Pacquiao Adjusts His Trunks, Resets, Bell Sounds, And Round 6 Ends — Pacquiao TKO7/8 Marquez?!

Given that Juan had fought 126 intense, ferocious minutes with Manny over the better part of a decade and was still right there in front of him, it amazes me that anyone is still convinced that he was bound to be knocked out in rounds 7-12 on the basis of one torrid round in which he'd fought back with intense defiance and controlled fury while hurt.

Marquez had stabilized the situation through the 6th round -- he was trailing on the scorecards, but he wasn't in great distress by that point. He'd fought the entirety of his first fight with Manny with his nose a bloody smear, so that was no new circumstance. The punch that ended the fight was a punch he'd knocked a guy out with in sparring, had trained to land, had set up with a beautiful feint (dropping his head over his left hip as if to slip and come back with the hook, but keeping his weight on his right leg) - who's to say that Manny doesn't walk into the exact same trap in any one of rounds 7, 8, 9, etc.? Given what we know about Juan, why should his punch be dismissed as a stroke of fortune and a Pacquiao stoppage win be so widely assumed as the only likely outcome had the fight gone into its second half?

Heredia is a S&C guru, but no boxing guru. I put more stock in the prior history and the ability of JMM than any opinion of Memo's.

 

Marquez could have knocked him out in a later round. But if it went 12 then Manny won.

 

Just a further note about fight IV, because I consider it the single greatest victory of its generation and a most inspiring event to wax lyrical on;

Though the majority of fans weren't enthused by the prospect of a fourth fight, only acclaiming it after it turned out to be the most momentous of the tetralogy, I remember feeling and opining that the rivalry had reached such a confounding sta(lema)te after three bouts that literally anything could happen in the next. It had been written, of course, for Manny to finally pull this most stubborn of aging thorns from his side with a decisive KO, but I actually thought the imp of perversity might decree that Juan would appear to lose a close fight but finally get his break on the scorecards from judges looking to pay a perceived moral debt owed to Marquez by their profession.

Instead, a shocking 'rub your eyes to check that you're seeing straight' knockdown diverts the possibility of that narrative playing out, fully igniting the competitive fire in Manny and appearing to tilt the fight toward the more popular script, only for it to be abruptly torn up when he's brutally face-planted out of the blue in the last microsecond of a middle round. Utterly bizarre and brilliant drama - and, while he would surely prefer to have played a different role, Manny should be thanked and acclaimed for his part in it.


Who will fill their shoes?

 

Manny was always gonna get knocked it out in that fight. In the first fight he surprised Marquez with his speed and ferocity the first round. We thank the ref for making the right call and letting it continue. In the second Manny learned that Marquez can/did adjust and is quite capable of knocking him out if he's not a little more defensive. From that round all the way through the 3rd fight Manny fought like he could get knocked out by Marquez (because he could). In the 4th fight he let pride get the best of him and wasn't as defensive or as cautious but was on a mission to knock Marquez out. As he learned that is not the best idea against a great counter puncher who knows all your moves, and is capable of inflicting some damage. If Manny had acted more like fights 2 and 3 he wouldn't have gotten ktfo.

 

Obviously Marquez already had Pacquiao timed it was just a matter of time