If At First You Don't Succeed....

The Aftermath of Marquez vs Pacquiao

Days after the classic war between Marquez and Pacquiao, I am still in shock. I was not expecting a shootout and certainly was not expecting it to end in such brutal fashion, especially with Pacquiao face down motionless on the canvas. This proves that you never quit and no matter what, you go down fighting and that is what Marquez intended to do, knock Pacquiao out, or get knocked out trying.

Just last night I was standing in the checkout line and I heard several people carrying on about the fight.  It is rare that I get the chance to just hang out and talk boxing so I generally take every advantage, or force my friends and relatives to listen to me and pretend to care. I cannot remember the last time I heard people discuss boxing in the most random places, so instead of interjecting, I just listened gleefully.

This has possibly set up a fifth fight between the two. Now, 6 months ago I would have sighed and groaned about a fifth fight but now? I am all for it, and for many reasons. It would be huge for boxing, that is first and foremost, also, it should be another great fight. Marquez now knows that he end Manny with a single shot and while Manny has not knocked Marquez out, he has knocked him down a total of five times. While the boxing world was clamoring for Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, that has now passed and Mayweather will likely go down in history as the man who refused to fight Pacquiao. I know all the excuses that it was this and that, anything but Mayweather holding that fight up. Well, who cares now? Mayweather and Pacquiao are both passed their respective primes, Mayweather more so than Pacquiao, who wants to see that?

Marquez and Pacquiao were made for one another and now that they let it all hang out, we know how exciting the fifth fight will likely be. Marquez has to prove that it wasn't a fluke or lucky punch and Pacquiao has to prove that it was a lucky punch. In my opinion this fight is far more lucrative than a Pac-May matchup. Marquez is now the man who brutally knocked out Pacquiao and everyone wants to see it happen again or see Pacquiao get revenge. I also think that Marquez has essentially ended any desire for a Pac-May fight, even if it does happen, it has lost quite a bit of luster.

Simply put, a fifth fight would be great for boxing. The legends on their way out need to set the tone for those stepping into their place, and last Saturday both Pacquiao and Marquez set a pretty high bar. We may not have succeeded in getting a Mayweather vs Pacquiao matchup, but Marquez gave us an alternative, a seemingly better one too.