It's PACMAN again...

Based on Philippine daily Inquirer..
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080317-125135/Pacquiao-dethrones-foe

By Roy Luarca
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:39:00 03/17/2008


LAS VEGAS—His blinking nearly did Manny Pacquiao in. But he scraped through and was champion again—by one point on one judge’s scorecard.

With blood dripping from a cut above his right eye and unable to fully see the punches being thrown at him, Pacquiao leaned on instinct and a big heart to get through a dangerous eighth round against Juan Manuel Marquez.

The Filipino survived the Mexican’s assault, regained his bearings in the late rounds, and wrested Marquez’s World Boxing Council super featherweight crown by a split decision Saturday at the Events Center of Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino here.

For a while, Filipinos in the crowd fell silent when it was announced that judge Jerry Roth had scored the fight, 115-112, for Marquez.

They saw hope when another judge, Duane Ford, gave the fight to Pacquiao, also by 115-112, and then erupted in celebration when the third judge, Tom Miller, delivered the clinching verdict, 114-113, for the Filipino ring icon.

The former WBC flyweight and IBF super bantamweight champion thus became the first Asian to hold three world crowns in three different divisions.

Pacquiao’s victory in the bout dubbed “Unfinished Business” was as close as their first fight in May 2004, when Marquez recovered from three first-round knockdowns to salvage a draw. This time, Pacquiao floored Marquez only once, connecting with a brutal left straight to the chin in the third round.

Marquez wants rematch

But again, the Mexican fought back, had the bleeding, blinking Pacquiao in trouble in the eighth and later said that he was again robbed of victory after the bloody bout that sent both warriors to their doctors immediately afterward.

It was so close that as soon as the final bell sounded, both fighters were boosted into the air by their handlers, each side certain of victory. In the end, the verdict went Pacquiao’s way—a sort of a payback for a judge’s scoring error that denied the Filipino hero a victory in their first encounter in 2004.

After contesting the result of Sunday’s fight, the Marquez camp asked for a rematch. But a third fight was unlikely at the moment as Pacquiao seemed bent on climbing up to the lightweight division, where he may challenge WBC champion David Diaz.

“I don’t think so,” Pacquiao said of a third fight with Marquez. “This business is over.”

“It was a close fight, but we came back at the end,” said Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach. “It could have gone either way, in my mind. Manny followed him around the ring too much. He didn’t cut off the ring like he should have. Marquez may have had a lot to do with that as well. Manny was more disciplined in training than he was in the fight tonight.”

10 stitches

Pacquiao, who also staggered Marquez in the fourth round, raised his record to 46 wins, 36 by knockout, against three losses and two draws.

Marquez, who surprised Pacquiao with new movements and stronger punches, fell to 48-4-1, with 38 knockouts.

In conquering Marquez, Pacquiao buttressed his reputation as the “Mexican Assassin,” having also mastered future Hall of Famers Erik Morales (twice in three bouts) and Marco Antonio Barrera (twice), as well as other topnotch Mexican fighters, like Oscar Larios, Hector Velasquez and Jorge Solis.

Pacquiao’s two superficial cuts from accidental head butts required 10 stitches to close, according to Dr. Jeffrey Ross, who attended to him after the match.

Marquez, despite being examined by the ring physician late in the seventh round, needed eight stitches and appeared at a post-fight press conference before Pacquiao arrived.

$6-M offer

There, Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions that handles Marquez’s career, made a $6-million offer for a Pacquiao-Marquez III. But Bob Arum, president and CEO of Top Rank, refused to bite.

Showing up in dark shades later, Pacquiao thanked God, the Filipino people and even the Marquez camp for giving him a tough fight.

“He (Marquez) was a lot better, with move improvements and was a better counterpuncher,” Pacquiao said, admitting that he got worried in the eighth as he could hardly see with blood dripping on his eyes.

‘It’s all about heart’

“But I know I could handle his power so I never thought of quitting. It’s about heart, brave heart.”

Marquez also showed a lot of heart in getting up from the knockdown in the third.

And, statistically, he looked better than Pacquiao. He landed more punches with 171 to Pacquiao’s 157. He also delivered more power punches, 130 against Pacquiao’s 114.

The knockdown made the difference in the closely scored match as it left a lasting impression on the judges. Pacquiao’s strong performance in the 10th and 11th rounds also helped him through.

The bloody ending was a sharp contrast to the festive atmosphere—characterized by chants of “Manny, Manny” and “Mexico, Mexico”—before the bout that drew 11,061 paying fans began.

Prayers answered

Cris Aquino carried the Philippine flag, while Bacolod City Mayor Bing Leonardia brought Pacquiao’s WBC international super featherweight belt into the ring.

Ciara Sotto sang the Philippine national anthem while Black Eyed Peas member Allan Pineda, aka Apl.d.ap, delivered a popular rap song as Pacquiao made his entrance in the arena.

Wearing his trademark cloak, Pacquiao rushed to a corner immediately after ascending the ring and knelt to pray. His plea was apparently answered.

Aside from an estimated revenue of $8 million from PPV (pay-per-view) earnings, gate receipts and the purse, he stands to earn more in the coming days in terms of endorsements and appearances.

‘I gave everything I had’

Interviewed on radio dzBB in Manila after the fight, Pacquiao said he suffered two cuts around the eyes and they bothered him. “I could not concentrate, I could no longer see,” he said.

But he said he told himself to hang on and not give up “even if you (Marquez) hurt me, even if you batter me, even if you knock me out.”

“It would have been a shame to give up in front of my countrymen,” Pacquiao said.

He added: “I told myself, ‘Even if I could not see your punches, I will just duck and evade them … But I am going to keep on punching if you get near me even if I couldn’t see’ … I gave it everything I had.”

Toughest fight

Pacquiao conceded the fight was the hardest he had been through but it was worth it.

He said he was dedicating his fight to his countrymen. Apparently referring to the political divisions in his country. Pacquiao added: “My only appeal is for all of us to be united. We are all one family and we have to be together … Now that I have won, let us have unity.”

Marquez thought he won.

“I still feel I am the champion,” he said. “It was a bad decision. That first knockdown, he got me cold, but then I adjusted my game plan and I thought from then on, I dictated the whole fight. … The people are the best judge, and the people are booing him. I won.” With a report from Associated Press