marquez, it has become too difficult for him to dream of landing that cash-rich third fight with the king. Until the day he is ousted from this throne, neither Golden Boy nor Márquez will be able to decide which dreams will see the light of day.
Three dreamers are currently in a state of happiness: in addition to Márquez and Mosley, Andre Berto is. A few days ago, Arum said that he will soon talk with Pacquiao to choose the lucky one. Arum also offered to clarify that in the grand scheme of things, “I inform. He decides.”
I’ve offered two guesses while we await “The Decision.” One, Mosley did something to please Arum. Two, Márquez has done everything possible to displease the Highness of him, the ordinary fighter.
