Underdog Boxing: Myth of the champion’s advantage in Pacquiao-Marquez III

“Don’t forget that Manny Pacquiao is the current champion. Juan Manuel Marquez needs to win convincingly if he wants to take Pacquiao’s title away." This is a line we’ve all heard a lot in the past couple of days. The champion’s advantage, it would seem means that the champion will always get the benefit of the doubt from the judges. If some people are to be believed, Pacquiao was rightfully handed the victory because Marquez did not win the fight convincingly. However, there is no such thing. The only advantage the champion has is that he gets to keep his title in case of a draw. Pacquiao did not win because he was the defending champion. He won because two of the judges scored more rounds for him. The champion’s advantage seems to suggest that it is impossible for challengers to win a razor thin decision because they need to take the title away from the champion in a convincing manner. Well, that’s also not true. A lot of challengers have won close decisions in the past. Jermaine Taylor won a split decision over Bernard Hopkins who was at that time the undisputed middleweight champion with 20 title defenses under his belt. The fight was close. The decision was debatable but two of the judges scored it for Taylor. Was Taylor’s win convincing? Not by a long shot. But he won, thus proving that you really don’t need to take the title away from the champion. You just have to win more rounds and the title (or in Taylor’s case, titles) will be given to you. Judges are supposed to treat the two combatants as two blank slates. They should have no names, no histories. Having in mind that one is the champion and the other is the challenger is being biased. (Read: Carlo Pamintuan's earlier column - Pacquiao-Marquez 3: Judge it with your head, not with your heart) Another issue that came up after the fight was Marquez’ tactic of stepping on Pacquiao’s right foot. A lot of people have cried foul with some even calling Marquez a cheater and a dirty fighter. Was it illegal? Well, in the strict sense, maybe. Was it a dirty tactic? Not by a long shot. Even Freddie Roach said that Marquez might have done it excessively but it was nothing to complain about. Fighters step on each other’s feet all the time, especially when righties are fighting lefties. Their lead feet are just inches away from each other so there’s a chance that one’s foot is going to be stepped on. There’s also a chance that one fighter is going to use this to his advantage. While browsing through different social media websites, one particular comment caught my eye. “Marquez’ repeated foot stomping is the reason why Pacquiao suffered from cramps." I’m not a doctor or anything but I don’t think cramps are caused by having your foot stepped on repeatedly. In an interview with 24 Oras, Pacquiao himself said “Di ko na pinansin dahil alam ko may referee naman at hindi naman ako mareklamong boksingero (I didn’t pay attention to it because I know there’s also a referee in the ring and I’m not the kind of fighter who complains too much)." In my honest opinion, this should be a non-issue. Extra-curricular activities happen in boxing as they do in other sports. Basketball players get away with little bumps and jersey grabs all the time. It’s a contact sport. Such things happen. It’s not like Marquez butted or elbowed Pacquiao repeatedly. Pacquiao also stepped on Marquez’ foot a lot of times which only shows that this really happens in boxing. The last issue I’ll address is regarding the colored drink given to Marquez in between rounds. A lot of posters have also claimed that this is illegal because fighters are not supposed to drink anything other than water during the fight. However, this is not the case anymore. Nevada State Athletic Commissioner Keith Kizer already said that it was “water and Pedialyte," and that the drink was approved by the NSAC. A lot of Filipinos are trying their best to shield Pacquiao from the attacks he has been receiving. However instead of putting up stuff like the foot stomping issue, or the yellow drink, or the champion’s advantage, let’s focus on why we think Pacquiao won. Study the fight and tell the people why you think Pacquiao deserved the victory. Pacquiao did not make excuses for his sub-par performance. No one should be making excuses on his behalf. - OMG, GMA News