By Jay Cade
Juan Manuel Marquez finally got the win that he has been longing for, but the outcome was something that came as a shock to everyone including Marquez himself, after three grueling battles he has never been able to drop Manny Pacquiao, but last night in Las Vegas, Nevada this new 2.0 beefed up version of Marquez not only dropped Pacquiao, he dropped him twice with devastating right hands that sounded like shotgun blasts. The first right hand that landed was in the third round, Pacquiao was hit so hard he dropped like a sack of potatoes, but got up almost immediately and shook it off and retaliated like the warrior he is and survived the round. Their was hope for Pacquiao when he was able to drop Marquez and break his nose in the fifth round and finally in the sixth round after seeing Marquez hurt Pacquiao carelessly charges him toward the end of the round and gets clocked cold with a powerful right hand that put him to sleep face first on the canvas leaving him unconscious for a minute.
The ending of the fight was one of the biggest shocks of 2012 in all of boxing. The Pacquiao era has come to an end, and Marquez finally closed the chapter on a long time rivalry that lasted over 8 years long. For Marquez he found closure, for Pacquiao he as always was humble in defeat, for the fans they got what they paid to see an action packed fight with lots of drama and a big bang finish just like Pacquiao and Marquez promised to do and go for the knockout or get knocked out trying.
This knockout loss doesn’t hurt Pacquiao’s career, he has already accomplished achievements that will never be duplicated in boxing, but the one person whose legacy is hurt the most is the man who wasn’t even in the ring on Saturday night, that man is Floyd Mayweather Jr.. If there was a man who people thought would end Pacquiao, they felt it would be Floyd Mayweather Jr., but for whatever reason he never had the confidence to step inside the ring with Pacquiao, this is where guys like Juan Manuel Marquez, Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, and even Tim Bradley get more credit than Floyd, because they all stepped to the plate to test themselves, while Mayweather the self proclaimed greatest of all-time cared more about staying undefeated and allowing another man to take his glory.
This is an end of an era. I hope Marquez he retires on top after this win, and for Pacquiao I hope he dedicates his time to helping those poor Filipinos in his country that were inspired by his rags to riches story.
Thank you Manny Pacquiao and Thank you Juan Manuel Marquez for being the fearless warriors you are and showing us what boxing is about, taking chances to prove your greatness and not being afraid to lose.
