Promoters You Know and Fighters You Should Get To Know on the Pacquiao-Marquez Undercard

by Eric Raskin

Take the plastic off the furniture and bust out the fancy bean dip, because you have a couple of celebrity guests coming into the house for your pay-per-view party on December 8. Two stars known far better by their nicknames than their given names, 50 Cent and Snooki, are promoting fighters on the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez 4 undercard. But, as always, the boxers in action are the real stars of the show, and this undercard features a battle of unbeatens, a talent knocking on the door of the pound-for-pound list, some Filipino flavor, and even the pro debut of one of the most decorated American amateurs ever. That would be 20-year-old lightweight Jose Ramirez, who will open the show in a scheduled four-rounder. Here’s a look at the three 12-rounders that will follow:

Yuriorkis Gamboa (21-0, 16 KOs) vs. Michael Farenas (33-3-4, 25 KOs), 12 Rounds, Junior Lightweights

Are you suffering from Gamboa withdrawal? It’s been 15 long months since the Cuban “Cyclone” kicked up dust in a prize ring, but he’s finally back and ready to show off his extraordinary combination of speed and power against Filipino southpaw Farenas. Gamboa sat on the shelf due to promotional squabbles, and his promotional status remains a major talking point because rapper 50 Cent is now officially the man guiding his career. This bout marks Fiddy’s promoting debut, and it marks the 31-year-old Gamboa’s first major fight at junior lightweight following an impressive run atop the featherweight division. Gamboa, whose 2010 defeat of Orlando Salido keeps looking better with the passage of time, is a healthy favorite over the unproven Farenas (who is trained by Pacquiao assistant Buboy Fernandez). But the Cuban also has a troubling tendency to find himself on the canvas, and with 25 knockouts among his 33 victories, Farenas can pop a little bit. Blink at your own peril.

Miguel Vazquez (32-3, 13 KOs) vs. Mercito Gesta (26-0-1, 14 KOs), 12 Rounds, Lightweights

Pacquiao and Farenas aren’t the only Filipino southpaws in action, as Gesta will get in on the fun in pursuit of his first pro title in what looks like a pick-’em fight against the crafty Mexican Vazquez. The 25-year-old Vazquez was viewed by some as the top dog in the lightweight division until a rocky outing against Marvin Quintero in October – which ended with Vazquez winning a split decision – socked his stock. He gets a chance at redemption against Gesta, who is also 25, hasn’t faced the level of competition that Vazquez has, but has shown flashes of potential on his way up. Vazquez is four inches taller at 5’11”, so expect the stocky challenger known as “No Mercy” to try to fight at close quarters and score with bodyshots and short uppercuts. This will come down to which man is able to dictate the style of the fight; the more action-packed it is, the better that will be for Gesta.

Javier Fortuna (20-0, 15 KOs) vs. Patrick Hyland (27-0, 12 KOs), 12 Rounds, Featherweights

New York-based Irishman Hyland has Snooki in his corner … and a “situation” in front of him. The 23-year-old Dominican Fortuna is one of boxing’s hottest prospects, particularly on the heels of his dazzling two-round destruction of veteran Cristobal Cruz this past July. He represents a major step up in class for Hyland who, despite having a Jersey Shore star for a promoter, is a relative unknown. But with two undefeated records on the line, Fortuna and Hyland might just produce a brawl that puts even the best Ronnie vs. Sammi fight to shame.

Settle the Score for Pacquiao-Marquez III

by Eric Raskin

Pacquiao-Marquez III ScorecardAs we build toward the fourth chapter in one of the most action-packed, closely contested rivalries boxing has ever known, HBO.com is re-playing the first three fights between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. It’s a chance to re-live the excitement—and re-score the bouts. The judges say the first fight was a draw and the next two belonged to Pacquiao. But you get a say as well. So watch, score, and tell us who you thought won these classic, controversial battles. 

But first, print out your scorecard and read this guide to re-watching Pacquiao-Marquez III:

In Short: Despite prefight expectations that Pacquiao has outgrown Marquez and will knock him out, 8-1 underdog JMM boxes brilliantly – but not brilliantly enough to prevent an unpopular decision from going Pacquiao’s way.

Crunching the Numbers: If Marquez supporters are searching for reasons Pacquiao got the decision, the CompuBox numbers offer plenty of them. For starters, Pacquiao threw more punches than Marquez in every single round, and we’ve seen time and again that judges tend to favor the busier boxer. Pac-Man also out-landed Marquez over the course of 12 rounds, 117-100 in power punches and 59-38 in jabs. Marquez, however, was more efficient, landing at a slightly higher percentage overall, 32% to 30%. To those who scored for Marquez, it seemed his punches were landing cleaner and he was dictating the style and pace of the fight (both fighters threw fewer shots than in either of their previous two encounters). But the punch stats told a story consistent with the judging.

What Deserves a Second Look: Keep an eye on the footwork of each man throughout the fight; there’s a pronounced contrast between Pacquiao bouncing and pouncing and Marquez trying to time him while remaining relatively stationary. When the ninth round comes along, just sit back and enjoy it. That was one of the best rounds of the trilogy and it featured both men throwing more punches than in any other round of this fight as they went shot for shot in a series of aggressive exchanges. Also, watch the body language after the fight and when the decision is announced. Marquez exudes complete confidence—until the scores are read, when that confidence is replaced by disbelief and then disgust.

Scorecard Tips: Don’t let prefight expectations cloud your judgment. When scoring a fight, some observers have an unconscious tendency to give rounds – especially the early rounds – to the fighter they were expecting to win, while some others lean the opposite way and score for the fighter who is surprising them just by keeping it close. Pacquiao-Marquez III was a fight in which almost everyone came in expecting the Filipino to prevail, and assumptions like that can be hard to ignore when scoring the rounds. However, viewers should have no preconceived notions as they watch the fight again more than a year later. You know how it turned out. Be objective and score each round on its own merits, paying no mind to what your opinions of Pacquiao and Marquez were heading into the night of November 12, 2011. For more general scoring advice, check out our ‘How to Score a Fight’ primer with HBO’s unofficial judge, Harold Lederman.

Settle the Score for Pacquiao-Marquez II

by Eric Raskin

Pacquiao-Marquez II ScorecardAs we build toward the fourth chapter in one of the most action-packed, closely contested rivalries boxing has ever known, HBO.com is re-playing the first three fights between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. It’s a chance to re-live the excitement—and re-score the bouts. The judges say the first fight was a draw and the next two belonged to Pacquiao. But you get a say as well. So watch, score, and tell us who you thought won these classic, controversial battles.

But first, print out your scorecard and read the below guide to re-watching Pacquiao-Marquez II:

In Short: In the most physically punishing battle of the trilogy, a third-round knockdown of Marquez keys a controversial split decision win for Pacquiao.

Crunching the Numbers: Though Pacquiao won the decision, the CompuBox stats favored Marquez. Pacquiao was busier, out-throwing his Mexican rival by a count of 619-511, but Marquez out-landed him 172-157, outscored him in power connects 130-114, and landed at a higher overall percentage, 34%-25%. The most eye-catching round in Marquez’s favor was the eighth, a stanza in which he out-landed Pac-Man 21-5. So what happens if you take that one-sided round out of the equation? Pacquiao out-landed Marquez 152-151 punches over the other 11 rounds. In other words, remove Marquez’s best round and it’s basically a dead-even fight. If you figure the knockdown Pacquiao scored during round three in some sense balances out Marquez’s dominant eighth round, then you can see why everyone agreed this fight was basically too close to call.

What Deserves a Second Look: The whole fight is worth watching again from an action perspective; these were two great champions, in their primes, dishing out a beating to one another. Both men landed at a higher percentage than in the first fight—another reason this could be considered the “best” fight of the rivalry. As you’re scoring the fight, pay particularly close attention to round six. That’s the one that Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, recently re-watched and admitted to the “24/7” cameras that his man probably lost, despite two of the judges scoring it for Pacquiao. Also, have fun rewinding and repeatedly re-watching the counter left from Pacquiao that dropped Marquez in the third round. It was a cleaner, harder punch than any of the left-hand shots he used to produce knockdowns in their first fight, and it’s a testament to Marquez’s conditioning and iron will that he recovered so quickly.

Scorecard Tips: Remember that scoring fights is not just punch counting. The impact of the punch matters. So, while determining the impact of a punch is often subjective, try to consider who seems to be hurting whom more in a given round. To paraphrase HBO’s Max Kellerman’s scoring philosophy, ask yourself which fighter you’d rather be at the end of the round, and that’s probably the guy who deserves 10 points. For more general scoring advice, check out our ‘How to Score a Fight’ primer with HBO’s unofficial judge, Harold Lederman. 

Settle the Score for Pacquiao-Marquez I

by Eric Raskin

Pacquiao-Marquez I ScorecardAs we build toward the fourth chapter in one of the most action-packed, closely contested rivalries boxing has ever known, HBO.com is presenting the first three fights between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez over the next few weeks. It’s a chance to re-live the excitement--and re-score the bouts. The judges say the first fight was a draw and the next two belonged to Pacquiao. But you get a say as well. So watch, score, and tell us who you thought won these classic, controversial battles.

But first, print your scorecard and read the below guide to re-watching Pacquiao-Marquez I:

In Short: Pac-Man nearly scores a first-round blowout with three knockdowns, but Marquez earns a draw with a comeback for the ages.

Crunching the Numbers: The overall CompuBox numbers indicate the closeness of the fight, with Pacquiao a bit busier (a 639 to 547 edge in punches thrown), Marquez more accurate (a 29% to 23% edge in connect percentage), and the total number of connects almost identical (158 for Marquez, 148 for Pacquiao). Perhaps the most amazing stat is that, according to CompuBox, Marquez actually outlanded Pacquiao in the opening round! The Mexican hit the canvas three times, but went 13-for-40 on offense, whereas Pacquiao went just 11-for-73. Part of the problem for Pacquiao was that his right jab whiffed all 42 times he threw it. His straight left, however, did connect a few times, and three of those connects resulted in knockdowns.

What Deserves a Second Look: For starters, get a load of how one-dimensional Pacquiao was in 2004 as compared to now (this was before he developed a right hook). At the same time, spend the first three minutes of action admiring just how good that one dimension was. Over the next 11 rounds, watch how Marquez begins countering Pacquiao’s left hand. Notice how he controls the pace (Pacquiao’s punch output dips from 75 thrown per round in rounds one and two to just 40 per round over the final 10), works to the body, and gets in range to land his straight right hand, particularly in the fifth round. Most of all, keep in mind the guts of both fighters; what Marquez does over the last 10 rounds is astounding given what happened in the opener, but so too is Pacquiao’s continued ability to win rounds with sheer drive and tenacity after Marquez begins to “figure him out.”

Scorecard Tips: Each round needs to be assessed on its own individual merit. This was a fight that contained massive swings in momentum. But when you’re scoring, the momentum of the previous round doesn’t carry over. Start with a clean slate at the beginning of each three-minute stanza. For more general scoring advice, check out our ‘How to Score a Fight’ primer with HBO’s unofficial judge, Harold Lederman. 

Abregu Denies Dulorme Via Seventh-Round Knockout

by Eric Raskin

Thomas Dulorme - Photo Credit: Ed Mulholland

As 1940s and ’50s major league pitcher Preacher Roe once famously said (and as the film The Big Lebowski more famously adapted), “Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you.” Highly touted 22-year-old Puerto Rican welterweight prospect Thomas Dulorme stared down the bear on Saturday night in the form of Argentine bruiser Carlos Abregu. And, as happens sometimes when talented but inexperienced fighters are willing to step up and take risks, the bear ended up with a full belly.

Abregu (34-1, 28 KOs) scored a violent knockdown in the third round, then finished off Dulorme (16-1, 12 KOs) in the seventh with another knockdown that prompted the younger fighter’s corner to halt the bout. The end came at the 2:35 mark of round seven at Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York.

The Dulorme bandwagon will empty quickly because of a single unexpected defeat; that’s the way things tend to go in sports these days. But it’s not necessarily a fair or even correct response. This fight didn’t expose Dulorme as a fraud. It merely exposed him as a fighter with a lot of room to improve, particularly defensively. And it happened because Abregu was a high hurdle for any developing fighter to clear, a heavy-handed, in-his-prime warrior who had only lost once in 34 previous pro bouts, against the excellent Timothy Bradley.

“We analyzed [Dulorme], and we saw that he was too young,” Abregu said afterward when asked how he scored the mild upset. “Maybe with time, he could be a great fighter.”

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