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Pacquiao Defeats Marquez, Boxing Defeats Itself (Again)

Juan Manuel Márquez punches the face of boxing, figuratively and literally. Props: Fox News Latino

With all of the hype surrounding last night’s UFC on Fox, a quick finish in Velasquez vs. Dos Santos was far from ideal. As we’ve mentioned, it left fans, many of whom first time viewers, with an anticlimactic feeling. Immediately following the UFC’s debut on Fox was the main event of that other combat sport’s event from last night: A welterweight title fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao.

Even though Manny Pacquiao is arguably the best boxer alive, many people felt that the 10-1 underdog Juan Manuel Marquez won their first two meetings. An exciting fight between Marquez and Pacquiao could have given boxing some much needed publicity after Dos Santos quickly knocked out Velasquez, and possibly have kept casual fans from jumping over to mixed martial arts. Frankly, the only truly damning result for the sport would be for the fight to end in a controversial decision that gets the crowd thinking that the fight was fixed.

If you’ve followed boxing at all over the past few decades, you already know where this is going.

Juan Manuel Márquez punches the face of boxing, figuratively and literally. Props: Fox News Latino

If you’ve followed boxing at all over the past few decades, you already know where this is going.

Marquez lived up to his reputation as a dangerous counter-puncher, causing Manny Pacquiao to look lost throughout the fight. When the fight was over, Pacquiao returned to his corner with his head down, as if he were ashamed of his performance. However, two of the three judges saw the fight in favor of Manny Pacquiao, while the third judge saw the fight as a draw. The fans in attendance booed the decision as they showered the ring with cans and bottles.

Perhaps Marquez summed it up best with this quote: “It’s hard when you’re fighting your rival and the three judges, too”. Yes, biased judging is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to problems with professional boxing. But once again, the sport had a golden opportunity with last night’s anticlimactic finish for the UFC’s debut on Fox, and failed to capitalize. After watching the fans react to last night’s decision, it was pretty clear that even the most diehard boxing fans are getting fed up with the current state of their sport.

It begs the question: How many more times can they be teased with Mayweather vs. Pacquiao before they embrace their inner homosexual skinhead?

Manny Pacquiao Beats Juan Manuel Marquez

Filed under: MMA BoxingIn an action-packed fight that lived up to the billing, Manny Pacquiao beat Juan Manuel Marquez by majority decision on Saturday night in Las Vegas, the third time these two boxers have battled for 12 rounds and fought a fight th…

Filed under: MMA Boxing

In an action-packed fight that lived up to the billing, Manny Pacquiao beat Juan Manuel Marquez by majority decision on Saturday night in Las Vegas, the third time these two boxers have battled for 12 rounds and fought a fight that easily could have gone either way.

One judge scored it a draw, 114-114, while one judge scored it for Pacquiao 115-113, and one scored it for Pacquiao 116-112. There will be some complaints — Marquez and his corner were furious after the fight — but this was too close a call for either fighter to have been confident he won. These boxers are essentially equals, but Pacquiao managed, for the second time against Marquez, to do just enough to win in the judges’ eyes.

“The fans of Marquez, of course they’re not happy,” Pacquiao said as the pro-Marquez crowd booed him after the fight. “But my fans are very happy because it’s clear I won the fight. … It’s very clear I won the fight.”

This was the third fight between these two great boxers, and the third time that it was a closely matched, exciting affair. Their first bout, in 2004, ended in a draw. Their second fight, in 2008, was a split decision win for Pacquiao. And now Pacquiao has a majority decision win as well.

More Coverage: Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 Results | Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3: Round-by-Round Updates

This time there were no knockdowns and no points in the fight in which either man even looked like he was in any real trouble. Instead, it was just 12 rounds of close, competitive, exciting boxing. Pacquiao was the more active boxer, while Marquez tended to land with a little more authority when he did land, but neither fighter could say he definitively deserved the victory.

But that didn’t stop Marquez from saying afterward that he had been robbed.

“It’s the second robbery of the fights we’ve had, and I think this one was even more clear than the first,” Marquez said afterward. “It’s hard when you’re fighting against a rival and you’re fighting against three judges also.”

But no matter what Marquez thought, two judges went for Pacquiao, who improved his record to 54-3-2. Marquez falls to 53-6-1.

Pacquiao said he’d love to have a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. — the fight that every boxing fan wants to see — but that he’d also be willing to step into the ring with Marquez a fourth time.

“Any time, any time,” Pacquiao said. “Let’s get it on, make the fight happen. Let’s give the people a good fight.”

Giving the people a good fight is what Pacquiao and Marquez have now done three times.

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UFC on FOX: Why UFC on FOX Will over-Shadow Pacquiao vs Marquez

UFC on FOX is the sporting event on November 12th, not Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Marquez.Pacquiao vs. Marquez may garner millions of pay-per-view buys, and perform better on pay-per-view than many of the UFC’s cards in 2011, but it means little in the gr…

UFC on FOX is the sporting event on November 12th, not Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Marquez.

Pacquiao vs. Marquez may garner millions of pay-per-view buys, and perform better on pay-per-view than many of the UFC’s cards in 2011, but it means little in the grand scheme of combat sports.

Pacquiao, being one of the most talked about boxers in the world today, will gain the sport of boxing some interest for a little bit and talk of Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather will circulate.

There will be some buzz for a while. However, when people realize that Pacquiao vs. Mayweather isn’t happening (and that even if it did happen, boxing would still die), boxing will again fade from public interest.

Compare this to the UFC on FOX.

Yes, it’s only one fight, and yes, it’s ‘afraid’ of going head-to-head with the Pacquiao-Marquez fight but its long term implications are far more important than anything boxing can produce in its current state.

UFC on FOX will present the UFC product to millions upon millions of fans for the very first time. The UFC fanbase will dramatically increase in size overnight as a result.

Can Pacquiao-Marquez boast the same?

Of course not.

Pacquiao-Marquez will just appease the graying boxing fanbase and do nothing to bring new life into the decaying sport.

UFC on FOX is an event that will be talked about at water-coolers around the world on Monday morning but not only that. It’ll be one of the most important milestones in the history of combat sports while Pacquiao-Marquez will go down in history as just another boxing match.

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UFC 137 Results: What Fight Fans Have to Look Forward to for Rest of 2011

MMA is growing, whether people choose to accept it or not, and it’s shown for most of 2011 so far. We’ve seen knockouts come forth in stunning fashion, we’ve seen legends take hard shots while other legends gave hard shots, we’ve seen non-traditional submissions win fights, and of course, we’ve seen Jon Jones’ “Bonejitsu”. The current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion is 3-0 in 2011 bouts, by the way.

The wild, crazy, insane, and unfathomable have all taken place in 2011, but we still have quite a ways to go before we’re done with the year, and as combat sports fans in some respect, we’re not just leaving it at MMA either—though, an entire section could be dedicated to what’s left in the boxing world in 2011. With all that being said, what exactly can we expect in the last few months of 2011?

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5 Reasons MMA Is Better Than Boxing

This is going to be painful to write.When I was four years old, I watched Larry Holmes beat down Muhammad Ali on national TV. I didn’t know why at the time, but it made me really sad, sort of like watching someone kick your favorite old dog.&nbsp…

This is going to be painful to write.

When I was four years old, I watched Larry Holmes beat down Muhammad Ali on national TV. I didn’t know why at the time, but it made me really sad, sort of like watching someone kick your favorite old dog.

Four years later I read my first “adult” book, “The Greatest: My Own Story”, Muhammad Ali’s autobiography. I was instantly hooked, not just by the sport, but by this man who took on racism, war, religious intolerance and pretty much the entire South.

Again, I didn’t know why at the time, but I knew Muhammad Ali was someone to look up to. I still do.

I can’t say the same for boxing. What was once one of my favorite sports has turned into a hot mess that is on the verge of extinction. I grew up in one of boxing’s Golden Eras watching Sugar Ray, Hagler, Hearns, Duran, a young Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield.

It was all going great until Don King came along and ruined the whole thing. Now I feel like boxing itself is the old dog and I am the one kicking it.

It might have taken years, but I will finally admit that MMA is far superior to boxing and here is why.

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Mayweather Jr. Answers Questions Two Dudes ‘Axe’ him About De La Hoya, Merchant, Ortiz and Pacquiao

(Video courtesy of RadioPlanet.tv/KRSP/Shade 45)

Anyone who ever complains about the growing number of MMA fanboys with URL’s and podcasts claiming to be journalists needs to listen to the clip above of two dudes, who are obvious fans of Floyd Mayweather, feeding the boxing champ softball questions. In fact, some of the questions aren’t actually questions at all, but at least we sort of get to hear what Floyd has to say about a few things.

One of the interviewers is a DJ by the name of “DJ Whoo Kid” and the other seems to be DJ WK’s hype man and FMJ’s biggest fan, given his numerous nuthugging statements like “Ortiz got exactly what he deserved after that headbutt.” He obviously wasn’t listening during the first half of the interview as he continually asks the exact same questions as Whoo Kid.

As a public service for those readers who can’t (or won’t) sit through the interview, check out the key points after the jump.

(Video courtesy of RadioPlanet.tv/KRSP/Shade 45)

Anyone who ever complains about the growing number of MMA fanboys with URL’s and podcasts claiming to be journalists needs to listen to the clip above of two dudes, who are obvious fans of Floyd Mayweather, feeding the boxing champ softball questions. In fact, some of the questions aren’t actually questions at all, but on the bright side, at least we sort of get to hear what Floyd has to say about a few things.

As a public service for those readers who can’t (or won’t) sit through the interview, check out the key points:

• Floyd says Pacquiao is irrelevant and can fight his leftovers

• He doesn’t know who or when he’s fighting next, but he’s downplaying a fight with Pacquiao even though the fans want to see it

• He says Pacquiao is afraid to “take the test,” which is a reference to Manny’s refusal to do weekly Olympic drug testing during camp for the bout

• He knew Larry Merchant wouldn’t give up pestering him about the “cheap shot” he hit Ortiz with

• Mayweather has no preference between Merchant and Max Kellerman because they’re “pretty much the same” and neither want to give him his credit

• He would prefer to see Lennox Lewis do post-fight interviews

• He believes that Emmanuel Steward, Larry Merchant and Jim Lampley want to find a fighter to beat him, but he says they would need to bring in a robot to get the job done

• Floyd isn’t worried about Merchant’s claim that he’d kick his ass if he was 50 years younger

• He blames Ortiz for the controversy since “somebody started it and [he] finished it”

• He says the ref called “time-in” and all of the kissing and hugging is unnecessary and is supposed to be reserved for after the fight

• He says Oscar De La Hoya is jealous of him