By Tommy Canez
There is no denying that both Many Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez are proven warriors. Both are first ballot hall of famers when their careers are all said and done, and each boxer possess unique advantages. But who will really have the edge in this fight and finally put an end to the debate of who is the better fighter ? Let's break down each department.
1) POWER - This one should be obvious. Manny Pacquiao has a huge edge in this department. Marquez has experienced Pacquiao's power first hand. He knows that if Manny was able to drop him in lower weight classes, there is no reason to believe he can't do the same in a higher weight class where Pacquiao has dropped bigger and stronger fighters. As for Marquez' power, he has proven he has knockout power in lower weight classes, but he cannot carry it to a higher weight class as we saw in the Floyd Jr fight.
BIG EDGE : Manny Pacquiao
2) CHIN- Both fighters have great chins and are hard to stop. However, the difference is that Pacquiao has been able to drop Marquez a total of 4 times at lower weight classes and Marquez has never dropped Pacquiao. If Pacquiao drops Marquez at this weight class, Marquez may not be able to recover in which case Pacquiao will step on the gas pedal and not let go until Marquez is knocked out or his corner throws in the towel. On the other hand, if Marquez drops Pacquiao, I cannot foresee a situation where he stops him. Pacquiao's ability to take a punch is second to none. Pacquiao has been able to withstand the punches of bigger fighters such as Morales, Barerra, De La Hoya, Hatton, Cotto, Margarito, Mosley, and was not seriously hurt by any of them. As for Marquez, he has been dropped by less powerful fighters such as Katsidis and Mayweather Jr. The bottom line is that both fighters have great solid beards and can take a good one.
SLIGHT EDGE : Manny Pacquiao
3) SPEED- Although we see Marquez working on his fast twitch muscles on 24/7, it will not make a difference come Saturday night. He will always be outgunned in the speed department against Pacquiao. Here's why : Pacquiao throws punches in bunches from different, unorthodox angles with blinding speed and there is nothing someone can do to prepare for that type of onslaught. Marquez throws crisp, accurate, well timed counter punches but nowhere near with the speed of Pacquiao.
Edge : Manny Pacquiao
4) CONDITIONING- We all see that Juan Manuel Marquez is ripped as a super hero costume. But there's a huge misconception in boxing that bigger muscles equal supreme conditioning which couldn't be further from the truth. This is not a body bulding contest, its a boxing match. Pacquiao is one of the best conditioned fighters in the history of the sport. When was the last time we saw Pacquiao gasping for air or pulling a De La Hoya and running at the end of a fight due to being gassed ? If memory serves me right, it's never happened. As for Marquez, he is fighting two weight classes above his normal weight and is 38 years old. I believe the extra pounds and his age will cause him to become fatigued like he did in the Mayweather Jr fight and make him slow in his attack as the fight wears on. This will open up the opportunity for Pacquiao to pummel him into submission in the later rounds. If Marquez was fighting at lightweight or super lightweight, i would say they are even. But the extra pounds will matter.
EDGE : Manny Pacquiao
5) DEFENSE- Manny Pacquiao has improved his defense since the first fight. He has added lateral movement and darts in and out of danger. You can even make a case that he can use his offense as his defense to keep opponents from opening up. As for Marquez, his defense is his offense. Although he is very adept at slipping the straight left and knows how to take a step back and punch with Pacquiao, he gets caught way too clean in exchanges and this will prove to be his demise again.
EDGE : Manny Pacquiao.PREDICTION : Juan Manuel Marquez will have his moments in this fight landing the straight right and using his counter punching ability but they will not have enough juice behind them since he is fighting in a weight class that is too high for him. He will always prove to be a tough fight for Manny because of his counter punching ability and ability to punch while Pacquiao is punching but the problem is that he has way too many things going against him. He is 38 years old, he gets hit way too clean, and is fighting in a weight class where he doesn't belong. I do not believe that his new S&C coach will make any difference. As for Nacho Beristain, he was seen in the 24/7 episode studying the first fight as if that is the same Manny Pacquiao that they will see on Saturday. Manny is a completely different fighter than he was in their first fight. He is not the same one handed fighter and has improved in all areas. I believe Manny will be able to land the check right hook in the early part of the fight and that will set up the straight left down the pipe. Manny's lateral movement will also trouble Marquez as this is something that Marquez is not used to. The end result will be another Manny Pacquiao victory in convincing fashion.
There is no denying that both Many Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez are proven warriors. Both are first ballot hall of famers when their careers are all said and done, and each boxer possess unique advantages. But who will really have the edge in this fight and finally put an end to the debate of who is the better fighter ? Let's break down each department.
1) POWER - This one should be obvious. Manny Pacquiao has a huge edge in this department. Marquez has experienced Pacquiao's power first hand. He knows that if Manny was able to drop him in lower weight classes, there is no reason to believe he can't do the same in a higher weight class where Pacquiao has dropped bigger and stronger fighters. As for Marquez' power, he has proven he has knockout power in lower weight classes, but he cannot carry it to a higher weight class as we saw in the Floyd Jr fight.
BIG EDGE : Manny Pacquiao
2) CHIN- Both fighters have great chins and are hard to stop. However, the difference is that Pacquiao has been able to drop Marquez a total of 4 times at lower weight classes and Marquez has never dropped Pacquiao. If Pacquiao drops Marquez at this weight class, Marquez may not be able to recover in which case Pacquiao will step on the gas pedal and not let go until Marquez is knocked out or his corner throws in the towel. On the other hand, if Marquez drops Pacquiao, I cannot foresee a situation where he stops him. Pacquiao's ability to take a punch is second to none. Pacquiao has been able to withstand the punches of bigger fighters such as Morales, Barerra, De La Hoya, Hatton, Cotto, Margarito, Mosley, and was not seriously hurt by any of them. As for Marquez, he has been dropped by less powerful fighters such as Katsidis and Mayweather Jr. The bottom line is that both fighters have great solid beards and can take a good one.
SLIGHT EDGE : Manny Pacquiao
3) SPEED- Although we see Marquez working on his fast twitch muscles on 24/7, it will not make a difference come Saturday night. He will always be outgunned in the speed department against Pacquiao. Here's why : Pacquiao throws punches in bunches from different, unorthodox angles with blinding speed and there is nothing someone can do to prepare for that type of onslaught. Marquez throws crisp, accurate, well timed counter punches but nowhere near with the speed of Pacquiao.
Edge : Manny Pacquiao
4) CONDITIONING- We all see that Juan Manuel Marquez is ripped as a super hero costume. But there's a huge misconception in boxing that bigger muscles equal supreme conditioning which couldn't be further from the truth. This is not a body bulding contest, its a boxing match. Pacquiao is one of the best conditioned fighters in the history of the sport. When was the last time we saw Pacquiao gasping for air or pulling a De La Hoya and running at the end of a fight due to being gassed ? If memory serves me right, it's never happened. As for Marquez, he is fighting two weight classes above his normal weight and is 38 years old. I believe the extra pounds and his age will cause him to become fatigued like he did in the Mayweather Jr fight and make him slow in his attack as the fight wears on. This will open up the opportunity for Pacquiao to pummel him into submission in the later rounds. If Marquez was fighting at lightweight or super lightweight, i would say they are even. But the extra pounds will matter.
EDGE : Manny Pacquiao
5) DEFENSE- Manny Pacquiao has improved his defense since the first fight. He has added lateral movement and darts in and out of danger. You can even make a case that he can use his offense as his defense to keep opponents from opening up. As for Marquez, his defense is his offense. Although he is very adept at slipping the straight left and knows how to take a step back and punch with Pacquiao, he gets caught way too clean in exchanges and this will prove to be his demise again.
EDGE : Manny Pacquiao.PREDICTION : Juan Manuel Marquez will have his moments in this fight landing the straight right and using his counter punching ability but they will not have enough juice behind them since he is fighting in a weight class that is too high for him. He will always prove to be a tough fight for Manny because of his counter punching ability and ability to punch while Pacquiao is punching but the problem is that he has way too many things going against him. He is 38 years old, he gets hit way too clean, and is fighting in a weight class where he doesn't belong. I do not believe that his new S&C coach will make any difference. As for Nacho Beristain, he was seen in the 24/7 episode studying the first fight as if that is the same Manny Pacquiao that they will see on Saturday. Manny is a completely different fighter than he was in their first fight. He is not the same one handed fighter and has improved in all areas. I believe Manny will be able to land the check right hook in the early part of the fight and that will set up the straight left down the pipe. Manny's lateral movement will also trouble Marquez as this is something that Marquez is not used to. The end result will be another Manny Pacquiao victory in convincing fashion.
Article source: http://boxingtalk.com
