Is there ever such a thing as perfect revenge? Something that unfolds in such a way, it would make even the most hardened scenic reconsider Karma, Irony and fate. Boxing is hard enough without some of the things Marquez suffered through with Pacquiao, and Pacquiao though beneficiary was equally soiled by the crimes of judgment because the results delivered him quickly from the thing that made him so special-hunger. Rivalries are special because the revenge game is played by both parties; Larry Bird and Magic Johnson both knew what if felt like to be denied by one another and watching them fear losing to the other was special. Juan Manuel Marquez suffered something different, something more closely aligned to “identity theft” because he was never given the fulfillment of watching Pacquiao grieve. He didn’t have the proximity of say Antonio Tarver growing up in Florida and watching Roy Jones “become” something beyond human, but after Pacquiao’s victory in the second fight he had to feel left behind. Saturday Night before a partisan Mexican crowd Marquez carried the spirit of all of the men who had to wait for more celebrated rivals to deem them worthy; the spirits of men who chased down legacy thieves and made them pay. I opined that a Marquez victory may be “too little, too late” unless he finished Pacquiao and put him out of commission-a grisly prospect.
But how right am I today? Only obliteration could right the wrongs already suffered by Marquez.
Pacquiao with his smiling and gentle demeanor is known for sending men into retirement, so the only thing more powerful than victory was to send him for once into deep soul searching. Perfect Revenge leaves no room for retaliation, which is why Roy Jones never acted like he wanted to ever harm Tarver again despite a third fight. Perfection for Marquez was in the version of Pacquiao he destroyed, not the lackluster imposter who sleepwalked through the second half of his loss to Bradley. Pacquiao was rocking a bloodied Marquez and on his way to stopping him so there’s no dispute about just WHO the Mexican legend laid out face first with 2 seconds to go in the 5th round. Normal folks often allow things to fester and grow, and often we don’t have the outlet to express how wronged we were, and we certainly don’t get to settle scores in front of people who love us. Mexican fans were starting to wear the scars “with” Marquez because they had to begrudgingly accept what Pacquiao did to the likes of Barrera and De La Hoya. It is perfect for the lore of this Mexican era that the one who was ignored stayed around the longest and once and for all ended the dominance Pacquiao enjoyed over his countrymen. Maybe Marquez, who threw the right hand of his life had a little in his shoulder for the fans who didn’t love him as much-who now needed him to do for them what Antonio Margarito couldn’t. The cerebral accountant is no stranger to balancing accounts, so maybe vengeance included the obscurity he endured in the early 2000’s, the questioning of his career path and the only man who never left his side-Nacho Beristain.
Boxing is interesting in that no matter how much the political and business class does to try to stain it outside of the ring the men inside it always provide equilibrium. Boxing’s ecosystem allows for men like Marquez to sustain himself against all odds and be there in the end (at 39) ready to sort out whatever injustice he felt occurred.Tommy Hearns seemed to be measuring Ray Leonard for that right hand for 8 years, but Marquez was fortunate enough to get 2 actual measurements of his target. In fact last Saturday was the actual start of a real blood rivalry, before it was this hideous passion play about what can go wrong in Boxing. Now Pacquiao has to ponder revenge, hatred, and all of the emotions that Jimmy Kimmel and global celebrity have buried deep beneath the surface. For now Marquez can bask in perfect vengeance, the kind only he could envision because not one of you reading this could ever dream of seeing Pacquiao going down face first. We can make assumptions, and say things that make us sound smart but the only way we’ll understand what went down in there is to go deep into our own fantasies about revenge. Hopefully now we’ll understand the difference between men with real unfinished business and men who are simply trying to do some business. Manny Pacquiao fought like a man trying to exterminate an annoying pest, he had every intention of knocking Marquez out and delegitimizing him-but Marquez simply knew better. If Manny is healthy and chooses to fight Marquez again I for one would approve, because I’d rather see two slightly diminished fighters with real animosity sort out their differences than the manufactured ‘Beef” Promoters tend to serve us without shame all too often.
But how right am I today? Only obliteration could right the wrongs already suffered by Marquez.
Pacquiao with his smiling and gentle demeanor is known for sending men into retirement, so the only thing more powerful than victory was to send him for once into deep soul searching. Perfect Revenge leaves no room for retaliation, which is why Roy Jones never acted like he wanted to ever harm Tarver again despite a third fight. Perfection for Marquez was in the version of Pacquiao he destroyed, not the lackluster imposter who sleepwalked through the second half of his loss to Bradley. Pacquiao was rocking a bloodied Marquez and on his way to stopping him so there’s no dispute about just WHO the Mexican legend laid out face first with 2 seconds to go in the 5th round. Normal folks often allow things to fester and grow, and often we don’t have the outlet to express how wronged we were, and we certainly don’t get to settle scores in front of people who love us. Mexican fans were starting to wear the scars “with” Marquez because they had to begrudgingly accept what Pacquiao did to the likes of Barrera and De La Hoya. It is perfect for the lore of this Mexican era that the one who was ignored stayed around the longest and once and for all ended the dominance Pacquiao enjoyed over his countrymen. Maybe Marquez, who threw the right hand of his life had a little in his shoulder for the fans who didn’t love him as much-who now needed him to do for them what Antonio Margarito couldn’t. The cerebral accountant is no stranger to balancing accounts, so maybe vengeance included the obscurity he endured in the early 2000’s, the questioning of his career path and the only man who never left his side-Nacho Beristain.
Boxing is interesting in that no matter how much the political and business class does to try to stain it outside of the ring the men inside it always provide equilibrium. Boxing’s ecosystem allows for men like Marquez to sustain himself against all odds and be there in the end (at 39) ready to sort out whatever injustice he felt occurred.Tommy Hearns seemed to be measuring Ray Leonard for that right hand for 8 years, but Marquez was fortunate enough to get 2 actual measurements of his target. In fact last Saturday was the actual start of a real blood rivalry, before it was this hideous passion play about what can go wrong in Boxing. Now Pacquiao has to ponder revenge, hatred, and all of the emotions that Jimmy Kimmel and global celebrity have buried deep beneath the surface. For now Marquez can bask in perfect vengeance, the kind only he could envision because not one of you reading this could ever dream of seeing Pacquiao going down face first. We can make assumptions, and say things that make us sound smart but the only way we’ll understand what went down in there is to go deep into our own fantasies about revenge. Hopefully now we’ll understand the difference between men with real unfinished business and men who are simply trying to do some business. Manny Pacquiao fought like a man trying to exterminate an annoying pest, he had every intention of knocking Marquez out and delegitimizing him-but Marquez simply knew better. If Manny is healthy and chooses to fight Marquez again I for one would approve, because I’d rather see two slightly diminished fighters with real animosity sort out their differences than the manufactured ‘Beef” Promoters tend to serve us without shame all too often.
