This decade in boxing (2010-2019) had so many great moments and for me one of the most memorable was December 8, 2012, the day Juan Manuel Marquez delivered the knockout blow to end Manny Pacquiao’s hype train.
For years Juan Manuel Marquez was getting robbed every time he fought Manny Pacquiao. They fought three times previously and each time Marquez was robbed.
In the first fight at featherweight all Pacquiao had was the first round with the three knockdowns, he technically should have been disqualified for hitting Marquez when he was already down clinging onto the ropes after the third knockdown. Marquez would eventually school him for the entire fight and then end up getting a Draw.
The second fight was closer mainly because Marquez got dropped again, but I still feel he won it with his counter punching. The third fight was highway robbery, Pacquiao was swinging at air and looking like a drunk bum on the street in that fight.
The day he knocked him out cold was sweet justice for the three times he was robbed on the scorecards.
It was a moment that I will never forget. The house was packed with relatives, we had Mexican food cooking, music blasting, the fight was on and it was good times.
I remember telling my Uncle that Pacquiao and his team were taking a fourth fight with Marquez because they believe he is damaged goods and think it would be easier than re-matching Tim Bradley who beat Pacquiao previously.
It was another cherry pick opponent by Freddie Roach gone wrong. We all know Pacquiao’s trainer picks and chooses the right opponents for Manny. Pacquiao should pay Roach a fortune for carefully guiding his career with the right opponents and catchweight clauses.
The fourth meeting between Pacquiao and Marquez was all action. It was a back and forth battle. In the third round, the moment Marquez dropped Pacquiao for the first time I flew off my sofa and the entire house was yelling and screaming. We couldn’t believe it, in all of their fights it was always Pacquiao knocking down Marquez but this time Pacquiao was put on his butt.
It was an intense feeling to see that moment. I gotta give Pacquiao credit he has heart and got up and tried to bring that fire on Marquez and dropped him once in the fifth round but it was more of an off balance shot with Marquez glove touching the canvas.
The greatest moment of the decade came in round six, when Pacquiao came out like a demon just ripping shots on Marquez. I was worried because trainer Nacho Beristain almost wanted to stop the fight and I thought they would throw the towel as Pacquiao kept busting Marquez face up. At final seconds of the round, the careless nature of Pacquiao finally caught up with him and Marquez landed the greatest well timed knockout punch in all of boxing – straight right hand with all his weight put into it as Pacquiao lunged forward and that was all she wrote! Good night, the PacMan was in la la land.
When the KO happened we celebrated and cried tears of joy. We were up until the early morning hours singing and getting drunk.
The Pacquiao fans kept trying to degrade the win and claimed Marquez was on steroids because he hired Memo Heredia and that Marquez stepped on Pacquiao’s foot causing Pacquiao to fall forward into the punch. Some Pacquiao fans even suggested that Marquez was scared of a fifth fight because they would do drug testing. How funny is that before the Pacquiao fans were crying that drug testing is for cowards and when PacMan got knocked out all of a sudden they want to accuse a fighter of steroids and demand drug testing.
Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez IV already won the “Fight of the Year”, “Round of the Year” and the “KO of the Year” for 2012, it is only fitting it should be crowned the “Fight of the Decade.”
Big time boxing fan. Grew up in East Los, and been an avid follower of the sport and the legends like Julio Cesar Chavez, Vicente Saldivar, Salvador Sanchez, Carlos Zarate, Erik Morales, Ricardo Lopez and Juan Manuel Marquez just to name a few.
Current favorite boxers: Canelo Alvarez, Mikey Garcia.