All good things come to an end. Thus an era of boxing did just that. An era of boxing ruled by a battle-hungry fighter, a true warrior in all ways imaginable. A fighter who knew the risks yet still pursued the reward and for many years was able to obtain it. But on the night of December 8, 2012, Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao, guided by
gravity, came crashing down unconsciously into the very canvas that he had built his legacy on.
There's a reasonable and understandable rationale behind the outcome of last nights\'s heart-racing bout. Manny is a fighter. Period. He was never known for defensive boxing or counter boxing and never displayed great pragmatism in the ring. He was a furious and passionate soul who desired to clash with those who had the same burning fervor. Those fighters who obliged, helped create memorable fights that would forever be in his legacy. Among these fighters, there was always an enigmatic and formidable foe that dogged Manny's career and this man was Manuel Marquez.
Marquez was always known as a very calculating and smart fighter; he was well known as an excellent counter-puncher. In all of the bouts that Manny engaged in with Marquez, including the recent fourth one in which he was knocked out, Manny always had a hard time cracking the Marquez puzzle. Sure he had brief moments of success, with a number of knock downs throughout the first three bouts but he could never find a convincing and decisive victory. The third bout was one of Manny's telling signs of slowing down as several experts agreed: Marquez won the third fight. Marquez finally earned himself a victory in which there was no question as to who the victor was, as he perfectly countered Manny's southpaw lead-hand straight with his orthodox overhand right. Earlier in the fight, Manny was caught with the same punch and even then I knew it was only a matter of time before he would be caught clean again and drop down for good.
This should not come to us as a surprise as Manny has always been known as a brawler. He gave us much as he took (actually he gave a lot more than he took during the height of his career). Manny was known for having a granite chin that no one, prior to Marquez IV, imagined to have anyone ever bust through. Of course, as with all things, his ability to absorb hard shots came to an end. Joe Rogan, a famous UFC commentator put it plain and simple:
Your ability to take hits to the face is much like a punch card that you use to clock in for work: there's only a certain amount of space your card has before you run out.
When that time comes a fighter should know when to punch out, so to speak. Historically, intelligent fighters (counter/defensive fighters) are the ones that last the longest in combat sports. Boxing greats like Mayweather and Marquez, MMA legends like Anderson Silva and GSP will/all have lengthy careers because of it. Conversely, brawlers in any combat sports have an exciting and dynamic peak in their career but will have a sharp and dramatic down fall.
Boxers like Tyson and MMA fighters like Chuck Liddell have all had their shining moments. Moments where it seemed that you could never take them out and that they will always decimate the opposition. Then one day, they start to lose consistency and efficiency. They don't see punches coming anymore and they don't punch as fast. Next thing you know, they're being woken up by smelling salts, crowded by their trainers and fight doctors and struggling to recollect what exactly happened before regaining consciousness. The worse part is, this isn't a one time occurrence. They tell themselves that it was an isolated incident and that they still have "it". That is until their record starts filling with losses by method of KO/TKO's. It's a horrible sight, seeing once great fighters fall in such a devastating manner. I know personally, I don't want to see Pacquiao go down that road.
I can never ask Pacquiao to change up his style because a) it is detrimental to his fight game and b) if he had, we may never have had the champion that we all know and love.
I am in no way advocating that the great Pac-Man should retire. For all I know, he could make a glorious comeback as the boxing world's pound-for-pound king. Even so, I ask this question: Why? He has already proven to the world that he is a phenomenal boxer and his status is already legendary. 10 world titles and a career-peak full of excellent fights. In my humble opinion, he has nothing left to prove. He has secured a spot in the eternal pantheon of boxing greats and has proven himself as one of the bests of all time.
Pacquiao's battle against Marquez for the fourth time saw Manny being the Manny that we all knew and loved. A passionate and furious boxer with a belly full of fire that put Marquez in all types of trouble. It was Manny's best performance in recent years and got the boxing fan in me excited to the brim. But this was his time to lose and what a great loss it was. I've always found the misnomer Pac-Man a great alternative to Manny Pacquiao, but after last night, I think the Filipino legend deserves a renaming if not a secondary nickname. If this was the last fight he was going to partake in, I wouldn't be any happier and proud of the wars Manny "The Filipino Fury" Pacquiao left behind in his wake.
There's a reasonable and understandable rationale behind the outcome of last nights\'s heart-racing bout. Manny is a fighter. Period. He was never known for defensive boxing or counter boxing and never displayed great pragmatism in the ring. He was a furious and passionate soul who desired to clash with those who had the same burning fervor. Those fighters who obliged, helped create memorable fights that would forever be in his legacy. Among these fighters, there was always an enigmatic and formidable foe that dogged Manny's career and this man was Manuel Marquez.
Marquez was always known as a very calculating and smart fighter; he was well known as an excellent counter-puncher. In all of the bouts that Manny engaged in with Marquez, including the recent fourth one in which he was knocked out, Manny always had a hard time cracking the Marquez puzzle. Sure he had brief moments of success, with a number of knock downs throughout the first three bouts but he could never find a convincing and decisive victory. The third bout was one of Manny's telling signs of slowing down as several experts agreed: Marquez won the third fight. Marquez finally earned himself a victory in which there was no question as to who the victor was, as he perfectly countered Manny's southpaw lead-hand straight with his orthodox overhand right. Earlier in the fight, Manny was caught with the same punch and even then I knew it was only a matter of time before he would be caught clean again and drop down for good.
This should not come to us as a surprise as Manny has always been known as a brawler. He gave us much as he took (actually he gave a lot more than he took during the height of his career). Manny was known for having a granite chin that no one, prior to Marquez IV, imagined to have anyone ever bust through. Of course, as with all things, his ability to absorb hard shots came to an end. Joe Rogan, a famous UFC commentator put it plain and simple:
Your ability to take hits to the face is much like a punch card that you use to clock in for work: there's only a certain amount of space your card has before you run out.
When that time comes a fighter should know when to punch out, so to speak. Historically, intelligent fighters (counter/defensive fighters) are the ones that last the longest in combat sports. Boxing greats like Mayweather and Marquez, MMA legends like Anderson Silva and GSP will/all have lengthy careers because of it. Conversely, brawlers in any combat sports have an exciting and dynamic peak in their career but will have a sharp and dramatic down fall.
Boxers like Tyson and MMA fighters like Chuck Liddell have all had their shining moments. Moments where it seemed that you could never take them out and that they will always decimate the opposition. Then one day, they start to lose consistency and efficiency. They don't see punches coming anymore and they don't punch as fast. Next thing you know, they're being woken up by smelling salts, crowded by their trainers and fight doctors and struggling to recollect what exactly happened before regaining consciousness. The worse part is, this isn't a one time occurrence. They tell themselves that it was an isolated incident and that they still have "it". That is until their record starts filling with losses by method of KO/TKO's. It's a horrible sight, seeing once great fighters fall in such a devastating manner. I know personally, I don't want to see Pacquiao go down that road.
I can never ask Pacquiao to change up his style because a) it is detrimental to his fight game and b) if he had, we may never have had the champion that we all know and love.
I am in no way advocating that the great Pac-Man should retire. For all I know, he could make a glorious comeback as the boxing world's pound-for-pound king. Even so, I ask this question: Why? He has already proven to the world that he is a phenomenal boxer and his status is already legendary. 10 world titles and a career-peak full of excellent fights. In my humble opinion, he has nothing left to prove. He has secured a spot in the eternal pantheon of boxing greats and has proven himself as one of the bests of all time.
Pacquiao's battle against Marquez for the fourth time saw Manny being the Manny that we all knew and loved. A passionate and furious boxer with a belly full of fire that put Marquez in all types of trouble. It was Manny's best performance in recent years and got the boxing fan in me excited to the brim. But this was his time to lose and what a great loss it was. I've always found the misnomer Pac-Man a great alternative to Manny Pacquiao, but after last night, I think the Filipino legend deserves a renaming if not a secondary nickname. If this was the last fight he was going to partake in, I wouldn't be any happier and proud of the wars Manny "The Filipino Fury" Pacquiao left behind in his wake.
P.S. What a night for combat sports. Amazing UFC card and a surreal ending to a legend's legacy. I love it. Win for everyone.
