THE MARQUEZ PUZZLE (PART III)
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 20 Sep 2012
Juan Manuel Marquez squared it off with Manny Pacquiao for three fights in three different weight categories, for the IBF featherweight title, WBC super featherweight title and WBO welterweight title, respectively.
After those 36 rounds they had squared off, there seemed to be an unfinished business again and again. They have undergone 108 minutes of never-say-die fighting stance. In the first encounter, the judges saw it 115-110 for Pacquiao, 115-110 for Marquez and 113-113 even for a split draw. In the rematch, the scorecards were as follows: 115-112 and 114-113 for Pacquiao, and 115-112 for Marquez for a split decision in favor of Pacquiao. In the third fight, the scores went 115-113, 114-114, 116-112 majority decision for Pacquiao.
Summing up the scores would give a total of 1024 points for Pacquiao and 1017 for Marquez, a measly 7 point difference, sbnation.com summarized. And it only shows how evenly matched the two protagonists are.
The training of Marquez is focused on developing his speed to match the swiftness of Pacquiao. The fight with Pacman is all about quickness and his trainers admitted that Marquez must be as quick as Pacquiao. The training is designed to improve on his speed and ?he's definitely gonna be fast, real quick, and he's definitely gonna be strong."
From ESPN.com, a typical training day for Marquez: ?As I have done for all my fights, I start very early. At 4 in the morning, I wake up and go for my morning jog. I arrive at the place where I usually run at about 5 a.m. Once there, I work on my abs for a while. I do three series of about 300 sit-ups each.?
?Then I start running, for about 5 kilometers at full speed,? Marquez added. ?Then I go home, rest for a while, have a little breakfast, rest again, and then I go out at about 11 a.m. and head for the gym. There I train for about two and a half hours, almost three.?
His training in the gym includes sparring, hitting the heavy bag, mitts and aerobic exercises. ?I go into the hyperbaric chamber at around 4 p.m. and I stay there for about an hour. The hyperbaric chamber is handled as if you were a diver. It is set at a certain depth, as if you were submerged in the ocean, for example,? Marquez explained. ?There, they manage the pressure and they put an oxygen mask on you, where you breathe all that oxygen for an hour or more. Doing this, you send oxygen to your body, your organs, your blood. It is very important for an athlete.?
A hyperbaric chamber is a machine which employs pumps and valves to recreate the greater air pressure experienced by divers under water. Pure oxygen or sometimes other saturated gas mixtures may be supplied into the hyperbaric chamber for medical purposes.
Marquez added, ?And when I leave the hyperbaric chamber, I just go back home and rest. This goes on during the entire training process. My days are like this, one after the other. Everything is going to be like this during the next few weeks. Get up early in the morning, run, go to the gym, with no changes until the day of the fight.?
The Mexican fighter was generally considered to be over-the-hill before the third Pacquiao fight. But Marquez showed great tenacity in showing to the whole world why he is considered to be Pacman?s great nemesis. He has won the ire of many Filipinos and lots of Pacquiao fans all over the world. But deep inside, most of them appreciate Marquez? ageless wonders.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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