Manny Pacquiao vs. Marquez: Possible Upset Is Not Merely Hype

I understand what you jaded sports fans are thinking—there is no way this upcoming fight will live up to the hype. Well, this being boxing you would be right 99 percent of the time. But Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez is a one percent sort of affair. 

The third installment in a trilogy is never as good as you make out. You normally get Ewoks mucking up what could be the best trilogy ever. 

What ailed Star Wars will hardly serve to derail this affair. What scares most boxing fans is that we may be looking at another Shane Mosley in the eye when they look at Marquez, a fighter that has no intention of mixing it up next Saturday. 

Or we may even be looking at an Antonio Margarito, a boxer that is severely overmatched. Both instances would deliver a bout not worth the gaudy price of Pay-Per-View. 

Marquez is a boxer that can nearly match Pacquiao's speed, but can surely match every single ounce of his will. The rest of the way is made up for by Marquez's immense knowledge of Pac-Man in the ring. 

Most enter with the thought that no man can be that fast or stingy on defense. The first couple rounds are met with sheer confusion. Marquez has already been there and knows his way around the ring with Pacquiao. 

Marquez knows exactly what to expect and how to take this fight to the ultimate distance. That fact is precisely why Pacquiao is killing himself in training for this bout. 

The last thing he wants is for Marquez to derail what could be a storybook ending to a career. Pacquiao will be looking to end this fight before it gets to the cards. If it gets that far, an upset becomes a very real possibility. 

The best part for boxing fans is that Marquez knows exactly how to take this thing to the judges. For us, we are guaranteed a fine boxing match, something that is all too rare nowadays.