The Guns of General Santos

The 13th Round was heralded by the rabid chants of thousands of Filipino and Mexican fans as the two wary protagonists met in the center of the ring. Juan Manuel Marquez gracefully held stance, like the bull fighter from A Sun Also Rises, while Manny Pacquiao played the bull to Marquez's matador. This fight is brilliant because of the stark contrast in styles, unless you're a boxing purest it would be difficult for you to enjoy some of Marquez's other bouts due to his counter punching nature. However, when he gets in the Ring with Manny Pacquiao, he meets a fighter who is unafraid of Marquez's snapping counters, who believes that his power will blast through Marquez's defenses.

It's a pleasure to watch both men succeed in their particular styles, Marquez often had Pacquiao baffled and hesitant, yet Marquez would hit the canvas hard, clutch at the ropes desperately and buckle several times from the force of Pacman's blows. At the end of the night, after 24 hellish rounds, only a mere point separated these two great super featherweights. Clearly Marquez won most of those rounds, but the picture of him picking himself off of the floor time and time again eventually decided this rivalry.