I don't really think that's the case. Margarito literally failed to land one serious punch in that fight or put Manny in any risk whatsoever. It was a one-sided beatdown and it's difficult to see what that fight could have taken away from him, physically or mentally.
Then there was the Shane Mosley fight which Pac also dominated and easily won. True - that was a borefest, but it wasn't his fault. The only reason it sucked is because Mosley wouldn't fight. He came to get his money and go home with minimum possible damage. He refused to engage at any point and stunk up the match that way. Other then what he did do to win, there wasn't that much else Pacquiao could have done about that.
The third Marquez fight came after that and I have to be honest, I really thought JMM had that one. It was an awesome match between two ATG fighters whose rivalry truly is among the finest in history of this sport, right up there with Ali vs Frazier, Robinson vs LaMotta and few others, and there was nothing in Pac's performance in that fight to complain about. No matter what he does, how well he prepares, JMM is never going to be an easy fight for him, you have to realize that.
Bradley fight was next. Solid performance by Pacquiao, but a highway f*****g robbery decided the match, nothing else. I don't think anyone with slightest concept of boxing can argue Bradley won more then 3 rounds in the fight. Pac just got screwed, you can't hold that against him.
And finally, the Marquez IV - another amazing chapter in their rivalry. Pacquiao gave his all, just like he does every time, but it wasn't to be on this occasion. Again, you have to realize, JMM is a master boxer, future hall of famer and every bit of an ATG fighter that Pac is. After what happened in the first three fights and all the raw deals he felt he got there, this was his final chance of redemption and last thing left to accomplish in his great career. Marquez put his heart and soul into this fight and, after eight years, finally got his result. Pacquiao was doing well, all until the end and I think, save for that one mistake, he can be proud of the way he fought this fight too. There's no shame in loosing to JMM, especially after that kind of performance.
His performance against Margarito was not impressive. Margarito was a slow Welterweight who moved up in weight so that Bob Arum could give Pacquiao another belt to hype him up as the best Pound for Pound fighter in the world. Margarito was flat footed, had no skill, and was extremely slow. Nothing impressive about Pacquiao's performance.
I can't even remember his last impressive performance.
Ummmm no, Pacquiao has a lot going on his life and is rich now. I don't think any one fight "took it out" of him. Marquez caught him with a couple of lucky punches, and the majority of great fighters get knocked out. The Brandon Rios fight will tell a lot whether or not he's got any gas left.
The Margarito fight was one-sided. Pacquiao rocked him a couple of times but seemed like he didn't want to hurt him.
I agree with u completely. Pacquiao hasn't looked the same since margarito. Margarito wasn't an easy fight the guy was like 5 inches taller than him and had a much longer reach. I know that fighting guys who are significantly taller than u isn't easy as I've sparred loads of guys bigger. I think Pac just isn't as accurate. I remember him throwing a left hand lead and landing it on his target... Nowadays he never lands it
The previous three fights with Marquez likely took more out of him than any other fights as Marquez was able to land consistently on him with clean shots. In the third fight in particular Pac looked lost as Marquez was repeatedly snapping his head back with hard shots. Those punches likely softened him up for the ko in the fourth fight.
I can say that politics took everything out of Pacquiao
I know margarito took a beating but that was the last impressive performance of pacquiao maybe fighting a guy at 154.
