Last month boxing marked the 12th anniversary of one of the biggest fights in recent memory, the fourth battle between legendary champions Juan Manuel Márquez and Manny Pacquiao, so let’s revisit Rafael García’s reflections on that duel and its shocking conclusion. . At the time, boxing fans were anticipating a fifth chapter in the Pacquiao vs. Márquez saga; Unfortunately, that was not the case. But maybe it’s better. What are the chances that “Dynamite” and “PacMan” can match the fireworks of their thrilling finale? On the other hand, if another match meant another great try from Garcia, we can’t help but lament what might have been had a fifth clash occurred in arguably the greatest rivalry of the 21st century. Check it out:
Scholar Nassim Taleb argues that a system in which volatility is suppressed is an ideal catalyst for chaos. Such a scenario would behave like a ticking time bomb, with the crucial difference that the potential for destruction increases exponentially over time. The more repressed the system is, the more its inherent tension increases. That tension will inevitably, sooner or later, find a way to explode in an unpredictable and often dangerous way.
The rivalry between Pacquiao and Márquez began with a bang thanks to the violent interpretation of physical prowess offered by the Filipino icon in the first round of their tetralogy, a round in which Márquez visited the canvas three times. But after that, most of the rounds up to and including Fight III can be defined as a contest between Manny’s desire to explode and Marquez’s determination to contain him.
Over the course of three extremely close fights, Pacquiao attacked while Márquez counterattacked, the southpaw trying again and again to set the ring on fire while Juan Manuel quickly put out the flames with a cerebral counterpunch. Momentum came and went, but the dial never failed to return to dead center, leaving those of us watching to call the pair one of the closest in boxing history.
For this reason, the reaction from both fans and media when their fourth meeting was announced was almost unanimous: a long sigh followed by a sad “Why?” Professional and amateur keyboardists repeatedly reminded us of the old saying that insanity is repeating the same action over and over again expecting a different result. Was the boxing world going crazy? Pacquiao vs Márquez IV made no sense; We had seen it three times and kept getting the same result.
But most of those who shared that opinion did not take into account the tension built up in the rivalry over thirty-six rounds of inconclusive results. The great Filipino whale had failed to fully commit to his attack, kept honest by Dynamite’s deft handling of Pacquiao’s violent instincts. Márquez’s bitterness had been fermenting to the point of disgust after what he considered three unjust verdicts. Pacquiao is only satisfied with himself if he can please those around him. If closure was what the rest of us wanted, Pacquiao and Marquez were the ones who needed it the most.
For fans, the close rounds and controversial judging were, at worst, an annoyance that pointed out how well-matched the Filipino and Mexican were. However, for the two athletes who endangered their lives in the ring, the lack of clarity was a psychological burden that dragged them down. While Márquez felt disrespected by the judges’ lack of appreciation for his craft, Manny increasingly felt the need to dispatch the Mexican convincingly, to please not only his adoring fans and country, but also his beloved coach. and, last but not least, the fighting beast within himself.
The triggering event that unleashed the accumulated tension of eight years of rivalry was a colossal right hand thrown by Juan Manuel Márquez that floored Pacquiao in the third round. Manny had brought his power to bear for the first two rounds (enough to win those rounds), as well as a fraction of the third. But all the time Márquez had been studying his opponent. He used a weak jab to catch the Filipino’s attention, reorienting his attention away from the right hand, which this time Márquez did not throw directly towards the pipe, as is his custom, but instead arced over it, and the blow gained momentum. as it progressed. He traveled through the air, finally impacting the left side of Pacquiao’s head and dropping him, exploding in a split second the aura of invincibility that had surrounded Pacman for so long.
Manny immediately got up and continued fighting, recovering quickly. While he continued to implement his game plan, which consisted of continuous aggression and non-stop movement, Márquez refrained from firing shots. His counterpunching wasn’t as effective as it had been in previous encounters, with multi-punch combinations notably absent, but he had made his mark. There was still time to catch the big whale in the coming rounds.
Pacquiao dominated most of rounds five and six. In the fifth, he scored a knockdown with a hard, stiff left hand and, in fact, most of the damage he inflicted on Marquez, including but not limited to a broken nose, was done by the trusty missile he calls his hand. left. The punch landed frequently and effectively, whether as a lead punch, a follow-up to a right jab, or as part of a combination. By the end of the fifth round, the Mexican’s face was a gruesome mess, with blood flowing freely from his nostrils, making it difficult for him to breathe, just as he had done at the end of the infamous first round eight years ago.
It was clear that IV had already become the most violent encounter between the two fighters. Márquez was in a similar war to the one he found himself in against Juan “Baby Bull” Díaz, with the difference that Pacquiao’s punches are several orders of magnitude more painful to take than Díaz’s. At the same time, Pacquiao was on his way to another classic performance, on par with his knockouts of Erik Morales and, more recently, Miguel Cotto. He was successfully driving the action, landing shots with precision and consistently taking down his opponent.
While Pacquiao vented his frustration at being held captive by Marquez’s style in previous fights, Juan Manuel was in visible trouble, but mentally he was still very much in the fight. They were beating him and hurting him, but he knew exactly what was happening and he knew that, although time was against him, there would still be a chance to make Pacquiao pay for his greedy aggression. Both had promised a knockout before the fight; Manny started looking for him the moment he got off the mat in the third round, but Marquez knew that was working in his favor. Dynamite wouldn’t even have to look for the knockout of him; instead, Pacquiao would create the circumstances for Márquez to score.
This moment occurred in the final seconds of the sixth round. An overeager Pacquiao carelessly threw himself at Marquez after another three-minute display of power punches. After throwing a jab, which he no doubt intended to follow with a left bomb, he suddenly found himself out of position and ran face-first into Marquez’s right fist. The blow was short and hard, but perfectly timed and placed, causing the Filipino to fall like a board to the ground, with all the lights inside his head turned off. A count of ten would have been a perverse exercise in sarcasm after that shot.
And so Márquez won the most significant and sweet victory of his career, sending people in his native Mexico City out of their homes and into the streets to celebrate at the Angel of Independence, a practice usually reserved for important victories of the National soccer team. . Márquez has transcended the sport in Mexico, and his latest achievement will no doubt start a debate about whether he should be considered higher than the Mexican greats of the past, such as Salvador Sánchez or even Julio César Chávez. But what is clear is that Juan Manuel Márquez would be more than happy to close this chapter of his career, perhaps the entire book of his career, with this victory. How can he top collecting, so emphatically and conclusively, the scalp of the enemy he pursued and obsessed with for so many years?
Pacquiao’s camp quickly expressed the Filipino’s desire to continue fighting, at least a couple more times, before retiring for good. After all, such a result is not necessarily the result of the aging process or declining fight quality, but rather can be attributed to Pacquiao’s desire to return to being the Manny of old. He behaved more aggressively than he had from the first three minutes of the rivalry, with temporary success, until he succumbed to the temptation of that final, reckless charge.
Volatility and its management played a major role in shaping the Pacquiao vs. Marquez rivalry and, appropriately, played a role in the conclusion of the fourth meeting. Manny’s activity level and the intensity of his attack brought back memories of the demolition machine that took down larger enemies and dismantled everything that stood in its path. Unfortunately for him and his legions of fans, the reaction such chaos provoked in Dinamita was in equal measure, with Márquez’s sense of timing and ring acumen being the essential ingredients in what is sure to be the Knockout of the Year. On Saturday night, when the unstoppable force called Manny Pacquiao collided with the immovable object called Juan Manuel Márquez, the Mexican prevailed.
Would the outcome be the same if a fifth fight materialized?
Is it crazy to want to know?
–Rafael Garcia
