The UFC went ballistic this week in the media talking about how much money this kind of setup was going to force the company to give up to make the debut happen for free on Fox instead of on PPV for a high premium. The one fight wonder coverage was overblown, overhyped, and too little too late. The whole production had more of a fire drill feel than a blockbuster debut broadcast for Fox.
Boxing fans who also follow MMA were likely thrilled by the quick ending to the free UFC championship bout. It would give them a bit of a respite to tune in to watch the best bouts of the Marquez vs. Pacquiao III card on Pay-Per-View. Fox was over and out quickly, well in time for fans to view the duration of Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley's (28-0, 12 KOs) humdrum light welterweight fight against Joel Cassamayor (38-6-1, 22 KOs). The Cuban led with his cranium for most of the early rounds, and then Bradley simply assumed control of the fight and never let up. Cassamayor looked every bit his age and couldn't produce one last burst of magic to compete with Bradley. It was a dud of a fight all around, stopped early by Referee Vic Drakulich when it was obviously clear Bradley was running away with the win and Cassamayor's corner threw in the towel. BOOOOO!
Next, Manny Pacquiao entered the ring and stood across the ring from one of the most ornery and competitive opponents he could possibly face, a man who gave him one of just two draws on his now 54-3-2 (38 KOs) career slate. Juan Manuel Marquez was also going for win number 54, but he had to settle for an uncalled-for loss number 6. It is the second loss Marquez suffered to Pacquiao in their trilogy, though arguably the most controversial. The draw with Pac-Man is the only one on Marquez's record. He has one more knockout than Pacquiao, though, with 39 total. The fight's close-shave margin of victory gave way to conspiracy and corruption talk centering around the concept of promoters just wanting so badly to make the big-money Mayweather fight come to fruition once and for all. The crowd was Marquez-friendly through the bulk of the bout, and if it was fought in Mexico Marquez would have the win on all scorecards.
Alas, Bob Arum is king in these parts when it comes to boxing, though, and a tie on one score card was all Marquez's matador performance could generate for the underdog. Legend has it that "it's better to be lucky than good" sometimes. Manny seemed to be saving himself for a rainy day through much of the early rounds. Marquez fought a strategic battle, counterpunching artfully virtually every time Pacquiao waded in with 1-2s. Marquez seemed to be throwing 99 percent power punches. Pacquiao was on cruise control in a fight he could have and should have been losing. He aggressively thanked his promoter Bob Arum after the fight as if he knew that's who was responsible for him getting the benefit of the doubt.
The coverage of the fight I watched featured British commentators, one of them being none other than Amir Khan (26-1, 18 KOs), Manny's training camp partner. Even Khan openly admitted at the end of regulation that, "I didn't think there would be anyone in the world who could beat Manny Pacquiao, but I have Marquez up." Multiple press row scores had the bout a draw. The official scoring from the three ringside judges was all over the map. Judge Robert Hoyle scored the contest a dead heat at 114-114. Judge Glenn Trowbridge scored it 8 rounds to 4 in favor of Pacquiao at 116-112. Dave Moretti called it much closer with a 115-113 score favoring Pacquiao for the majority decision. Marquez rightfully stormed out of the ring in protest as soon as the decision came over the loudspeakers.Though it was a tactical fight more than a slugfest, neither man let their backs touch the ropes much in any round. Pacquiao fought best when consciously making an effort to punch faster and land more shots at the very center of the ring or close to it. Marquez waved the red blanket in the bull's face masterfully, forcing Pacquiao to come into his range and peppering him with body shots and perfectly timed head shots whenever Manny let his guard down. Something Manny said in his interview with Piers Morgan on Friday made me think of George Foreman's comeback struggles when he would come close to winning a big fight and admit afterward to commentators that he started feeling bad for the other fellow and couldn't summon his killer instinct in the late rounds. Manny's such a nice guy he doesn't even like having to hurt a guy he's fighting. There was chatter after the match about a 4th Marquez bout, but that's a real stretch, especially if Mayweather is indeed next and the fight turns out to be a good one. The good thing about whatever might happen with the scoring of that potential super fight is that Vegas will sort of be the hometown for both men, though Mayweather is the one who lives here full time.
I heard an overwhelming chorus of sentiment last week saying the Marquez fight was virtually already sealed for Pacquiao. All the experts leading up to this fight seemed to favor the 10-1 favorite. Instead, the vaunted Filipino fighter escaped with the win only thanks to a little help from some hometown cooking.
During the wait to get up to Mike Tyson at his autograph signing at the MGM's Studio 54 Saturday afternoon before the fight, two people in line told me they were picking Marquez to win. The fans, in hindsight, seemed to know better than the sport's literary pundits. Scoring a boxing match can be very subjective, and it's an often-maligned and criticized process which is consistently called out for suspicions of undue promoter/camp-related influence favoring the hometown and/or the most popular and successful fighter in a main event. Indefensible decisions have also been the scourge of MMA in recent years.
Judge Hoyle registered the only accurate scorecard on Saturday night. Trowbridge and Moretti giftwrapped some questionable rounds for Pac-Man, paving the way for the much-hyped "superfight" that now might turn out to be another dud. If a last-ditch effort from Marquez can result in a fight this close, surely Mayweather can surpass Pacquiao's talents if he has another such bad day at the office.
Even ESPN's most well known and respected Boxing Analyst Dan Rafael said "I think this is the worst Manny Pacquiao we've seen in a long, long time." It looks like Pac-Man has until May 5th, 2012 to straighten up and fly right. That's plenty of time to gameplan, adjust, and become 100 percent prepared for Floyd Mayweather, Junior. After lodging the full 36 total rounds against Marquez in a fight he was expected to run away with, Pacquiao's looking more beatable than ever at the moment despite this fight marking his 15th victory in a row.
