That knockdown right Marquez threw in the 3rd was sweet.Ringside reaction:

You missed a fantastic fight. Marquez also knocked down Manny in the third with a solid right. The knockout was as devastating a punch as you'll ever see, Manny was face down and didn't move for a few minutes. Up to that point Manny was probably up by a point or two. Also of note, the knockout happened with one second left in the round. Manny also almost knocked out Marquez in the fourth, Marquez was wobbly as hell and just barely got through the round.A few highlights here: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8728500madlee wrote:I don't know if anyone watched that 24/7 series, but there's one scene where marquez knocks the speed bag off of it's mount. It was a display of pure punching power. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8728500Earlier in the episode they reference that it was broken and hadn't been properly repaired. But yeah, that's a brutal punch he throws. Marquez has become one of my favorites. Hopefully he doesn't retire.

I'm sitting here setting up a cdn and just saw that Marquez KO'd Pacquaio. He was on the mat for 2 minutes. I hope he retires.Supposedly Pacquaio was winning the fight and the round when he walked right into Marquez' right.I don't know if anyone watched that 24/7 series, but there's one scene where marquez knocks the speed bag off of it's mount. It was a display of pure punching power. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8728500

Holy shit! I figured it would go the exact opposite way, what with Marquez's age.

Wow that's a clean KO. Holy shit.

mazacultura wrote:Holy shit! I figured it would go the exact opposite way, what with Marquez's age.Totally glad that it went this way, Marquez at 39 is a beast and clearly a good match for a Pacquaio 5yrs+ his junior. Watching the fight, it was great and really swung in each fighters favour at different points which made it even more entertaining but I don't think it is a real indicator of very much. Both are hall-of-fame fighters with the power, speed and skill to box or fight. In my opinion had it gone the distance it was Pacquiao's fight as he was better overall. Marquez hit him with the perfect, lights-out punch that Pacquaio walked into. There's not much any fighter can do at that point.So, what am I saying? I look forward to Fight 5 but more than anything it will likely be a fitting final pay-day for Marquez rather than the same fight we saw on Saturday.

I watched the fight live (live on Pay Per View, that is). Here are my thoughts.-I had Pacquiao winning 4 of the 5 completed rounds. The first two rounds were competitive, Marquez clearly won the third with the knockdown. Then up until the moment of that KO, I had Pacman winning that round of a fight it looked like he was increasingly taking over. -That was the most devastating KO in a significant fight in as long as I can remember. Nothing comes close. Not Tarver knocking out Jones, Not Martinez knocking out Williams, not Rahman knocking out Lewis, not even Pacquiao's own KO of Hatton. Marquez threw a perfect shot and Manny did himself no favors by lunging into it. -All credit to Marquez, but had Pacquaio not gotten so reckless he likely would have continued to break Marquez down and probably forced a late stoppage. He was a victim of his own success. And now I don't think he'll ever be the same because of a split second mistake. -I also can't shake the feeling that Marquez is on steroids of EPO or something. I have no proof, of course, but there is plenty of disconcerting evidence including his association with Angel Heredia. Marquez has never looked that buff, never. What are the chances that at age 39 he's able to do that clean in a the same weight class he looked flabby in when he fought Mayweather? Also, what are the chances that he have more power than ever? Over the course of 36 previous rounds he'd never more than wobbled Pacquiao and now he's able to put him down twice at 147? Juan Manuel has never been a devastating knock out artist and it's implausible--though not impossible--that he would develop that kind of power at a higher weight class without some kind of help-I don't know if there will be a fifth fight, but if there is I don't know that Pacquaio will have much of a chance. Fighters tend not to ever be the same after suffering knock outs like that. If he managed to somehow come back and beat Marquez after this I would consider it perhaps his crowning achievement. More likely though is that we've seen the last of Pacquiao as a world class fighter.

mazacultura wrote:Clyde wrote:-I also can't shake the feeling that Marquez is on steroids of EPO or something.The LA Times wrote:Boxing has no standard for drug testingLAS VEGAS ” The erratic state of drug testing in boxing is perhaps best revealed in the absence of scrutiny faced by Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez before their Saturday fight.Neither boxer has submitted a blood or urine sample.http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/05 ... g-20121206You've opened a whole other can of worms about regulation in boxing, corruption, state bodies, etc...It's something that both frustrates the shit out of boxing fans and something we feel feel largely resigned to. The only thing that makes me feel more cynical about the world is reading about the inner workings of congress. However, I'm not sure any kind of drug testing would have made a difference either way. From what I've read, it's pretty easy to get away with doping, even in a sport that has a standard for drug testing (see: Lance Armstrong). For example, the time frame for EPO testing is 24 hours or so after administration.

No one wants strict testing because, I would guess, almost everyone is using something and/or they are unsure of what exactly their strength conditioning trainers are giving them. Even the kind of testing Mayweather wants isn't true Olympic style testing, which is random 24/7 tests. I personally don't even want them to start testing because I don't want it to become the media circus baseball has become of Who's clean!? Was he clean when he won that fight? But how do we know for sure?? It's already bad enough dealing with conspiracy theories about judges/gambling/etc. And it is absolutely hilarious that Chavez Jr. got busted for having marijuana in his system...as if the Nevada commission has nothing more serious to look out for.

Oh, absolutely, steroid tests are wicked easy to pass, especially on a set date (the joke is they're IQ tests not drug tests), and EPO/HGH testing is still in its infancy. Nevermind that athletic commissions are giving out passes on testosterone replacement therapy like you wouldn't believe....I was just surprised to learn there wasn't reallly... anything done. That's weird to me.