Friends were over last night to watch the Pacquiao and Marquez fight. It was a close fight. The key being that Marquez knew how to respond to the Pacquaio. He counterpunched. When you went into Pacquaio's corner you could see that the Filipino star was getting worn down by having to truly defend himself from an "equal" fighter.
When it was all said and done, Filipinos around the world rejoiced because their man had once again triumphed. I too agree with the judges decision. Manny maintained his confidence, balance, and aggression till the very last moments of the fight. Marquez, misled by his corner in earlier rounds, must have believed he won the fight and did not press till the end. He could have very well won the fight had he escalated the fight to a higher level. He needed to as the contender. A statement in the last three rounds by Marquez would have brought an end to reign of one of the best fighters of all time but alas punches were traded and Manny systematically responded in kind. The numbers are there. Manny threw and landed more punches. He won. When you are the reigning champion all you have to do is keep a guy from dominating.
However, this fight revealed much. There was a way to keep Manny at bay and the key was be equally defensive and aggressive. You need near perfect timing and you need to counterpunch him. This knowledge could prove decisive in the now upcoming Mayweather fight. And as a former coworker dared to comment on Facebook, "Floyed may very well be the person to dethrone Manny's dominance of the sport of boxing. For sure his camp is watching and taking notes."
In my eyes Marquez can go into history as being the man who found the chink in Manny's armour. What fans saw last night was a guy who was able to stand toe to toe with the best and hold him off. It clearly was not enough, he wanted to win. His fans wanted him to win. He may just have wait to see someone else finish the job he started...
Enough about boxing...
I was able to sneak in a short 20 minute ride through the backroads beside our condo early this morning. Winter has been relatively mild so far and as long as there is no ice on the road I am able to stand a quick sprint here and there till my nose freezes.
I hope to keep riding as long as the weather permits and once I can't, an indoor trainer is on order so that I can work on being fit even through the winter.
