Manny Pacquiao: Unfinished Business
By Idris “Drees” Newton
(Managing Editor’s Note: Idris “Drees” Newton is our newest Feature Writer at RSR, and I, along with the rest of the team welcome him aboard!)
Where do I begin? How do I begin to give reason for something that already has millions of reasons to happen? We have two, great and dominating fighters and two great fights with more than questionable outcomes. Three knock downs in the first round stole away victory from Marquez in the first meeting, leaving him with the sour taste of majority draw in his mouth. Then in the second meeting, one flash knock down in the third round gave “Pacman” the decision. And in between, a slew of action packed victories for the both of them. Besides, other than “Pretty Boy” there is no one else to beat Manny. Who else would we even be remotely interested in seeing? Sergio Martinez? Let’s be realistic, Freddie won’t let that happen.
Besides, Marquez has what you all want in a Pacquiao opponent, fortitude, a willingness to get in there and brawl, tremendous counter/combination punching ability. Then again he also has flaws that Manny counts on, flaws like his minimal head movement and very checkable chin against anyone with mildly heavy hands. So yeah, Juan Manuel will put on a boxing clinic but his chin will always let him down against Manny’s “Speedy Gonzalez”-fast hands and “Pocket Hercules” power. It is for these exact reasons we should all be chomping at the bit over this fight. And don’t even ask me about Shane Mosley, he is way too slow and he is way too wide open, another punching bag for the Pacster.
What would “Sugar” bring to the table, besides type two diabetes? A slapping/sloppy jab that that wouldn’t deter a fly from going inside, stiff, “See it coming all the way from left field” telegraphed power shots, and an inability to change game plans that would make Andy Reid(Head Coach-Philadelphia Eagles) look like Bill Belichick(Head Coach-New England Patriots). O and did I mention, NO DEFENSE! Another “Pacman” W. While we’re at it lets look at some other possible easy wins for Manny.
Ok, there’s a certain Mr. Andre Berto who thinks he may be able to of all things speed his way to a victory over Pacquiao. Who has he been scouting? “Sorry Dre, I think we gave you the Baldomir tapes. Slight mix up, here are the Manny tapes” Fire your handlers Andre. You barely got by Luis Collazo. He’s not fast, not strong, not quick, and not world class, everything that Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao is my friend. You are a pretty good fighter Mr. Berto but you lack the stamina it takes to challenge a fighter on that level and again, YOU HAVE NO DEFENSE! Yet another, “Pacman” W. Spectacular knockouts against guys who are susceptible to spectacular knockouts (Carlos Quintana) aside. Should’ve taken whatever deal Shane’s people were offering. Who knows, maybe if you ask nicely you’ll still get it. But no “Pacman” for you.
I said I wasn’t going to talk about Martinez, and I’m not. I won’t, not even if you beg me. Ok, ok, since you asked so nicely. Martinez is supremely slick, enough said. “What do all Manny opponents have in common other than being slow and that no defense thing”? I’m glad you asked that very intuitive question. Why, Flat footedness of course, Joshua Clottey, Oscar De La Hoya, Antonio Margarito, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, David Diaz, what did Marquez do that these guys couldn’t do? Move in, out and side to side while counter punching. That’s why he is a hell of a nemesis for Pacquiao and that’s exactly why the bigger Martinez won’t get even a courtesy call from Bob Arum and Top Rank. His propensity for moving quickly in any direction and to throw combos off his back foot with accuracy and effectiveness will make him more than a match for Manny who has never faced a guy like him. Way out of his, Freddie’s and Bob’s comfort zone. So there is no reason to even dream for this fight.
Speaking of a fight that we shouldn’t even dream of, “Money”/”Pacman” is never going to happen. Sad but true, the only reason they called out Floyd is because they knew everyone would back them when they backed out like the Persians at Thermopylae. Let’s face it whether he’s a great fighter or not, Floyd is really easy to hate. That aside, I mean really, you turn down a fortune over taking blood because YOU(Pacquiao), an elite fighter would be THAT depleted by a blood test, the same testing Floyd was willing to adhere to, the same testing Shane was not afraid to adhere to.
And let us not get into who is a bigger Draw, “Pretty Boy” pulls in over one million buys against guys we all knew he would beat like Marquez and I may be wrong but didn’t the De La Hoya fight break some sort of record. Check the stats folks. Just admit it Freddie, you guys don’t really want any parts of all that skill, all that accuracy, all that offense from defense, all that fluid footwork, all that ring intelligence, all that “Pretty Boy” Floyd “Money” Mayweather. So let us all have a moment of silence for the mega fight that will never be.
MOMENT, MOMENT, MOMENT…
So give us Juan, Bob. Give us Manuel, Freddie. Give us Marquez, Manny. I mean there is risk but just enough, not too much. Sure that great Marquez will consistently land on “Pacman’s” face but not so hard that it will cause too much damage, just enough that we will get some good fight action. It’s all about giving a good show right Manny? Sure that Marquez right will consistently rock that Manny chin but just enough for a neck snap, not a knock down. You can handle those nightmarish Marquez body shots. You’ve shown before you have what it takes to fight back and pull off the controversial victory. You want to be known as the guy who takes on the tough fights, this is the only Tough fight you have left and that has any chance of getting done.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Pac would win, but only because Juan’s chin is so tap sensitive. Imagine if his chin was a bit stronger, he would have wipe Manny out in the first fight and would have gotten the decision in the second fight. I know what you are thinking and no I don’t give Pacquiao much credit for those knockdowns. Marquez is known to go down at least once in his fights. It’s become a part of his lore. He goes down in a fight he is winning which adds to his drama factor, but then he gets up over and over again to continue to dominate with boxing skill to a knockout or a decision win.
Nothing else to be said, at this point we can only pray for what would be a gorgeous match up and a third act to the beautifully danced ballet we all know as Pacquiao/Marquez. Yeah I know I likened a boxing match to a girlie dance but you have to admit like ballet, this fight would be poetry in motion. There is every indication that it would do colossal numbers if held in the Philippines or even Texas again. Surpassing anything he has done by far, no other reason than this is just the only fight (that will actually get done) that anyone wants to see.