PACQUIAO AIMS FOR AN EMPHATIC FINISH
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 04 Dec 2012
LOS ANGELES (PNA via PCSO) ? What does a point amount to?
For eight-division world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, a single point cost him what could have been a victory in his first fight with Juan Manuel Marquez in 2004 that ended in a draw when judge Burt Clements scored the opening round 10-7 instead of 10-6 on the strength of the Filipino dropping the Mexican three times.
Clements admitted his mistake later and apologized for his miscue but the damage had been done as Pacquiao could only settle for 2-0-1 win-loss-draw record in his historic trilogy with Marquez counting his split decision win in their second fight and a majority verdict in the third only a year ago.
Had judge Clements scored the first round in the first fight correctly, Pacquiao could have gone home a victor, and ended the rivalry toting an immaculate 3-0 slate.
Chief trainer Freddie Roach protested the draw result to no avail though.
That error in scoring, too, emboldened the Mexican four-division belt-owner to declare to all those who care to listen and believe that he won that bout as well as the second and third.
Why, Marquez even had the temerity to travel to the Philippines before the third encounter wearing a T-Shirt with ?Marquez Beat Pacquiao Twice? printed on it to convince Pacquiao?s compatriots that, indeed, he was ?robbed? of those triumphs.
Pacquiao though, ever a gentleman as he is, has been decent enough to ignore and not affected by his arch-rival?s unsportsmanlike behavior despite the long nine years of the latter?s tantrum.
?Well, this is the reason why there is gonna be a fourth fight. ?Not only to erase all the doubts that marked the previous fight s but also para matigil na ang mga panalalait nila hindi lamang sa akin personally, but also to the entire Filipino nation,? the soft-spoken father of four with wife Jinkee told People?s Journal on the eve of his departure to Las Vegas where he will fight Marquez anew this coming Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
?No, I?m not mad at him. Alam mo naman, may kasabihan tayong mga Pilipino, ang mapikon talo,? he said with his trademark wide smile. ?Hindi ako magpapatalo sa kanya at patutunayan ko sa buong mundo ang dalawang panalo ko ay hindi daya. Sa tutoo lang, dapat tatlo nay yun.?
?Not only that, I have to defend our people who, he also insulted by saying I robbed him of victories. Hind ako mandaraya at lalong hindi mandaraya ang lahi natin,? he stressed.
?That is why I am again dedicating this fight to our country and our countrymen. Just tell them I won?t disappoint them this time.?
?For the past six or seven weeks, I have been working sweat and blood for this fight because I know I have to prove something not only for myself but also for them, ? he quipped with fire in his eyes. ?I have been running on the road for miles starting in General Santos, sparring for more than a hundred rounds and doing the mitts as many times.?
?Reports are that he?s also preparing hard to prove that he really beat me three times. He was also quoted as saying he?ll be fighting aggressively this time. Well and good because that means he?ll be going after me,? Pacquiao said. ?I like that kasi hindi ko na siya hahabol-habulin like our previous three meetings.?
?Sabi niya patutulugin daw niya ako. Ako rin ang plano namin ay patulugin siya. And that is what we, members of my training staff, have been working hard for and I believe I have more chance of doing that based on our records.?
?Sa unang laban namin, pinatumba ko siya tatlong beses. Sa pangalawa, isang beses. I failed to knock him down in the third fight but I proved to have landed the most punches, including the hard ones,? he reminisced. ?My point is, having sent him down four times, I believe I am capable of finishing him off.?
?Siya, hindi pa niya ako napapabagsak. I think he needs more than what he?s done in our initial fights to even knock me down. The more if he wants to really stop me. Let?s just see comes Saturday,? Pacquiao said. Ang alam ko I will remain the man standing after the fight.?
(TOP PHOTO ? Pacquiao after a recent training session with Roach at the Wild Card Gym, photo by Wendell Rupert Alinea ? via PCSO)
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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