Prospects for Pacquiao

By Al S. Mendoza

THE TALK of the town is the Pacquiao-Marquez fight on March 16 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The most common prediction is Pacquiao will have a hard time against Marquez.

I can believe that.  But Pacquaio, eternally oozing with talent, can handle things with ease – as always.

Marquez (Juan Manuel) can run because, against Pacquiao (Manny), the Mexican fights like he is on board a bicycle.

Marquez did that the first time he met the National Fist in 2004.

That strategy, which Marquez started to employ in Round 2 after absorbing three knockdowns in Round 1, will help avoid the power-packed punches of Pacquiao, who loves to fight toe-to-toe.

But Pacquiao has learned his lesson.  He has now mastered a new technique to deflate the tires of Marquez’s bicycle. 

Four years is a lot of time for Pacquiao to avenge a sorry past – that of settling for a split draw against Marquez in 2004 instead of capturing a victory on points.

It didn’t help, of course, that one judge in that 2004 farce of a fight had scored it 10-7 for Pacquiao in Round 1 – a mistake that the judge himself had admitted after the bout.

Had that judge written “10-6,” which was really the politically correct score in Round 1 after Pacquiao had scored those three monumental knockdowns against Marquez, Pacquiao would have won their first fight in 2004.

Marquez survived Pacquiao’s fists in that encounter because the Mexican kept putting himself out of harm’s way from Round 2 up to the last round.

But that won’t be the case anymore on March 16 and the Mandalay Bay crowd in this rematch will surely see a different fight strategy, particularly from Pacquiao.

I’m almost positive Pacquiao will unleash a tactic that will disallow Marquez to seek the refuge of a non-confrontational fisticuff.

Besides, Marquez can’t run forever.  Somehow, he will have to face the music and trade punches with Pacquiao. Otherwise, the Mexican might be disqualified for refusing to fight.

Once the shots are traded at will, it could be goodbye for Marquez, whose punches don’t have that much wallop.

Boxing is basically about throwing punches.

While boxing is also the art of defense, it is also called the art of trading punches.

In their 2004 fight, not once did Marquez hurt Pacquiao.  If you saw Pacquiao getting jarred by a Marquez punch in that encounter, it could be that you were watching another duel.

The mere fact that Pacquiao decked Marquez three times in Round 1 in that fight is proof of the Filipino’s tremendous punching power.

Pacquiao failed to follow up with the killer blow because Marquez kept running from Round 2 onwards.

But I believe Pacquiao’s latest trick is how to chase, if not corner, a prey such as Marquez.

So, if Marquez would decide again to ride a bicycle on Sunday, I believe Pacquiao would be forced to ride his big bike to overtake and flag down the Mexican.

I will also insist that Pacquiao is more than motivated to win – by knockout, I’m sure – because a victory would make him a world champion again. Remember, he is presently merely the people’s champion, a title that actually means nothing.

Beating Marquez would make the former two-time world champion Pacquiao a certified world king again, giving him all the latitude to choose who would be next in line.

As a non-world champion, Pacquiao already commands a lucrative prize whenever he fights.  What more if he owns a world crown?

This fight will open a new door, handsome horizons even, for Pacquiao.

Only a fool would let this golden prospect go to waste.

And Pacquiao, time and again, proved he is no fool.

(Readers may reach columnist at also147@yahoo.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/general-admission/ For reactions to this column, click “Send MESSAGES, OPINIONS, COMMENTS” on default page.)