By Charles Jay
* Yes, I do think that Juan Manuel Marquez did some “little things” that were not noticed, or recognized, by the judges the other night. Things like throwing body shots, for instance.
Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank
* When Harold Lederman, a guy I respect, talks about the four things that should govern the judging of fights, one of those things is EFFECTIVE aggressiveness. Pacquiao may have THROWN more punches, but if such aggressiveness was effective, he would have laid some hurt on Marquez. He didn’t.
* As for “ring generalship,” when you take the other guy out of his fight, it should count for something in that category. Pacquiao did not fight his fight, while it seemed Marquez did whatever he had to in order to give himself the best chance. That’s an edge to Marquez right there.
* No, this fight was not a “masterpiece.” In fact, I was kind of disappointed in the action itself.
* It’s interesting how many people I’ve talked to, who previously liked Pacquiao, have turned against him. In a way, he’s a victim of circumstance. There’s this sense of justice among boxing fans that is different than fans in a lot of other sports, in that in the end, they just want the right guy to win, and they’re angry when he doesn’t. We’ve got some very angry fans and very angry writers out there. He may also be a victim of his own massive builup, because any hint of a stumble is a tremendous letdown for people. But don’t blame HIM all that much, just because he won a controversial decision.
* Trainers always talk about how their fighter had “his best training camp ever.” But if Freddie Roach really meant that about this last training camp, what does that say, in the wake of Saturday night’s fight?
* Yes, Emanuel Steward was right. Marquez had a very real chance, and it should not have been a surprise to have seen him pull that decision out. Styles make fights, and I was off the mark to think he was going to be taken out. then again, Pacquiao wasn’t as brazen in this fight as he has been against some of the more limited guys he has fought in recent years.
* Maybe it was an optical illusion, but Marquez looked physically bigger to me. Maybe that is the result of working with Angel Heredia (aka Angel Hernandez)?
* Do you think Pacquiao’s people might have pushed for extra testing, in retrospect?
* Does anyone wonder why they didn’t?
* Do you think that if they fight again, they will?
* Somebody put out a tweet that Pacquiao and his own conditioning guy, Alex Ariza, had some sort of an argument in the hotel the day of the fight. I don’t know how they could have come across such information, but do you think somebody may have forgotten something?
* It seemed to me that Pacquiao did a lot more bunny-hopping than he has in recent fights. Is that the kind of thing that impresses judges?
* How many times have you heard that when there is a very close decision in a fight in Las Vegas, the decision usually goes with the money? I’m not saying that’s what happened here, but those of you who felt Marquez got ripped off probably are thinking that way right now.
* I always think it’s funny, and kind of strange, when a guy gets asked a question in English and responds in Spanish, without the interpreter. C’mon, why not give it a shot? Yes, I know the answer – because some guys just feel more comfortable in their native tongue. But after giving the TV audience a pre-fight interview in English, and being applauded for it by the HBO crew, why couldn’t Marquez do the post-fight interview that way, when much more important questions were being asked?
* Why does HBO go through the whole charade of “judging the judges” by running down how many championship fights they’ve done? If you live in Nevada, or New Jersey, you are going to do a lot of title fights simply by happenstance. And if you live somewhere else and have done a lot of championship fights, it might just be a matter of being well-connected politically. So what does it matter? Does it take a whole lot more talent to judge a title fight than a four-round fight, when it comes right down to it?
* Max Kellerman of HBO made a good point when he said that in this incredible run he’s had, Pacquiao hadn’t really been challenged in too many of those fights, but was certainly being challenged on Saturday night.
So where will the next “challenge” come from?
