pacquiao vs. marquez II: a prediction
March 14, 2008
The out roaring debate as to who is the best will finally be settled on Saturday, March 15 when World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez defends his title against three-division world champion Manny Pacquiao. The bout is a rematch of their May 8, 2004 legendary battle which ended in a controversial draw. “Marquez – Pacquiao II” will be for the WBC and vacant Ring Magazine Super Featherweight World Championship. The world title bout will take place at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas beginning at 9 p.m.
To predict the outcome of the upcoming fight, several factors such as power, speed, technique and stamina, must be taken into consideration. These following factors will dictate the provable result of the match.
Based on the previous fights after that first battle, the power and strength of Pacquiao has developed tremendously. His right punch could now penetrate and even knock out an opponent, and his left punch remarkably knocked down almost all his opponents. On the other hand, Marquez may have increased his power and strength but it could hardly match Pacquiao’s. Marquez’s latter fights did not somehow show any extraordinary development in his power punches.
In terms of speed, Marquez showed in his battles with Terdsak and Jandeng and Jimrex Jaca that he has improved a lot. Pacquiao, however, should be given credit on his speed since it has emerged constantly superior in every fight he had. Thus, there is a tie in this factor between the two fighters.
In terms of technique, Pacquiao’s combination of punches cannot easily be figured out. It is more of a street fighting style with neither step-by-step procedure nor rules, but has been harnessed and polished by his trainer, Freddie Roach. This fighting style is his key to every victory in the ring and most likely a great factor to winning this upcoming match. In order to overcome this, Marquez should focus more on his defense and manage to evade every hard punch thrown against him. In Marquez’s previous fights, it can be observed that both his arms are widely open, causing a weak defense. This is detrimental to him because Pacquiao’s knockout punches are unpredictable; they come out from different directions.
In terms of regaining strength during the fight, Marquez has the lead. During his previous fight with Pacquiao, though he was knocked out three times in the first round, he was able to continue the fight and even dominated the next eleven rounds.
Consequently, the upcoming fight would be another legendary fight in the history of boxing. Pacquiao will most probably control the fight and he will make it a fascinating long fight since he perceives that boxing is a form of entertainment as influenced by his being a Filipino actor. Still, even if Pacquiao is has improved more since the first match with Marquez, a victory is not apparent though as his overconfidence might knock him down before Marquez does.
