THE BREAKDOWN How Marquez Beat Pacquiao

Published

12 years ago

December 12, 2012

Lee Wylie

Marquez Pacquiao 121208 005a Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Juan Manuel Marquez finally got the elusive win that he’s craved for so long over his long-time rival, Manny Pacquiao. He did it by first dropping Pacquiao in the third and then finally for good in the dying moments of the sixth. It was an astonishing performance by Marquez, who had tasted the canvas himself mid-way through the fifth. Here, I’d like to touch on what both men did from a stylistic and tactical perspective only. {There are other issues surrounding the nature of the fight’s outcome that I’m in no position to reflect upon}.

Even though Pacquiao was able to land more visibly clean punches on Marquez during six rounds of this fight than he probably did during the entire third fight, he still never really managed to dominate the ring generalship, as once again, Pacquiao failed to cut the ring off on Marquez. Predictably, it was Marquez who seemed to be controlling the tempo. It was Marquez who was positioning Pacquiao where he wanted him to be. And it was Pacquiao who was reduced to following Marquez around the ring once more.

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Here, as was often the case in all three of their fights, Pacquiao is reduced to following Marquez around the ring. Notice as Pacquiao is looking to land his double jab/straight left hand combination, Marquez is simply turning with Pacquiao, staying on Pacquiao’s right shoulder and away from his trailing left hand. Moving in this direction keeps Pacquiao punching across himself in order to land his straight left.

The above sequence shows Manny Pacquiao at his most aggressive. For me, attacking in this way against Marquez plays directly into his counter-punching hands. Even though Marquez doesn’t land anything in return this time, notice how off-balance Pacquiao is after his failed attack. This is what eventually cost him the fight in the end.

If we think back to Pacquiao’s fight with Miguel Cotto, Pacquiao had a lot of success landing his straight left hand by punching with Cotto, sitting back more and almost playing the part of counter-puncher himself. Using feints to draw a reaction out from the counter-puncher and then countering them is a far more productive way of attacking them than simply rushing in blindly hoping to overwhelm them with volume. Counter-punching technicians like Marquez thrive on aggression.

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Here’s Pacquiao landing his trailing left hand inside of Cotto’s Jab. Notice how Pacquiao is dipping low and his head is taken away from the center line and to the outside of Cotto’s jab.

During the aftermath, many have claimed that Pacquiao was far too aggressive and this is how he was later knocked out by Marquez. This may be true in part, but in the early going of the fight, Pacquiao actually used more intelligence and relied more on his timing on offense, as opposed to all out aggression. Because Pacquiao was landing more frequently on Marquez than we’ve become accustomed to seeing him do lately, many were quick to put this down to Pacquiao being more aggressive, when in fact, he was actually displaying more patience. Pacquiao was still coming forward as usual, but unlike last time, he was punching less and feinting more. But because of the added head and shoulder feints, when he did decide to punch, he connected more often. Pacquiao’s feints in the early going worked extremely well for him. Juan Manuel Marquez is one of the greatest counter-punchers in boxing history. The staple of his game is to read and react to anything that his opponent does. Whenever Pacquiao was throwing head and shoulder feints, he was successful in drawing out an attack or a physical reaction from Marquez.

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Here, as Marquez responds to Pacquiao’s bending at the waist by throwing a jab, Pacquiao counters him by taking his head to the outside and landing a straight left hand inside of the Marquez jab. This was a far cry from Pacquiao’s usual “feet off the ground” attack. In this instance, Pacquiao’s feet are planted. Instead, it’s his upper body that’s creating the punching angle.

Here, as Marquez throws a jab, Pacquiao performs an outisde parry with his trailing hand and counters the counter-puncher with a right hook. Again, Pacquiao was landing more visibly clean shots than we were used to seeing him land against Marquez, but it wasn’t really aggression that allowed him to do it. Pacquiao was countering the counter-puncher.

By attacking in this way, Pacquiao is not directly in line to be hit with anything in return.

Here, Pacquiao is punching with Marquez. As Marquez is throwing his jab, Pacquiao is throwing his straight left hand. Because Pacquiao is dipping low and his head is off to the side, his straight left hand lands while Marquez’s jab misses the target.

Pacquiao continued to have success against Marquez by being less aggressive with his movement and more cerebral with his punching. So much so, that Marquez touched down in the fifth as a result.

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As Marquez is throwing the jab, Pacquiao is bending at the waist and off to his right, landing his straight left hand down the pipe, sending Marquez to the canvas.

For me, it was obvious that Marquez was looking for the knockout. But like Pacquiao, he did this by actually being less aggressive and more cerebral. By throwing less and feinting more, Marquez opened up his attacking options. It must be said, Marquez was simply brilliant in disguising his attack towards Pacquiao’s two main targets. If you think about the human body, the lower right side of the stomach and the left side of the face are about as far away a target as you can legally hit inside a boxing ring. Marquez attacked both of these targets by positioning himself in such a way that Pacquiao couldn’t tell what target Marquez was aiming at. Needless to say, because both targets are so far away from each other, the natural defenses for both shots aimed at these targets –the left hook to the body and the right hook to the head- are vastly different.

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Here, Marquez dips and feints low, which causes Pacquiao to react.

Both fighters are in the same position. As Marquez dips low, he continues forward and this time connects with a left hook to the lower right side of Pacquiao’s body.

Both fighters are in the same position. This time, Marquez occupies Pacquiao with a jab before feinting low and coming back up top with a right cross. Pacquiao is trapped in two minds –is it a body shot? Is it a hook? Pacquiao’s so busy thinking what to do with his hands, that he’s neglected his feet. Marquez’s lead foot is on the outside of Pacquiao’s, who is leaning back and on his heels.

Despite many in the media suggesting that this was a new offensive wrinkle from Marquez -a cross with a different arc attatched to it- Marquez has used the exact same shot before on Pacquiao. This was nothing new.

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Here’s Marquez stepping in with the exact same looping right cross in the third fight. Again, Pacquiao is leaning back and his feet are planted as Marquez manages to get his lead foot on the outside of Pacquiaio’s lead foot.

After Pacquiao had equaled things up by knocking Marquez down with a straight left hand in the fifth, we saw Pacquiao resort back to his usual ultra-aggressiveness against Marquez again. This is where the fight turned on its head. With Marquez probably in the most trouble he’d been in against his Filipino rival since the first round of the first fight, Pacquiao became overly aggressive in his eagerness to close the show. Up until then, even though Pacquiao still hadn’t really managed to avoid being directed onto Marquez’s right hand, it was Pacquiao who was on top and it was mainly because of how he used head and shoulder feints before throwing his straight left hand to open Marquez up. Now, all of a sudden, we saw Pacquiao’s signature foot feint/right jab/straight left hand attack come into play. All of a sudden, Pacquiao became predictable again.

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Here’s Pacquiao’s signature foot feint attack. Out of range, Pacquiao bounces in and throws a jab/straight left hand combination. Marquez easily blunted Pacquiao’s advance by taking a step back and using his left glove, almost performing an old technique called the stop hit.

The warning signs were there for Pacquiao. With Marquez now able to hurt and drop Pacquiao, the last thing Pacquiao should have done was throw caution to the wind in his quest for the knockout. During the final moments of the sixth round, with the crowd now in a frenzy as Pacquiao was looking to close the show behind wave after wave of attacks, one of the smartest technicians in boxing was also sensing closing time.

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Here’s Pacquiao coming in with another one of his signature feint attacks. As he feints and then steps in, Marquez takes his head off the the side and away from the center, and connects with a short right hand as Pacquiao is leaping in.

Disregarding any controversial rumours that may or not be true, Juan Manuel Marquez is one of the most cerebral technicians in boxing. During 36 rounds with Manny Pacquiao, you can guarantee that he will have soaked up every little Pacquiao nuance and embedded it into his boxing database. Earlier, I mentioned that a feint against the counter-puncher is one of the best tools a fighter can use in an attempt to unlock them. However, if that feint is no longer seen as an intended punch or an offensive maneuvre, and is actually recognized for what it is, then you are providing the counter puncher with familiarity and something to key off on. Something to counter.

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No disrespect to Shane Mosley, but he doesn’t possess the timing or ring IQ of Juan Manuel Marquez. Here, Mosley easily succumbs to Pacquiao’s foot feint attack. Frozen by the feint, Mosley can’t avoid the right hand follwed by a straight left.

Here’s another look at that stunning finish by Marquez.

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Contrast how Marquez countered Pacquiao’s attack compared to how Mosley did. Unlike Mosley, Marquez isn’t frozen by Pacquiao’s feint, instead treating it like an amber light on a set of traffic lights. Marquez has seen this attack time and time again from Pacquiao. In the past, Marquez has defensed it by redirecting it past his left shoulder or by ducking under it. Here, Marquez keys off Pacquiao’s stutter before the leap and connects with a right cross just as Pacquiao’s throwing his right hand. Marquez knows that Pacquiao’s right hand is nothing but a decoy before the straight left hand. Once Pacquiao feints, Marquez knew there was another move before Pacquiao launched his real attack.

Up until the point of the knockout, although Pacquiao seemed to be coming on strong, the fight was pretty much in hanging in the balance. I was really impressed with Pacquiao’s more controlled attacks and his improved upper body and head movement, as was I with Marquez’s continued ability to force Pacquiao into moving onto his right hand -this time by using a left hook to the body to go with his already excellent positional foot work- and also his timing.

Although many will argue that Pacquiao’s best moments came just after he knocked Marquez down, when he seemed to be on the verge of taking over the fight, this was the moment when he actually became most vulnerable to Marquez’s hard right hand counters.

The warning signs were there all along for Manny Pacquiao.

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Lee Wylie

The Ortiz-Bohachuk Thriller has been named the TSS 2024 Fight of The Year

Published

20 hours ago

December 25, 2024

Arne K. Lang

The-Ortiz-Bohachuk-Thriller-has-been-named-the-TSS-2024-Fight-of-the-Year

The Aug. 10 match in Las Vegas between Knockout artists Vergil Ortiz Jr and Serhii Bohachuk seemingly had scant chance of lasting the 12-round distance. Ortiz, the pride of Grand Prairie, Texas, was undefeated in 21 fights with 20 KOs. Bohachuk, the LA-based Ukrainian, brought a 24-1 record with 23 knockouts.

In a surprise, the fight went the full 12. And it was a doozy.

The first round, conventionally a feeling-out round, was anything but. “From the opening bell, [they] clobbered each other like those circus piledriver hammer displays,” wrote TSS ringside reporter David A. Avila.

In this opening frame, Bohachuk, the underdog in the betting, put Ortiz on the canvas with a counter left hook. Of the nature of a flash knockdown, it was initially ruled a slip by referee Harvey Dock. With the benefit of instant replay, the Nevada State Athletic Commission overruled Dock and after four rounds had elapsed, the round was retroactively scored 10-8.

Bohachuk had Ortiz on the canvas again in round eight, put there by another left hook. Ortiz was up in a jiff, but there was no arguing it was a legitimate knockdown and it was plain that Ortiz now trailed on the scorecards.

Aware of the situation, the Texan, a protégé of the noted trainer Robert Garcia, dug deep to sweep the last four rounds. But these rounds were fused with drama. “Every time it seemed the Ukrainian was about to fall,” wrote Avila, “Bohachuk would connect with one of those long right crosses.”

In the end, Ortiz eked out a majority decision. The scores were 114-112 x2 and 113-113.

Citing the constant adjustments and incredible recuperative powers of both contestants, CBS sports combat journalist Brian Campbell called the fight an instant classic. He might have also mentioned the unflagging vigor exhibited by both. According to CompuBox, Ortiz and Bohachuk threw 1579 punches combined, landing 490, numbers that were significantly higher than the early favorite for Fight of the Year, the March 2 rip-snorter at Verona, New York between featherweights Raymond Ford and Otabek Kholmatov (a win for Ford who pulled the fight out of the fire in the final minute).

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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Women’s Prizefighting Year End Review: The Best of the Best in 2024

Published

2 days ago

December 24, 2024

David A. Avila

Women’s Prizefighting Year End Review: The Best of the Best in 2024

It’s the end of the year.

Here are our awards for the best in women’s boxing. But first, a rundown on the state of the sport.

Maybe its my imagination but it seems that fewer female fights of magnitude took place in 2024 than in previous years.

A few promoters like 360 Promotions increased their involvement in women’s boxing while others such as Matchroom Boxing and Golden Boy Promotions seem stagnant. They are still staging female bouts but are not signing new additions.

American-based promotion company Top Rank, actually lost 50 percent of their female fighter roster when Seniesa Estrada, the undisputed minimumweight champion, retired recently. They still have Mikaela Mayer.

A promotion company making headlines and creating sparks in the boxing world is Most Valuable Promotions led by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian. They signed Amanda Serrano and have invested in staging other female fights

This year, the top streaming company Netflix gambled on sponsoring Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson, along with Amanda Serrano versus Katie Taylor and hit a monster home run. According to Netflix metrics an estimated 74 million viewers watched the event that took place on Nov. 16 at Arlington, Texas.

“Breaking records like this is exactly what MVP was built to do – bring the biggest, most electrifying events to fans worldwide,” said Nakisa Bidarian co-founder of MVP.

History was made in viewership and at the gate where more than 70,000 fans packed AT&T Stadium for a record-setting $17.8 million in ticket sales outside of Las Vegas. It was the grand finale moment of the year.

Here are the major contributors to women’s boxing in 2024.

Fighter of the Year: Amanda Serrano

Other candidates: Katie Taylor, Claressa Shields, Franchon Crews, Dina Thorslund, and Yesica Nery Plata.

Amanda Serrano was chosen for not only taking part in the most viewed female title fight in history, but also for willingly sacrificing the health of her eye after suffering a massive cut during her brutal war with Taylor. She could have quit, walked away with tons of money and be given the technical decision after four rounds. She was ahead on the scorecards at that moment.

Instead, Serrano took more punches, more head butts and slugged her way through 10 magnificent and brilliant rounds against the great Taylor. Fans worldwide were captivated by their performance. Many women who had never watched a female fight were mesmerized and inspired.

Serrano once again proved that she would die in the ring rather than quit. Women and men were awed by her performance and grit. It was a moment blazed in the memories of millions.

Amanda Serrano is the Fighter of the Year.

Best Fight of the Year – Amanda Serrano versus Katie Taylor 2

Their first fight that took place two years ago in Madison Square Garden was the greatest female fight I had ever witnessed. The second fight surpassed it.

When you have two of the best warriors in the world willing to showcase their talent for entertainment regardless of the outcome, it’s like rubbing two sticks of dynamite together.

Serrano jumped on Taylor immediately and for about 20 seconds it looked like the Irish fighter would not make the end of the first round. Not quite. Taylor rallied behind her stubborn determination and pulled out every tool in her possession: elbows, head butts, low blows, whatever was needed to survive, Taylor used.

It reminded me of an old world title fight in 2005 between Jose Luis Castillo a master of fighting dirty and Julio Diaz. I asked about the dirty tactics by Castillo and Diaz simply said, “It’s a fight. It’s not chess. You do what you have to do.”

Taylor did what she had to do to win and the world saw a magnificent fight.

Other candidates: Seniesa Estrada versus Yokasta Valle, Mikaela Mayer versus Sandy Ryan, and Ginny Fuchs vs Adelaida Ruiz.

KO of the Year – Lauren Price KO3 Bexcy Mateus.

Dec. 14, in Liverpool, England.

The IBO welterweight titlist lowered the boom on Bexcy Mateus sending her to the floor thrice. She ended the fight with a one-two combination that left Mateus frozen while standing along the ropes. Another left cross rocket blasted her to the ground. Devastating.

Other candidates: Claressa Shields KO of Vanessa LePage-Joanisse, Gabriela Fundora KO of Gabriela Alaniz, Dina Thorslund vs Mary Romero, Amanda Serrano KO of Stevie Morgan.

Pro’s Pro Award – Jessica Camara

Jessica Camara defeated Hyun Mi Choi in South Korea to win the WBA gold title on April 27, 2024. The match took place in Suwon where Canada’s Camara defeated Choi by split decision after 10 rounds.

Camara, who is managed by Brian Cohen, has fought numerous champions including Kali Reis, Heather Hardy and Melissa St. Vil. She has become a pro fighter that you know will be involved in a good and entertaining fight and is always in search of elite competition. She eagerly accepted the fight in South Korea against Choi. Few fighters are willing to do that.

Next up for Camara is WBC titlist Caroline Dubois set for Jan. 11, in Sheffield, England.

Electric Fighters Club

These are women who never fail to provide excitement and drama when they step in the prize ring. When you only have two-minute rounds there’s no time to run around the boxing ring.

Here are some of the fighters that take advantage of every second and they do it with skill:

Gabriela Fundora, Mizuki Hiruta, Ellie Scotney, Lauren Price, Clara Lescurat, Adelaida Ruiz, Ginny Fuchs, Mikaela Mayer, Yokasta Valle, Sandy Ryan, Chantelle Cameron, Ebanie Bridges, Tsunami Tenkai, Dina Thorslund, Evelin Bermudez, Gabriela Alaniz, Caroline Dubois, Beatriz Ferreira, and LeAnna Cruz.

Claressa Shields Movie and More

A motion picture based on Claressa Shields titled “The Fire Inside” debuts on Wednesday, Dec. 25, nationwide. Most boxing fans know that Shields has world titles in various weight divisions. But they don’t know about her childhood and how she rose to fame.

Also, Shields (15-0, 3 KOs) will be fighting Danielle Perkins (5-0, 2 KOs) for the undisputed heavyweight world championship on Sunday Feb. 2, at Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. DAZN will stream the Salita Promotions fight card.

“Claressa Shields is shining a spotlight on Flint – first on the big screen and then in the ring on Sunday, February 2,” said event promoter Dmitriy Salita, president of Salita Promotions. “Claressa leads by example. She is a trailblazer and has been an advocate for equality since she was a young lady. This event promises to be one of the most significant sporting and cultural events of the year. You don’t want to miss it, either live, in person or live on DAZN.”

Shields is only 29 years old and turns 30 next March. What more can she accomplish?

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Lucas Bahdi Forged the TSS 2024 Knockout of the Year

Published

3 days ago

December 23, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Lucas-Bahdi-Forged-he-RSS-2024-Knockout-of-the-Year

A Knockout of the Year doesn’t have to be a one-punch knockout, but it must arrive with the suddenness of a thunderclap on a clear day and the punch or punches must be so harsh as to obviate the need for a “10-count.” And, if rendered by an underdog, that makes the KO resonate more loudly.

Within these parameters, Lucas Bahdi’s knockout of Ashton “H2O” Sylva still jumped off the page. The thunderclap happened on July 20 in Tampa, Florida, on a show promoted by Jake Paul with Paul and the great Amanda Serrano sharing the bill against soft opponents in the featured bouts.

The 30-year-old Bahdi (16-0, 14 KOs) and the 20-year-old Sylva (11-0, 9 KOs) were both undefeated, but Bahdi was accorded scant chance of defeating Jake Paul’s house fighter.

Sylva was 18 years old and had seven pro fights under his belt, winning all inside the distance, when he signed with Paul’s company, Most Valuable Promotions, in 2022. “We believe that Ashton has that talent, that flashiness, that style, that knockout power, that charisma to really be a massive, massive, superstar…” said the “Problem Child” when announcing that Sylva had signed with his company.

Jake Paul was so confident that his protege would accomplish big things that he matched Sylva with Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield. Currently 18-0 and ranked #2 by the WBA, Schofield was further along than Sylva in the pantheon of hot lightweight prospects. But Schofield backed out, alleging an injury, opening the door to a substitute.

Enter Lucas Bahdi who despite his eye-catching record was a virtual unknown. This would be his first outing on U.S. soil. All of his previous bouts were staged in Mexico or in Canada, mostly in his native Ontario province. “My opponent may have changed,” said Sylva who hails from Long Beach, California, “but the result will be the same, I will get the W and continue my path to greatness.”

The first five rounds were all Sylva. The Canadian had no antidote for Sylva’s speed and quickness. He was outclassed.

Then, in round six, it all came unglued for the precocious California. Out of the blue, Bahdi stiffened him with a hard right hand. Another right quickly followed, knocking Sylva unconscious. A third punch, a sweeping left, was superfluous. Jake Paul’s phenom was already out cold.

Sylva landed face-first on the canvas. He lay still as his handlers and medics rushed to his aid. It was scarifying. “May God restore him,” said ring announcer Joe Martinez as he was being stretchered out of the ring.

The good news is that Ashton “H2O” Silva will be able to resume his career. He is expected back in the ring as early as February. As for Lucas Bahdi, architect of the Knockout of the Year, he has added one more win to his ledger, winning a 10-round decision on the undercard of the Paul vs Tyson spectacle, and we will presumably be hearing a lot more about him.

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