Let the Pacquiao-Marquez Rematch Happen
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 03 Apr 2007
Veteran observers of the fight game have seen this scenario time and time again. A boxer is just one punch away from turning his life around or one fight away from escaping boxing purgatory.
Juan Manuel Marquez has been playing second fiddle to his more popular countrymen, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales. It was not because of inadequacy of talent. Lack of marketability, maybe. Management decisions definitely played a role. The disaster in Indonesia was proof of that.
Around three months ago, I wrote an article entitled “Does Pacquiao need Marquez?”. During that time Marquez was in limbo and later on did struggle a bit against Jimrex Jaca. While Pacquiao, thanks to his demolition of Erik Morales was on top of the world.
Now Marquez is back in the limelight. Thanks to the failure of staging the highly anticipated Pacquiao-Barrera rematch, Marquez grabbed the opportunity and once again established himself among the boxing elite as well as winning another title belt. True, it may not have been as impressive as Pacquiao’s one-sided TKO win over Barrera in 2003, but it was enough to grab the public’s attention once again. Juan Manuel has shown that given the chance, he can be as good as any pound per pound fighter out there.
But that is not the only reason why I want the rematch to happen. For the past two months, boxing has received another black eye due to the series of malodorous decisions that have once again surfaced in title fights.
This is not new to veteran observers and fans. Boxing has been the subject of negative metaphors and adjectives for decades. But if we consider the fact that the mass popularity of the sport has dwindled in the U.S. and Europe, more people will certainly be turned off. Shady characters inhabit both the amateur and professional sides of the sport. Maybe the only reason that it has remained popular in developing countries is that boxing is still seen as a way to get out of poverty. But then, just how many boxers really make it?
Manny Pacquiao has given thousands of new fans to the sport in the Philippines. But these new converts are fickle. They will lose interest if the so called next wave will continue to be at the receiving end of crooked judging.
It will boil down to what the fans want. Honesty and fair play still count in this messed up world. Fans also want quality match-ups and quality fights. Pacquiao vs. Solis is as predictable as having rice in a Filipino meal. Marquez defending against the usual suspects is stale taco. We have seen what he does with second tier fighters.
It was not a long time ago that Arturo Gatti-Mickey Ward trilogy gave fans a thrill ride for the ages. To think that they were not fighting for a title and earned only a fraction of what the sport’s superstars earned. We can only hope for boxing’s sake that Oscar dela Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather will not turn out to be a stinker.
But Pacquiao-Marquez II is also a blockbuster in the making. The ongoing pissing contest between Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank could be a hindrance but then again when there is money to be made, in this case millions, I am sure they can settle things. Money is the bottom line after all.
Pacquiao cannot fight forever. If the supposedly next wave of Filipino pugilists will continue to be at the receiving end of ring robberies, then you can add the Philippines to the list of countries with a dwindling boxing fan base.
Pacquiao-Marquez II would reenergize the sport and hopefully save boxing’s stinking image.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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