By Niall Doran
Just got done watching the highlights of Marquez v Pacquiao and what a fight! I for one hold my hand up and admit I got it wrong. I thought Pacquiao would have this one but what a punching display from Marquez! The fight proved to be action packed for the 6 rounds it lasted with both fighters happy to go toe to toe. Marquez dropped Manny with a heavy right hand in the third and you could tell that Manny was hurt but showed great heart to fight on. And fight on he did, hurting Marquez numerous times and dropping him with a powerful left hand in the fifth. Marquez courageous as ever rose to his feet to see out the round. More of the same action continued in the 6th when just before the final bell Marquez caught Manny walking onto what can only be described in his own words as “the perfect punch”. It sent Manny out cold, face first and unconscious in what seemed to last at least two or three minutes. What a brutal knockout and spectacular fight. The relief on Marquez’s face said it all. This time there was to be no bad judge decisions, this time his right hand fist was the judge.
Elsewhere around the world there was some great action. Darren Barker stopped Kerry Hope in the fourth in a victory that should propel him back onto the world stage. Also James De Gale put on a boxing masterclass easily winning on points to defend his European title against Fulgencio Zuniga. That victory will move him up the world rankings and surely can’t be far away from a crack at a world title. Back in the States Yuri Gamboa survived a heavy knockdown on route to a unanimous decision over Michael Farenas. It marked Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson’s arrival to the boxing world as a promoter of Gamboa, who no doubt would have breathed a sigh of relief following this tough encounter for his fighter.
