MANILA – Manny Pacquiao’s knockout defeat to Juan Manuel Marquez has shocked fans in the Philippines, where the former WBO welterweight world champion is a universally loved figure.
Fans at a live screening of the fight in Manila were left speechless as Pacquiao was left sprawled face-down on the canvas by a stunning counter-punch from Marquez.
“We were shocked.... We really thought he was winning, we didn’t even see the punch,” Pacquiao fan Vince Lavarez, 35, told INQUIRER.net a few minutes after the fight concluded.
Marquez had Pacquiao on the canvas as early as the third round with a straight right counter-punch - the first knockdown he had scored against the Filipino in four contests.
Pacquiao regrouped and went on the attack, releasing a flurry of combinations, and Marquez survived a standing eight count in the fifth round following a straight right from the Filipino.
However, with Pacquiao in the ascendancy and seemingly taking control of the fight at the end of the sixth round, Marquez summoned a tremendous counter-punch to send his opponent crashing to the mat.
“Maybe, he got too confident because he was already controlling that round. Maybe he wanted to give a good impression so he got careless,” Lavarez added.
Filipinos on Twitter agreed with the assessment.
“Marquez was better prepared. Manny got careless. That’s it,” said Raul Ojeda Jr. (@OJ_MD) on Twitter.
“Pacquiao became careless in the last few seconds of round 6. That was his greatest mistake,” responded @atty58ab.
The sight of Pacquiao knocked out cold was an unusual one, and difficult for his supporters in Manila to take in.
“When have you ever seen Pacquiao like that? It was scary,” Lavarez said.