To the people who complain about Pacquiao/Marquez decisions. You must take a champ's belt.

You got to respect the champ. The title still means something. You can't walk into his ring, sit back and passively take his belt. You can't do that. If you notice in the first 3 fights Pacquiao is the busier more active fighter. He throws more, he's doing the walking down he's throwing with badder intentions. Aggressors win rounds and passive fighters sure can't "take" a belt passively. No, if you want his belt, take his belt.

In the first fight. Pacquiao threw 639 punches and landed 148. Marquez threw 547 punches and landed 158.

In the 2nd fight. Pacquiao threw 619 punches and landed 157. Marquez threw 511 punches and landed 172.

In the 3rd fight. Pacquiao threw 578 punches and landed 176. Marquez threw 436 punches and landed 138 punches.

In the 4th fight Marquez won by KO.

In addition to this Marquez, the challenger kept finding himself on his ass. Legs turned jelly too.

Something to keep in mind here. If you're a believer in you must take a champions belt then this matters. If you're a fan of passive-aggressive boxing then perhaps you don't care. For me, being the aggressor matters, especially if you have plans to dethrone the man at the weight.

 

They were all close fights, but I resent the idea from Marquez that he kept getting robbed. You want the belt then take the belt. Don't go in there and be outhrown by over 100 punches and back up constantly.

 

"If anyone is to be blamed it's Marquez. He could have stepped it up on quite a few occasions, he has only fought himself. Just didn't throw enough. He didn't fight like he was trying to take a championship. You don't win a championship, you take it. He didn't fight like that, so how can he complain? I don't think the outcry here is justifiable." Emmanuel Steward.

The man has spoken. You know a lot about boxing, but Manny Steward has perhaps has a bit more credibility than us guys who post on an internet message board. Coming from a guy who has turned people from nothing into legends.

 

He does not. It's a way to ensure that no thief comes and steals his belt. When you conquer a king do you run into his castle, potshot his guys and then run away? Or do you storm his walls, capture him and burn down the whole village? You take what's his. You tread all over it because now it's yours.

Boxing is a combat sport. It's best to remember that. Yes, a combat sport with rules, but a combat sport nonetheless.

 

You are absolutely correct on this when it comes to amateur boxing. But professional boxing at it's core is about hurting and not getting hurt.

I would agree that I'd be making up my own rules here if I wasn't cosigning a widely held and very old boxing opinion. Which is shared by many legendary boxing figures such as Manny Steward. In that a champ needs to be dethroned, you can't steal his belt.