There should be something to cherish and retain in the memory of once proud Mexican fan after the onslaught of a storm Pacquiao; and I thought that Marquez, who is one of the remaining boxing hero and fighting pride of Mexico, should be preserved and not be touched. However, Marquez is hungry if not angry. He wants revenge, recognition and an amount of large proportion, and the only way to do it fast is to fight the world’s No. 1, again, for the third time. It is not a sin to desire, but what is irritating are commentaries from boxers whose job is to fight rather than talk unnecessarily. No one can deny that The Pacman worked and fought hard for his unparalleled recognition, and any hitchhikers should be modest enough to show respect. Action speaks louder than word is a dogmatic substance of a fighter. And no fighter would have forgotten this dogma, unless a strong craving clouds the mind and one chooses to forget or set aside a common fact.
Motivation is important and it matters what motivates a man. If Marquez's motivation is money not Manny, he is bound to crash being driven by cash. Against Mayweather, he has the chance for world recognition but he blew it. His poor showing against Mayweather revealed his boxing capability, and being too eager to fight Pacquiao will not work for his advantage. Pacquiao goes up while he goes down; and he should not forget that in their two outings, although he was able to connect more punches, he also did hit the canvass four times.
Time is God and it controls everything. Rhythm, timing, pattern, precision, exactness, synchronicity,
and accuracy are elements associated with time. A boxer’s ultimate goal is to deliver the exact amount of power in exact time. Moreover, in boxing, victory belongs to those boxers who know how to manipulate time. Those fighters have a name, the boxing world calls them counter punchers. And Juan Manuel Marquez is one of them; the kind of boxer who can deliver amazing punches in a nick of time.
Against Marques, Pacquiao appeared to be like a kindergarten school student who is just learning how to box. Of course, that was a few years back and some experts believed that the Pacman of today is a better fighter than before. However, some people (particularly those in Marquez camp) think otherwise, and the only way to know whose claim is true, is for Pacquiao to fight Marques for the third time.
Pacquiao's speed and power versus Marquez’s timing and accuracy; between these two warriors, the odds are even. And even judges found it hard to decide who has the upper hand. Two bouts and two controversial decisions, and boxing fans have different opinions. It seems that even the final rightful decision is for time to resolve. And time passed by, changes which is another element of time takes over; and only a third bout between these two pugilists will determine who leveled up and who stays behind.
It is not in my intentions to take side and I do not desire to be a boxing analyst. However, since this article is about an unsolved puzzle, l will share my solution to that puzzle.
I do not know what went wrong to the analyzing prowess of Coach Freddie Roach; but for me, the Marquez problem is a simple equation with a simple solution that even Manny Pacquiao can solve. And all he had to do is go back to the basic, back to the roots, back to the type of fighting known to him when he was still an unknown fighter. “You punch me I’ll punch you, a punch for a punch, let us see whose punch is stronger”. Although it maybe easier said than done, I believe that this is the best way to counter a counter puncher. After all, evading the counters of Marquez proved to be an impossible task for Pacquiao. Moreover, boxing is a contact sport; and when it is next to impossible to evade a blow, why not just take it in exchange for landing your own. A dose of his own medicine and the best time to land a hay-maker is when an opponent is on the attack.
In addition, a counter puncher relies on the rhythm of his opponent. The dilemma of counter puncher who trade punches with Pacman is that his movement is so predictable while his hit stokes are not. Uncovering the rhythm pattern of Manny Pacquiao is easy while avoiding his barrage of undeniably strong punches is hard. It would be an added dilemma if Pacquiao would play with or break his rhythm just to bait his opponent to enter into his range. Marquez is very much aware of The Pacman’s power having tasted the venom of his fists in two bouts. What I am curious about is whether he already found an answer to Pacman’s added ammunition; an in and out rhythm which is very effective against a counter puncher and a developed right hand that turned Pacquiao into a two strong fist warrior who is proven to be too tough even to a giant.
Boxing is a very dynamic and evolving sport and I saw the rise of what I call precision boxers. (Ring heroes who are in harmony with time). A counter puncher is not necessarily a precision fighter but he is halfway through to become one. A counter puncher relies solely in the rhythm of his opponent while a precision fighter is not only very much aware of his rhythm; he also studies the rhythm of his opponent and the bout. Moreover, he improvises and adjusts his rhythm for his advantage. To sum it all, he knows how to manipulate the time elements in order to win. Unlike the counter puncher, a precision fighter does not have to wait for his adversary to make a move to set up a kill for he can plant and explode a bomb while everything is at rest.
During the Pacquiao-Marques rematch, I saw Marques looking good displaying his skill and tenacity as an emerging precision fighter. Disappointingly, after that fight, particularly in his match against Mayweather not a tinge of that skill was visible.
Marquez is either a dreamer and a pretender, or a true warrior worthy of his claim. I used to be a fan of his, and on his fight against Mayweather; I expect to see a classic battle of nerves and technique. Sad to say, I was frustrated to see nothing from him. So frustrated that I thought it was a sellout fight. He was simply outclassed.
Still, if Pacman and his camp seriously want to fight and win against Mayweather and not just want to make money out of the match: he has to fight Marquez and this time he has to win convincingly. Both Marquez and Mayweather are extremes counter punchers, although Mayweather has proven that he is a far better fighter, a third bout between Marquez and Pacquiao will determine the chances of either Pacman and Pretty Boy if there would be a fight between them. To put an end to Pacquiao-Marquez boxing controversy, to finalize and settle everything for good: Pacquiao should Fight Marques in order to conclusively close and seal the issue once and for all.
First posted: Sunday, December 12, 2010 @http://arlenkalifuentes12.blogspot.com/2010/12/timing-and-accuracy-versus-speed-and.html#comment-form, which I will now change into a new site: Positive Negativity.
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