A Memory Vs. None

I'll remember that punch.  Will Pacquiao?

I watched the Marquez Vs. Pacquiao IV fight only 1 week late. It was still exciting for me because I somehow managed to avoid seeing the knockout highlight on any media outlets, but it probably would have been exciting either way. 

I thought that Pacquiao beat Marquez’s ass continually and habitually during the whole fight.  There was no round, even the third, where Marquez won. Still, Marquez won. 

I like boxing for a lot reasons, but the biggest is that there’s a sense of gambling just embedded in fights. 

The reason I like gambling is because there’s a sense of ambiguity in who wins with the spread.  Do I as a person win my personal bet or does a team win?  Or do both win?  It’s weird to me that a team I’m betting against can win, but in my own life, I’ve won because they didn't cover the spread against the team that lost.

Boxing has this aspect self contained in it.  A boxer is playing with the spread in every single one of his fights if he doesn’t score a knockout.  He’s a winner in the personal sense because he made it through 36 minutes; however, unless he has won the judges over, he’s going to lose. 

That’s what makes me love the sport.  How does it feel as a fighter to make it through 12 rounds and lose?  Is it still as heartbreaking as being knocked out?  Is there a sense of hopelessness that you made it through and still can’t win, or is there a sense of I didn’t get knocked out at least?

So what do I remember from the fight then with this in mind?  I remember that Marquez knocked Pacquiao down early.  I remember a seemingly insanse number of clean head shots to Marquez.  I also remember Marquez just going for shots on Pacquiao’s body. 

What’s more telling about boxing is what I don’t remember.  I don’t remember what round any of the knockdowns happened.  I don’t remember when any of the actual really ferocious trades of punches happened or even pivotal one shots.  I probably won't remember any of the things I think I remembered while writing this in a couple of weeks. 

I will remember that Paquiao threw a punch the shifted his momentum towards Marquez at the end of the sixth round.  Marquez was being beat around and pushed towards the corner before that punch.  Somehow, he dodged the punch and drove a right hand into Pacquiao’s head that left him on the ground with no time left.  Paquiao wasn’t paralyzed but he lost.

Maybe now, I’ve answered my own question here about if a boxer prefers to lose by decision or be knocked out.  Thinking back, I didn’t even remember who Paquiao fought in his last match or the match in general without being refreshed by the announcers previous to this fight.  He lost by decision. It's a decision I forgot.  I’m going to remember that he lost from a knockout punch last Saturday.  That is clear.