Early morning of Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao’s fight against Juan Manuel Marquez hubby was awake…no, he actually didn’t sleep that whole night. Good thing it was Sunday so he can make up for it. My first question seeing him there typing on the pc was “who won?” His reply was…Manny but it’s not convincing. I logged onto facebook at noon and I’ve read that many of my friends have the same reaction as hubby (others are not fans so there are those statuses too while others stated how crime rate has gone down again that day in the Philippines).
Later that night, I watched the fight with hubby (perhaps his 4th lol) and I’d say just as others did that he seem to have difficulties connecting his punches but hey, he surely did. It’s quite obvious how swollen Marquez’ face was as Manny targeted it more often than any part of his body. It’s obvious that Manny’s punches were heavier especially his left being a southpaw. But boxing is not if the opponent looked beaten at the end, unless of course if knocked-down, the one left standing is proclaimed winner.
There are four ways to determine a boxer’s win; if the opponent is knocked out and unable to get up before the referee counts to ten seconds (a knockout, or KO), if the opponent is deemed unable to continue (a Technical Knockout, or TKO), if an opponent is disqualified for breaking a rule, or a winner is determined either by the referee’s decision or by judges’ scorecards at the end of the rounds (per wiki).
How do scorecards go?
Last Saturday’s bout was decided via the last method. The crowd at MGM Grand, LasVegas booed and threw bottles at the ring to show dismay about the judges’ decision in favor of Pacquiao. It was clear, from viewers that is, that rounds 2-5 were really dominated by Marquez. Then again there are 12 rounds in a bout so if Marquez dominated say 5 rounds, they tie up for three and Manny has the upperhand for the other 4, would it make Marquez the winner? Gone were the days when a referee or judge score bouts by the number of rounds won. To improve the reliability of scoring, two ringside judges were added besides the referee, and the winner was decided by majority decision. It has then been a common practice for all three judges to be ringside observers, though the referee still has the authority to stop a fight or deduct points (part wiki). Point deduction would be in cases pf fouls which include the following: hitting below the belt, holding, tripping, pushing, biting, or spitting, kicking, head-butting, or hitting with any part of the arm other than the knuckles of a closed fist (including hitting with the elbow, shoulder or forearm, as well as with open gloves, the wrist, the inside, back or side of the hand). Fouls also include hitting the back, back of the neck or head (called a “rabbit-punch”) or the kidneys…and more.
The Pacquiao-Marquez bout was decided with two judges having one boxer (Manny) winning the fight and the third judge scores it a draw – a majority decision. Stats say judges Glenn Trowbridge (116-112) and Dave Moretti (115-113) for Pacquiao. Robert Hoyle gave 114-114 thus a draw.
For a detailed round by round pointing, please click here. Anyhow, Manny was quoted that he was having cramps during the fight. How do cramps get to you? I hope it’s not because an opponent stomps on your feet!
Well, we can’t really turn back time to make Pacman fight his best or scold and penalize Marquez for the stepping-on-Pacman’s foot or the accidental headbutt that caused Manny an eyebrow cut. The judges saw clearly what we didn’t – deducted the scores as they should and proclaimed Pacman winner, no haters, no regrets, it’s just a game.
