Washington Informer

The very thought of Manny Pacquiao being knocked out was surprising enough. But to see him face down on the canvas, unresponsive even as mayhem erupted all around him, was absolutely scary.

Pacquiao's wife saw it up close from her ringside seat just a few feet away. She began to cry and attempted to enter the ring to aid her defeated husband. Meanwhile, Juan Manuel Marquez never even looked in Pacquiao's direction. He was too busy celebrating the biggest knockout of his career.

This fight represented boxing at its raw best, a man-to-man slugfest Saturday night, that was action-packed from the opening bell and bound to be decided by the combatants -- and not the ringside judges. Both fighters had been knocked down, and both of them had been hurt when Marquez unleashed a right hand off the ropes with one second remaining in the sixth round that could be felt all the way in the parking lot of the MGM Grand arena.

It will be remembered as one of the best fights of the Marquez-Pacquiao era. Four fights may not suffice when it comes to Pacquiao and Marquez. Soon after the fight concluded, boxing fans began to talk about a fifth match between the two boxing warriors.

Some would argue that Pacquiao was on the brink of a big win himself when he was caught by a Marquez punch that sent him tumbling face first to the canvas. He had overcome a third round knockdown to deck Marquez in the fifth and was landing big left hands that bloodied and broke his opponent's nose.

All of their first three fights went the distance, and prior to the fourth bout, both fighters insisted that they'd be more aggressive this time around. Pacquiao paid the price for his aggression when he attempted to finish the sixth round with a barrage of punches, a mistake against a high-quality counterpuncher like Marquez.

The last time Pacquiao was stopped in a bout was in 1999 in Thailand when he weighed 112 pounds. It took him several minutes to come around before being helped to his ring stool. He stared straight ahead as the pro-Marquez crowd of more than 16,000 cheered fervently.

Pacquiao's surprising knockout loss to Marquez has dismantled, perhaps permanently, what would have been the richest bout in boxing history. With Pacquiao now considered damaged goods, a Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather fight would be fought for significantly less money and generate far less interest than if it had occurred with Pacquiao still on a winning streak and still in his boxing prime.

Brandywine's Seth Mitchell lost for the first time on Saturday night. Mitchell went down three times in the second round amid several combinations from Johnathon Banks before the bout at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall was stopped at 2 minutes 37 seconds.

Mitchell had taken the most punishment of his career when referee Eddie Cotton stepped in to stop the fight. In his 27th professional bout, Mitchell came out surprisingly flat. His journey toward a world championship fight has taken a step back, and at this point, we'll wait to see who the 30-year-old will fight next and when.

In the evening's co-main event to Mitchell vs. Banks, Adrien Broner knocked out Antonio DeMarco in the eighth round to capture the World Boxing Council lightweight championship. The pro boxing card was the first at Boardwalk Hall since Superstorm Sandy hit Atlantic City on October 29.

The first round was primarily spent with Mitchell and Banks feeling out one another. Early in the second round, Banks landed a left uppercut that staggered Mitchell (25-1-1, 19 knockouts). Subsequently, Banks (29-1-1, 19 knockouts) connected with a right jab that inflicted more damage, and soon thereafter Mitchell dropped to the canvas.

An additional jab sent Mitchell to the canvas again, and when he went down for a third time, Cotton intervened and stopped the fight. Banks connected on 25 of 42 power shots while Mitchell landed only 11 of 43, and 29 percent of his overall punches. On the other hand, Banks landed 49 percent of his total 77 punches.

Banks came into the fight with a reputation for being a very good counter puncher. When Mitchell threw a right crossed that missed, Banks landed his first big shot. He quickly threw a left hand that landed on Mitchell's chin in what wound up being the decisive punch of the fight.

A Detroit native, Banks dedicated this fight to Emanuel Steward, the former trainer who died last month of colon cancer, and was outwardly emotional after the win that allowed him to take the North American Boxing Organization title from Mitchell.

Mitchell fought at this same venue nearly seven months ago. In that fight against Chazz Witherspoon, he came close to going down in the first round but came back in the second round before finishing off Witherspoon in the third round for his 10th straight knockout.

Hall of Fame boxing trainer Emanuel Steward, who worked with several world champions, including fellow inductees Lennox Lewis and Thomas Hearns, has died. He was 68.

Steward, a native of West Virginia, moved to Detroit as a child and ultimately made a name for himself as a trainer at the Kronk Gym. Hilmer Kenty became his first world champion there in March 1980 and was followed a few months later by Hearns, the power-punching welterweight who wound up with titles in six weight classes from 147 to 190 pounds.

Steward later worked with fighters outside of Detroit and was credited with raising the profile of Lewis, who held the IBO and WBC versions of the heavyweight championship when he retired in 2003. Since 2004, Steward had worked with Ukrainian heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko, who currently holds the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO crowns and will defend them next month in Germany.

He'd also developed a following for his work as a boxing analyst for HBO.

Word of Steward's condition spread rapidly when it was announced this week that he'd not work Klitschko's corner for the November fight, and would instead be replaced by longtime Klitschko sparring partner and former cruiserweight champion Johnathon Banks.

Stewart's family confirmed on Thursday that he had indeed died, with his sister, Diane Steward-Jones, saying, "(He) fought harder than Hagler and Hearns."

Source: The Sports Network

Apparently the World Boxing Commission had some bad information about the health of former heavyweight champion Ken Norton. Boxing News has been informed by boxing manager Butch Gottlieb who is close to the Norton family that Norton did not suffer a heart attack and was in the hospital due to complications from a stroke.

"He had a stroke a couple of months ago and he's been back and forth between the hospital and rehab since," said Gottlieb. "He's now in the hospital because he got an infection while he was in rehab so they had put him in the hospital just to keep an eye on it. He's not in delicate condition. He happens to be strong as a horse....Kenny does not speak real good because the stroke paralyzed part of his face, but he's getting better and they expect him to come out of this with minimal problems."

Source:  Boxing News