Pacquiao’s victory; draws jeers; Mexican fans cry robbery

Las Vegas—Manny Pacquiao knew that to finally silence doubters,  he would have to forge a definitive victory over an opponent who troubled him the most.

And once again, Juan Manuel Marquez made life difficult for him.

The eight-division champion defeated his greatest nemesis yet again Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila) at the MGM Grand’s Garden Arena.

But—as it always seems when these two warriors collide—Pacquiao needed to squeeze out everything he could from the rounds that mattered to earn a majority decision that raised more questions than it answered.

Pacquiao won on the scorecard of two judges—the other judge scored it a draw—and when the decision was announced, a deafening chorus of boos shook the arena.

“It was clear I won the fight,” said Pacquiao, who kept his WBO welterweight title. “That’s boxing.”

“This was the closest they ever fought and I thought it would end up a draw,” trainer Freddie Roach said.

“But Manny won the last two rounds and I wasn’t surprised by the judges’ decision.”

FLYING DEBRIS

It wasn’t as unsurprising to the huge Mexican throng that was part of the 16,368 sellout crowd that watched the fight.

When their booing, which drowned out the on-ring interviews, weren’t enough, they pelted the ring with debris—half-empty cups of beer and ice cubes even hitting reporters at ringside.

Security was doubled as Pacquiao made his way from the ring to his locker room, where he received 28 stitches to seal a cut above his right eye opened by a headbutt in the 10th round.

Even then, some Mexican fans managed to fling projectile at him, including a popcorn bucket that still had its contents in it.

“I don’t know what I have to do to win the fight,” said Marquez.

“Maybe I have to knock him out. But then, [the judges] might help him up and give him the win anyway,” added the three-division champion, who spoke to reporters after the fight through an interpreter.

Judge Glenn Townbridge saw it 116-112 for Pacquiao.

Dave Moretti had it 115-113 for the fighting congressman from the Sarangani province in Southern Mindanao while Robert Hoyle had it 114-114.

“This was robbery at the utmost,” Marquez’ trainer Nacho Beristain said after the fight in Spanish. “I’m very frustrated.

“It’s a joke for the people, for Juan Manuel and for Manny,” he added.

FLAT-FOOTED

Pacquiao opened slowly in the match, trying to find a way inside Marquez’ defense warily, aware of his opponent’s uncanny ability to connect at a high rate off counterpunches.

It was a debatable round, one Pacquiao barely eked out, and it set the tone for the action-packed match.

Pacquiao said he suffered cramps in the fourth round and he felt “that my balance was gone.”

“He was flat-footed,” said Roach after his ward felt his foot arch stiffen up.

Still, the rounds went back-and-forth to both fighters and it was difficult to keep tabs on who was leading whom going into the homestretch.

In the final round, though, Beristain felt his ward was leading while Roach felt the Filipino needed something decisive to turn the fight around.

Pacquiao responded by turning the heat in the 12th, unleashing barrages that Marquez managed to contain with strong counters and combinations.

Two judges had Pacquiao winning the round, and it was both scores that prevented the fight from ending up a draw.

“I really think we squeezed it out in the last two rounds,” said Roach. “Marquez fought a great fight. This was his for the taking but he didn’t grab it.”

But even when history registers this as a win for Pacquiao, adding to another close split victory in 2008 and the draw that kicked off their rivalry in 2004, the questions will remain.

And until Pacquiao hammers out a definitive victory, Marquez will always claim he has the Filipino figured out.

“It seems that way every time those two guys fight,” Roach said. “Marquez has Manny’s number.”

COMPUBOX FAVORS MANNY

But even as screams of protests refused to die down long after the Garden Arena crowd had emptied itself into the MGM Grand’s casino floors—Bob Arum claimed Mexican fans were ready to “lynch” him on his way to the press room—those who had Pacquiao winning the bout found an ally in CompuBox, the machine that tabulates the number of punches each fighter throws during a match.

Pacquiao flung 578 punches, landing 176 for a 30 percent accuracy clip. Marquez unleashed 436, connecting on 138 (32 percent). Marquez’ misses came mostly in the late stretches on the fight, after Roach had implored Pacquiao to step it up.

Pacquiao threw 304 jabs—several times during the match he tried to throw off Marquez’ counterpunch timing with double jabs—and managed to land 59 (19 percent). Marquez made 38 out of 182 for a 21 percent work rate.

Even with Marquez right hooks landing cleanly, it was Pacquiao who made more power shots, rocking his Mexican foe with 117 hits out of 274 attempts.

Marquez swung 254 power punches and made 100. On the average, Pacquiao was landing 14 out of 49 punches per round while Marquez was going 11-of-36.

Those statistics were not enough to convince Team Marquez, or the noisy throng that kept chanting his name outside the press conference area.  Inquirer