In any case, I'm not here to focus on the fight itself but on some life lessons I've observed even in the weeks leading up to the fight. These lessons may not be obvious, but it always helps to see the lessons inherent in any situation. Once we attune ourselves to see from these different angles, we become more sensitive to the lessons that can be found in our own experiences.
Here are the few lessons that I've seen:
1. "To get something you've never had, you need to do something you've never done."
Watching HBO 24/7, a short series that followed the training and preparations of both fighters, I saw that Marquez trained like a man possessed. He was obviously the hungrier fighter.
Pacquiao also trained hard but didn't really do anything new. Marquez, on the other hand, practically overhauled his strength and conditioning program by doing plyometrics, strength training and other modern sport-specific exercises designed to increase his strength, stamina and agility. Because of Marquez's resulting physique, the issue of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) has come up. The matter is not helped by the fact that Marquez's strength and conditioning coach is Angel Hernandez, who is known to have provided PEDs to top athletes in the 1990s.
But in fairness to Marquez, when I saw him training I really thought that it was highly likely that he could hurt Pacquiao because I've seen a similar program of exercises before. Where? Among MMA fighters. We all know how extremely conditioned MMA fighters are and how explosive and powerful they are. So Marquez was basically training like an MMA fighter but with a regimen tailor-suited for boxing. Marquez had one thing and only one thing in mind: winning decisively.
It was a lot of hard work that paid off. Marquez was giving as good as he got and even floored Pacquiao in the 3rd round, something that has never happened in their previous fights.
This brings to mind the virtue of constancy and one-pointedness of aim and effort, which according to Master Choa Kok Sui is one of the important prerequisites to achieving success. I'd say Marquez had that constancy and one-pointedness in spades.
2. Anything can happen
Pacquiao was actually winning the fight before the knockout happened. This is ironic because many experts were saying that Pacquiao had too many distractions while Marquez was really focused. You have to give it to Pacquiao, he has natural power in his hands and he was really going for the kill. If Marquez had shown up with the same physique he had in their first three fights, the match probably would have ended earlier, with Marquez on the floor instead of Pacquiao.
I feel that if the match had reached the 7th or 8th round, Pacquiao probably would have knocked Marquez out or at least earned a TKO. Marquez already had a broken nose and the problem with that is that it makes it hard to breathe. This affects the stamina and power of a fighter and it would only have been a matter of time considering the type of bombs Pacquiao was throwing at Marquez.
There are those who say that it was a "lucky punch" that did Pacquiao in, while others insist that it was no lucky punch but Marquez's skills as a counterpuncher that caused the knockout. I feel the truth is somewhere in between. According to some accounts I've read, when Pacquiao threw that fateful one-two punch and missed, he also happened to step on Marquez's foot. So aside from moving forward, Pacquiao was also off-balance and vulnerable at that moment. The luck part comes from the opening that presented itself practically on a platter to Marquez. The skill part is that Marquez was able to capitalize on the split-second opportunity to throw the "perfect punch" that spelled lights out for Pacquiao.
A quote attributed to Tony Robbins says, "Goals are like magnets. They attract the things that make them come true." Marquez so badly wanted to win. Did this desire perhaps manifest itself in the opening that made the knockout punch possible? Sometimes, life simply gives you the opportunity to get what you desire. And then it's up to you to use your skills and capabilities to follow through on that opportunity.
3. There are other arenas in life
Many sports writers have stated that Pacquiao has too many distractions. From a huge entourage, his duties as a congressman and politician, showbiz commitments and advertising endorsements, all of these eat up a lot of time and effort. Even the time he spends on Bible study was said to have affected his focus on training. Boxing experts have reiterated that boxing is a jealous sport. You need to give it your whole attention or you face defeat in the ring.
One writer even questioned whether Pacquiao still had his killer instinct. Pacquiao had given up gambling, womanizing and late night partying but while this is better for Pacquiao's health and future, the writer states that the same qualities that make a boxer a champion are those same qualities that lead boxers to engage in these vices. Supposedly, even boxers who banked on their clean image, like Oscar dela Hoya, admitted to having infidelities and other vices such as drug use. If you give up on these vices, then it's like you're giving up one important quality that led you to the top.
While the writer's opinions are hard to prove, the fact is that Pacquiao lost. However, while he may have lost in the ring, consider what Pacquiao has gained outside the ring: better health, wiser use of money, a saved marriage and peace of mind through a closer relationship with God. In my book, it seems Pacquiao already won the fights that matter most.
4. So what?
At the end of the day, we still need to ask ourselves: so what? Even if Pacquiao had won, aside from feeling good for a while, what bearing does it have towards one's development as a person, one's relationships with others, one's spiritual development and many other pressing issues that need our personal attention and effort?
Taken into perspective, whatever rivalry Pacquiao and Marquez have (or had), it's between the two of them. It's not our rivalry, it wasn't us in the ring, it wasn't us who sweated it out to train hard everyday for several weeks. And yet, because they are famous, it's easy to attach ourselves to their particular drama. Of course, Pacquiao lost and it's normal to feel sad, but again, it doesn't change the fact that we do have our own lives to work on without getting worked up about the lives of other people, no matter how famous they are.
And I feel that's the pitfall most of us are facing now. We identify with the lives of famous people, sometimes to the point of having our lives revolve around the issues these famous people have to the neglect of our own issues. If the famous person was an eminent spiritual guru it wouldn't be as bad, but right now a lot of people adore rock stars, singers and showbiz people. They're not necessarily bad people, but their lives are not the ideal for emulation either.
We can learn lessons from others' victories or trials, but we should always remember that it's our lives that we need to live, not that of others. In this time of great transition this becomes even more important as people will be put in varying situations that force them to introspect themselves.
Again, balance is the key. We should be careful against becoming too self-absorbed. Mundane situations can also hold profound lessons, which is why I chose a boxing match to feature in this article. This is why a certain level of mindfulness in our lives would work wonders as we seek to better ourselves.
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