The Trilogy is set! Pound for Pound King Manny Pacquiao will face old rival and reigning Lightweight Champion Juan Manuel Marquez on November 12, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas... Please Bookmark this page for the latest PACQUIAO vs MARQUEZ 3 NEWS and UPDATES... Thanks!

Pacquiao starts training September for final showdown with Marquez

MANNY Pacquiao’s preparation for his third bout with Mexican champion Juan Manuel Marquez starts third week of September when he goes up to the Philippines’ Summer Capital, Baguio City, for the initial phase of his two-month training program.

Hall of Fame boxing trainer Freddie Roach and physical conditioning guru Alex Ariza, the two main men behind Pacquiao’s training regimen, will arrive in the Philippines before September 21 and join the Filipino boxing icon in the Baguio training camp for about three weeks before flying back to the United States for the final phase of the preparation.


Wild Card Gym assistant and Roach’s close friend, Rob Peters, said the renowned boxing trainer will first travel to Ukraine for a world championship bout involving one of the boxers he trains before flying to Manila to be with Pacquiao.

“Freddie will be in the Ukraine for a title fight on August 26 and will be back in the US shortly after,” Peters said.

He said Roach will fly to the Philippines September 19 to start Pacquiao’s training camp and will return to the US with the Filipino boxing icon on October 7 to continue the training program at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California.

Ariza, on the other hand, will be coming in from a month-long stay in Mexico where he is handling the conditioning program of Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. He is expected to arrive ahead of Roach.

The Baguio training camp has become a permanent part of Pacquiao’s preparation for his big fights. The cool climate and the high altitude have contributed to his excellent physical conditioning and allowed him to easily adapt to California’s climate.

While many boxing experts, including two-time world champion Gerry Peñalosa, have dismissed the Pacquiao-Marquez third fight as an easy assignment for the Pacman, Roach and Ariza are obviously not over confident.

Marquez, whose counter-punching style has befuddled Pacquiao in their two previous bouts, has remained one of the sore points in the Filipino boxing icon’s legendary boxing career.

Their first bout held in Las Vegas’s MGM Grand on May 8, 2004 ended in a draw even after Pacquiao floored the Mexican three times in the first round. It was a fight that Pacquiao could have won had the third judge, Burt Clements, correctly scored the first round 10-6 because of the three knockdowns.

Judge’s score of 10-7 resulted in an even score in his scorecard and a draw in the fight allowing the defending champion Marquez to retain his World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight title.

If the first fight was controversial, more so was the second fight held on March 15, 2008 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino also in Las Vegas. This time Pacquiao was defending his World Boxing Council (WBC) junior lightweight title.

Again, Pacquiao floored Marquez in the third round but the Mexican came back and gave the Filipino champion a tough fight. In a fight which fellow Filipino champion Nonito Donaire Jr., who was working for Philippine television at ringside, saw as a bout that Marquez won, two of the three judges gave the victory to Pacquiao for a split decision.

Marquez, however, disputed the results of the first and the second fights and insisted he won both bouts, even wearing a T-Shirt that emblazoned with a declaration of his two victories.

The third fight, which interestingly will be held at MGM Grand where they fought to a draw seven years ago, is expected to have a different ending though, that is if Pacquiao, Roach and Ariza would have their way.

Now fighting as welterweights, Pacquiao, who will be a month short of 33, will come in heavier than the Mexican challenger and he is expected to roll over his 38-year-old opponent to settle the Marquez issue once and for all.

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