lpinoy
12-02-2010, 03:06 AM
By;SouthCost Today
Juan Manuel Marquez made a good case for his being the third best fighter on the planet Saturday night.
He's still behind Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, but he's hoping his scintillating ninth-round TKO victory over the gutsy Australian, Michael Katsidis, will help change that. It certainly didn't hurt his chances for a third fight with Pacquiao.
In case you have a short memory, Marquez is the only fighter in the last five years to come close to beating the little Filipino. And it happened twice.
In their first fight in May, 2004, Pacquiao dropped Marquez three times in the first round, but Marquez wouldn't stay down and came back to earn a draw, winning the majority of the rounds from the second round on.
Their rematch in March, 2008, was another extremely close fight with Pacquiao winning a split decision by one point, the difference being a third round knockdown by Pacquiao.
Marquez believes he won both fights, driving home that point at last Saturday's post-fight press conference by wearing a shirt with "Marquez Beat Pacquiao Twice" emblazoned on the front.
And there are people who agree with that assessment.
I didn't see the rematch, but I did see the first fight and thought that the draw was fair, with Marquez having the edge in rounds, but Pacquiao the edge in points, thanks to that big first round.
Those two fights alone should be enough to earn Marquez another shot at Pacquiao, but at a contract weight of 140 pounds, as suggested by HBO commentator Emmanuel Steward.
While Pacquiao has continued to be effective at the heavier weights, Marquez's step up to welterweight (147) against Mayweather proved a disaster. Mayweather was just too big for him. But at 140, Marquez, an expert counter-puncher, could make a third fight with the Pacman very interesting.
Pacquiao, however, was not very enthusiastic about a third Marquez fight when asked about it at a press conference in Manila a couple weeks ago, saying he didn't think it would excite fans.
"I would not watch Pacquiao vs. Marquez," he said.
That surprised me for several reasons. No. 1, the fight would certainly excite me. No. 2, I think that outside of Mayweather, it's the best fight out there. No. 3, I thought Pacquiao would fight anybody they put in front of him, and No. 4, I think this one would be an easier fight for Pacquiao than the first two.
There's no doubt in my mind that Marquez believes he won the first two and would win the third, but I think he's forgetting, or disregarding, the fact that Pacquiao is a better fighter now than he was in those two fights. And credit that to trainer Freddy Roach.
It wasn't until the Ricky Hatton fight in May, 2009, that Pacquiao, a southpaw, became a two-handed fighter. Up until then, he basically used the right hand as a measuring stick for the left.
While studying tapes of Hatton's fights, Roach discovered that Hatton telegraphed his left hook and was wide open for a counter right hook. That's when Roach and Pacquiao went to work developing the right hand, not only how to hook with it, but how to jab effectively with it.
The work paid off handsomely, as the right hook was the key weapon for Pacquiao in the Hatton fight, nailing Hatton with it again and again before knocking him out in the second round.
The fighter Marquez faced in the first two Pacquiao fights was mainly a left hand-happy fighter. The one he would face in a third bout is the whole package, the complete fighter, a fighter with no weaknesses.
But Marquez is a future Hall-of-Famer, too, and he still deserves that third shot at ring immortality.
BERTO, LITZAU WIN
Also throwing his hat into the Pacquiao sweepstakes Saturday night was undefeated Andre Berto (27-0), who defended his WBC welterweight title with a one-punch first round TKO over Freddy Hernandez on the Marquez-Katsidis undercard.
Berto stopped short of calling out Pacquiao, but said he matches up well with the Filipino egend.
"I think there's a handful of guys that can keep up with him," said Berto, "guys like myself, (Shane) Mosley, and Mayweather. I think I bring youth to the table. I'm young, vibrant, strong and fast."
In a junior lightweight bout on the same card, Jason Litzau, a former prospect who appeared to flame out in two knockout losses, won the biggest fight of his life with a split decision victory over WBA super bantamweight champion Celestino Caballero (34-3). Litzau (28-2) was a 13-1 underdog.
FROCH IMPRESSES
In other developments on a very busy Saturday night, the semifinals of Showtime's Super Six Classic tournament were put in place with Carl Froch's surprisingly easy decision over Arthur Abraham in Helsinki, Finland.
Froch will face Glen Johnson in one semifinal, while unbeaten WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward takes on Abraham in the other. Ward successfully defended his title with a unanimous decision over Sakio Bika (28-5-2) in Oakland Saturday night.
A STUNNER
You never know in boxing. Paul Williams was supposed to have an iron chin, while Sergio Martinez was considered a light puncher. So what happens?
Martinez scores a one-punch knockout over Williams. Go figure.
"He caught me with a punch I didn't see," said Williams. "That's the way the cookie crumbles."
Juan Manuel Marquez made a good case for his being the third best fighter on the planet Saturday night.
He's still behind Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, but he's hoping his scintillating ninth-round TKO victory over the gutsy Australian, Michael Katsidis, will help change that. It certainly didn't hurt his chances for a third fight with Pacquiao.
In case you have a short memory, Marquez is the only fighter in the last five years to come close to beating the little Filipino. And it happened twice.
In their first fight in May, 2004, Pacquiao dropped Marquez three times in the first round, but Marquez wouldn't stay down and came back to earn a draw, winning the majority of the rounds from the second round on.
Their rematch in March, 2008, was another extremely close fight with Pacquiao winning a split decision by one point, the difference being a third round knockdown by Pacquiao.
Marquez believes he won both fights, driving home that point at last Saturday's post-fight press conference by wearing a shirt with "Marquez Beat Pacquiao Twice" emblazoned on the front.
And there are people who agree with that assessment.
I didn't see the rematch, but I did see the first fight and thought that the draw was fair, with Marquez having the edge in rounds, but Pacquiao the edge in points, thanks to that big first round.
Those two fights alone should be enough to earn Marquez another shot at Pacquiao, but at a contract weight of 140 pounds, as suggested by HBO commentator Emmanuel Steward.
While Pacquiao has continued to be effective at the heavier weights, Marquez's step up to welterweight (147) against Mayweather proved a disaster. Mayweather was just too big for him. But at 140, Marquez, an expert counter-puncher, could make a third fight with the Pacman very interesting.
Pacquiao, however, was not very enthusiastic about a third Marquez fight when asked about it at a press conference in Manila a couple weeks ago, saying he didn't think it would excite fans.
"I would not watch Pacquiao vs. Marquez," he said.
That surprised me for several reasons. No. 1, the fight would certainly excite me. No. 2, I think that outside of Mayweather, it's the best fight out there. No. 3, I thought Pacquiao would fight anybody they put in front of him, and No. 4, I think this one would be an easier fight for Pacquiao than the first two.
There's no doubt in my mind that Marquez believes he won the first two and would win the third, but I think he's forgetting, or disregarding, the fact that Pacquiao is a better fighter now than he was in those two fights. And credit that to trainer Freddy Roach.
It wasn't until the Ricky Hatton fight in May, 2009, that Pacquiao, a southpaw, became a two-handed fighter. Up until then, he basically used the right hand as a measuring stick for the left.
While studying tapes of Hatton's fights, Roach discovered that Hatton telegraphed his left hook and was wide open for a counter right hook. That's when Roach and Pacquiao went to work developing the right hand, not only how to hook with it, but how to jab effectively with it.
The work paid off handsomely, as the right hook was the key weapon for Pacquiao in the Hatton fight, nailing Hatton with it again and again before knocking him out in the second round.
The fighter Marquez faced in the first two Pacquiao fights was mainly a left hand-happy fighter. The one he would face in a third bout is the whole package, the complete fighter, a fighter with no weaknesses.
But Marquez is a future Hall-of-Famer, too, and he still deserves that third shot at ring immortality.
BERTO, LITZAU WIN
Also throwing his hat into the Pacquiao sweepstakes Saturday night was undefeated Andre Berto (27-0), who defended his WBC welterweight title with a one-punch first round TKO over Freddy Hernandez on the Marquez-Katsidis undercard.
Berto stopped short of calling out Pacquiao, but said he matches up well with the Filipino egend.
"I think there's a handful of guys that can keep up with him," said Berto, "guys like myself, (Shane) Mosley, and Mayweather. I think I bring youth to the table. I'm young, vibrant, strong and fast."
In a junior lightweight bout on the same card, Jason Litzau, a former prospect who appeared to flame out in two knockout losses, won the biggest fight of his life with a split decision victory over WBA super bantamweight champion Celestino Caballero (34-3). Litzau (28-2) was a 13-1 underdog.
FROCH IMPRESSES
In other developments on a very busy Saturday night, the semifinals of Showtime's Super Six Classic tournament were put in place with Carl Froch's surprisingly easy decision over Arthur Abraham in Helsinki, Finland.
Froch will face Glen Johnson in one semifinal, while unbeaten WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward takes on Abraham in the other. Ward successfully defended his title with a unanimous decision over Sakio Bika (28-5-2) in Oakland Saturday night.
A STUNNER
You never know in boxing. Paul Williams was supposed to have an iron chin, while Sergio Martinez was considered a light puncher. So what happens?
Martinez scores a one-punch knockout over Williams. Go figure.
"He caught me with a punch I didn't see," said Williams. "That's the way the cookie crumbles."