ESPN’s Fight of the Year: Pacquiao-Marquez 4

MANILA, Philippines – Calling it their “best fight” among their 4 matches, sports network ESPN chose the December 8, 2012 bout between Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao and Mexican pugilist Juan Manuel Marquez as the “Fight of the Year.”

“It offered a festive and raucous atmosphere, thrilling two-way action, multiple knockdowns, blood and one of the most significant and violent knockouts in history as Filipino icon Pacquiao — the all-time great eight-division champion and former pound-for-pound No. 1 — went down face-first with one second left in the sixth round,” ESPN said.

Pacquiao went down hard in his 4th match with Marquez, as the Mexican boxer caught him off-guard at the last second of the 6th round and knocked him down.

ESPN named Marquez’s damaging punch to Pacquiao as the “Knockout of the year.”

ESPN said prior to that, the 4th fight between the two was not the clash everyone would have loved to see because there was a sense of “fatigue” – Pacquiao and Marquez’s previous 3 fights had resulted into controversial decisions. 

The sports authority said though that the 4th fight had a “shocking conclusion” which made it the “best of the bunch.”

ESPN also said that other memorable fights this year included that of between Filipino boxer Brian Viloria and Mexican fighter Hernan “Tyson” Marquez in November.

Viloria stopped Marquez in the 1st, 5th and 10th rounds to unify the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization flyweight titles. – Rappler.com