By Chuy Marco
Reviewing a couple of Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao fights I cannot see any possible way for Manny to win or beat Marquez convincingly unless Marquez is already shot and slow.
The notion that Manny has become better and knows how to box with two hands is silly, he can box guys who are stationary and have slower hands and feet than him, but he is nowhere near the level of Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Marquez in terms of boxing skill. Study Pacquiao versus Shane Mosley and you will see that Manny couldn’t close the distance on Shane and when he was walking forward he had his hands down and left his face wide open for counters. Juan Manuel Marquez is a better defensive boxer and faster at this point in time than Mosley and we know anytime Manny goes forward Marquez isn’t afraid to throw punches with him. Pacquiao has no defense for uppercuts, right hands or left hooks.
Manny isn’t an offensive bully type pressure fighter like Juan Diaz or Michael Katsidis, both of these fighters have underrated defense and head movement in the pocket, they can come forward while slipping shots and holding a close guard over their face while keeping their right hand up to avoid the counter left hook of Marquez. Juan Manuel stopped both Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis and was able to handle their relentless pressure just like the true Mexican warrior he is.
Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Michael Katsidis Highlights (HBO)
Pacquiao doesn’t have the level of pressure that Katsidis was able to apply on Marquez early. Manny is a ambush fighter who likes to hop in and out with his face open and hands down, but Marquez with the added power to his already superior counter punching skills will again capitalize on the Filipino’s over confidence in the ring. Pacquiao still throws the predictable double right jab followed by a left straight punch, and he still lunges in doing it. He doesn’t have any head movement or intelligence in the ring and the moment you counter him he becomes scared and backs away from a fire fight just like he did in both Marquez fights when he kept getting countered he got scared and thought twice about traded punches. Pacquiao fans need to be prepared with Kleenex tissue paper in hand because they will be in for a shock.
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.