Manny Pacquaio’s Credentials

By Marcelo Ortigoza

Because of his tremendous knock out powered left fist, we can see on Sunday (Philippine dateline) Manny pressing Juan Manuel “Dinamita” by jabbing his right hand, and setting his left hand for a straight, hook, or uppercut.

Manuel Marquez’s credentials

As the less strong fighter, he will be back pedaling clockwise by sneaking his long right counter-punch every time Pacquaio unleashes his power left.
As Pacman chases him by sticking his right led jabs, Dinamita will answer them with his looping left straight or looping left hook that qualify more as a power punch than a stiff jab.

Weakness of Pacquaio

Tendency to lower his left hand by leveling it at his breast after he fired either his right straight or hook. The same with his right hand after he unleashed his jab. All of the said shortcomings weakened him in his 2004 campaign against Marquez. It was when the latter kept thrusting his bayonet like fist big time to all of those holes that jarred and slowed Pacquaio.
The justification of Manny that he broke his left hand thus slowed him was hogwash.
Judges in court have these barometers in gauging if a person was telling the truth. They call it Res Gestae and Ante letem motam. The first means startling occurrence, while the second means before a person had a motive to distort the truth as in before the lawsuit was brought.
In the post fight interview with Larry Merchant, the groping Pacquaio blamed his sock (Gee whiz, his sock?) as the culprit why he was not able to give the coup d’grace against Marquez who thrice somersaulted from his left fist. Later and up to present, he kept telling all and sundry that he broke his left fist. Question: If he broke his left fist, why he did not tell Merchant during the interview? Either Res Gestae or Ante letem motam can explain the credibility of his latest statement.

Was the broken fist just sheer crap justification? Or was it Marquez’s calculated aggression and counter-punching that beat Pacman if one looks at the computer box statistics?

What Pacman should do

Since Marquez is the sharpshooter to hit any parts of the head or body of Manny, the latter should hide in a sandbag (i.e: gloves and forearms). This strategy will deflect most of the counterpunching of Marquez as he backpedaled to avoid the sneaking left power punch of his opponent..
This has scientific basis. It was tried by the less powerful and bleeding Rocky Juarez against Marquez a year ago. We saw there Marquez’s backtracking on this tactics as against Marco Barrera’s in and out style of aggression.
Manny is more qualified to emulate this since he got a Katsuka rocket propels grenade on his left hand.

What Marquez should do

If Pacman brings him the said iron-curtain-defense. Then Marquez can do this shell-shock cover too. Nedal Hussein had done this against Pacman in Antipolo, Philippines years ago. He knocked down the latter with his straight from the pipe left fist sneak attacked in the early round.

But the fight was controversially stopped by the Philippine sanctioned referee Carlos Padilla that resulted to the likewise controversial victory of Pacquaio.
With the above scenarios use by both pugs, Will we be seeing a Castillo-Corrales I? The one who has the superiority for an accurate uppercut or hook prevails.
As what economics guru Adam Smith said:” To the inefficient, perish!”

 RICHARD SCHAEFER

Pacquaio-Marquez II: A pre-fight analysis

By Marcelo Ortigoza

If you look at the first encounter between Manny “Pacman” Pacquaio and Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez last May 9, 2004, the former was a one handed boxer who only banked on his lethal left fist as his right hand acted as a jab cum decoy to set up his left hand for the kill.

Despite Pacquaio’s knock down of Marquez thrice in the first round, the latter exploited the holes in his guard by unleashing big right straight counter punches as he either left hooked or left upper-cuted the almost undefended Pacman.

Manny was also destructed by the stiff left jabs of Marquez that made the former lose his balance to fire his left fist straight from the pipe. Pacman was sometimes in quandary whenever Dinamita hit him with his anti-aircraft gun like salvos of punches to his head and body, reminiscent of Floyd Mayweather Jr. disorientation’s of Ricky Hatton.

The counter-puncher technician in Marquez obviously confused Manny, and robbed him of his timing. After his draw with Marquez up to present, Pacquaio was transformed by trainer Freddie Roach to a patient, calculating, weaving, and bobbling pug. His right hand was minted not only for jab work, but used as a power punch too.

Despite this improvement, the prowess of the said hand still remains to be seen.
In general however, Pacquaio is still a one-dimensional boxer who depends on his left hand. Still a factor, cause it is this same left hand that made the likes of Oscar Larios, Jorge Solis, Eric Morales, and Antonio Barrera detestably avoids it like a fugitive does a policeman.

Comparative Advantages of Pacquaio in this rematch

Has a rapid and powerful killer left hook. A deadly straight left hand and left uppercut – all of them an undertaker’s dream of what should be a prosperous material life.

Opponents like Barrera I &II, Morales II & III, were victims of his knock out power, as the lost their composure and preoccupied themselves with running clockwise from him. The speed of his body punches could be likened to a Surface to Air Missile (SAM). After Barrera II, renowned trainer and boxing commentator Emmanuel Steward said of Pacquaio: “He still stays out of balance, his style out of positions. But he is still aggressive. Punches are authoritative. He got away with that!”

Comparative advantages of Marquez in this rematch

His overstretch right straight counter and immediately interjected by his overstretch left straights or hooks is as fast as a round of burst from a Russian made AK-47.

Has a strong left jab that could qualify as left hand straight. His body punches are fast as a moving elevator that stops as double punctuation marks at the face of his opponent. Very good in a phone-booth encounter - as his right and left uppercuts can treacherously and accurately hit even the heads of his opponents.
Marquez is a consummate counter puncher-boxer.

Handicapped of Pacquaio

After he unleashed his powerful left straight hand, he returned it to position at the level of his breast thus his left face is open to a counter right punch from his opponent – a Marquez’s specialty. The same right face vulnerability after he fired his right jabs that he leveled at this breast

After he fired his left hooks, it was noticeable that he sometimes stopped momentarily as if contemplating for somebody in the Philippine’s version of Hollywood . A weakness that is conducive to a counter-attack.
The right jabs of his opponent can destruct him.

Handicapped of Marquez

After he unleashed his counterpunches, he lowered his right hand at the level of his breast, thus his vulnerability to Barrera’s successive left hooks at his right face.

Was defenseless after Barrera shots a volley of punches then tied him up. See Round 9 of their tussle. Opponents have fired combos at his face or body then danced away from his expected counterpunches - as what Chris John and Barrera had done.

His counter punches that act as his iron-curtain could be penetrated by just doing what Rocky Juarez had done to him. Used the gloves and forearms as fortification for the head and body and hit him with a jab then followed by a power punch. In the Juarez fight, Marquez was in many occasions at the retreat since many of his counterpunches landed to naught on the forearm and gloves of the former who was pressing his will. It was reminiscent of Winky Wright?

What Pacquaio should do

Counter the counter-puncher in Marquez. After he fires his counter right straight, Pacquaio should give Dinamita a dose of his own medicine by vigorously countering him with his sledge-hammer left straight. His technique of counterclockwise movements’ paid off as he cut and fired at orthodox styled opponents (in Morales I & II, and Barrera II) who avoid his left like plague in a clockwise manner.
Emulate what Juarez had done to Marquez. Manny is more in the position to smoke-out Marquez in this mode of combat since he has a KO power!
Just hide under the comfort of his forearm and gloves every time Marquez rally back with a volley of firepower.
Be an effectively aggressive fighter by pressing the enemy to the ropes. Judges at Vegas are fond of the fire-breathing hunter than the counter-punching hunted as seen on Spinks-Taylor, Pavlik-Taylor II, and of course the Marquez-Barrera tussle where the latter chose to stick, attack, dance, and probably thought unloaded the most punches but still lost the fight.


What Marquez should do

After Pacman shot his right jabs Marquez counter it with his big left straight.
After the former shot his left straight, latter counter it with his big right straight, then follow by either a right hook or uppercut.
A barrage of left jabs at the right face of Pacman can slow him down
at the same time destruct him in setting up of his left bomb.
Of course avoid Pacman’s left by running clockwise and be wary of the impending ambush to a counter clockwise or horizontally right moving Pacquaio.
Every elite Mexican boxer has tried all of the above mentioned craps to the Filipino superman to nothing.

My poser: Why not Marquez try a Bernard Hopkins (against Tarver and Wright), or a Mayweather Jr. (against dela Hoya and Hatton) by crowding and tying the Pacman after Marquez hit him with his punches? Or frustrate his left hand to operate by holding it or whatever. Will it culture shock Pacman that he will eventually lose the fight?
Or do a shell-covered bombs proof Winky Wright style (against the hard punching Tito Trinidad) and retain the WBC Super Featherweight diadem.

(Note: the author is the in-house analyst of U.S based boxingladiators.com and official commentator of Bombo-Radyo Global on the Pacquaio-Marquez Rematch in Las Vegas this coming March 16, 2008. Send comments to totomortz@yahoo.com)