The Filipino sensation will face old rival and reigning lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez on November 12, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
PACQUIAO vs MARQUEZ 3
The Filipino sensation will face old rival and reigning lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez on November 12, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
PACQUIAO vs MARQUEZ 3
The Filipino sensation will face old rival and reigning lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez on November 12, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
PACQUIAO vs MARQUEZ 3
The Filipino sensation will face old rival and reigning lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez on November 12, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
PACQUIAO vs MARQUEZ 3
The Filipino sensation will face old rival and reigning lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez on November 12, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
MANILA, Philippines — Manny Pacquiao was aghast when told about the odds for his Nov. 12 rubber match with his Mexican nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez.
“Grabe naman ‘yan, (That’s too much),” Pacquao, sounding a bit embarrassed, told the Bulletin on Saturday afternoon from the paradise island of Boracay, where he has been holed up the last week for some much-needed R&R with his family.
Pacquiao has been listed as -800, while Marquez is +500, according to sportsbook. Based on this line, an $800 bet on Pacquiao would only win $100, while a measly $100 wager on Marquez would win $500.
The Pacquiao-Marquez fight will be contested at a catchweight of 145 lbs with the Filipino’s World Boxing Organization welterweight also on the line when they lock horns at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao has been chilling out the last few weeks but is expected to return to work mode as the celebrated Sarangani congressman when he gets back to Manila this coming week.
“I have to attend to a lot of things and look forward to the SONA of President Noynoy Aquino (in July),” said the 32-year-old Pacquiao, widely acknowledged as boxing’s pound-for-pound king and a certified all-time great.
In the past, Pacquiao has graced a few SONA under the administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, having been mentioned several times as a source of inspiration for his ring prowess.
After the SONA, Pacquiao’s schedule will start to pick up once again as Top Rank chief Bob Arum is setting the stage for a global promotional tour of the Pacquiao-Marquez trilogy starting in late-August in Manila.
From Manila, the tour will go to several Asian cities, London, New York, Los Angeles and finally to Marquez’s lair in Mexico City.
WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao for several years has been the second biggest seller of pay-per-views in the United States behind rival Floyd Mayweather.
Since becoming a fixture on U.S talk shows, adverts and with the absence of Mayweather however, Pacquiao's fanbase has been growing, and he recently achieved his biggest pay per view sales to date against Shane Mosley.
In November, Pacquiao fights Juan Manuel Marquez for the third time, and even though he is expected to win, most expect the fight itself to be a more interesting encounter than any of his recent bouts.
As a result, debate among fans over what kind of pay per view numbers the event will achieve has been widespread, with some believing that the guarantee of an exciting fight will help Pacquiao sell more than ever and others of the opinion that an undersized opponent once beaten will struggle to attract much interest.
Known, as most promoters tend to be, for optimistic predictions on how many pay per views his fighters will sell, Top Rank boss Bob Arum outdid himself earlier this week when he said to Sal Rodriguez:
"Pacquiao has long ceased to only be a product in the Philippines, the United States or Mexico. He is already a global icon, and therefore, we are going to travel the world [promoting] this great fight. We'll start this in August and end it in September, with the time required for both fighters to return to their camps. It will be a great fight, and we expect 1.6 million homes on pay-per-view,"
Of course, even with a world tour and the full backing of either HBO or Showtime and their parent companies, 1.6 million is a huge amount of pay per views to achieve.
Pacquiao's closest effort to date came in his most recent fight against Shane Mosley, with whom he achieved sales somewhere above 1.3 million. 'Somewhere above' being the optimal phrase because to date no solid figures have been officially released by Top Rank.
And to many, the third fight with Marquez is less intriguing than some of Pacquiao's past recent fights such as his welterweight debut against Miguel Cotto.
Nevertheless there is also a feeling of unfinished business between the Filipino and his Mexican rival.
The first fight between Pacquiao and Marquez was ruled a draw, and was close enough that both fighters to this day have fans claiming that they should have won the fight.
The second fight four years later was supposed to settle the score, but in that respect failed to achieve it's aim. Once again fans witnessed a thrilling back and forth encounter that saw Marquez knocked down and Pacquiao's usually rampant attacks countered effectively throughout. Once again though there was controversy.
Although Pacquiao took a narrow decision that time around, Marquez supporters once again still believe that he should have had his hand raised at the end of the fight.
And now we have the third installment.
This time around Pacquiao is perhaps the biggest star in the sport today, now fights three weights higher and Marquez, now 37, is beginning to show signs of slowing down.
Then there is the matter of Marquez's previous attempt to move north of the lightweight division.
In 2009 he took on Floyd Mayweather at welterweight and was dominated, with the bout looking at times like little more than a sparring session for the mercurial American.
Anyone who saw that fight knows that Marquez probably has no business fighting above lightweight. They also know however that he has close to the perfect style to beat Pacquiao.
Undoubtedly the Bob Arum masterminded bidding war between HBO and Showtime to air the fight will result in a certain amount of added buyers.
Whether this will mean Pacquiao will break his pay per view personal best will have to remain to be seen, but clearly by making such a bold prediction with Mayweathr vs. Ortiz only months away, Bob Arum must be confident.
Boris Zentsov, Pitt: "No way it sells 1.6 mill, Mayweather is going to rip Pac vs. JMM apart in every episode of 24/7 too before his fight. It does 1.4 maybe."
The networks are in a frenzy to secure the pay-per-view rights to Manny Pacquiao's next fight. The Filipino WBO welterweight champion will return on November 12 in a long-awaited trilogy match with Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez.
Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, is in the process of receiving very lucrative proposals from both Time Warner/HBO and CBS/Showtime. Pacquiao's last pay-per-view performance, a twelve round unanimous decision over Shane Mosley in May, generated his highest pay-per-view buyrate figures to date. Pacquiao-Mosley is estimated to have received between 1.3 to 1.4 million pay-per-view purchases. Additionally, Pacquiao's last pay-per-view was handled by HBO's rival, Showtime, who used their parent company CBS to secure a deal with Top Rank. CBS aired promotional spots for the event, and episodes of the Pacquiao/Mosley Fight Camp 360 reality series.
To prevent another Showtime coup, HBO is bringing out the heavy guns by involving their parent company Time Warner.
"We are in the process of getting our proposals from HBO's Time Warner and CBS/Showtime, and I must say, that there is a frenzy. It's unbelievable. They're offering for the promotion an incredible amount of support. Like I've never seen before. We estimate that CBS, that their support was worth about $10 million on the open market for the last fight [Pacquiao-Mosley.] And both HBO and CBS/Showtime are way above that now," Arum told BoxingScene.com.
This time around, Arum believes the proposals will be worth around $15 million - based on early estimations. "[Media expert] Mary Kleka is pricing it out right now, but based on looking at it, it looks to me to be close to $15 million, but I won't have an actual number until the end of the day as to what the real value is. These things have a value based on what they can be bought in the market place for," Arum said.
"I know what Showtime's numbers were last time, and they were over $10 million after Mary priced it out. We're dealing with CBS/Showtime together. Last time, we did it in the spring, and this time, we're in the fall, which is right in the heart of football. And CBS has all of the big college football games on Saturdays, and CBS has a channel of college sports that runs the smaller games throughout the day, and they have Sunday football, so those spots are extraordinarily expensive."
Top Rank will receive the proposal from Time Warner/HBO shortly, and Arum expects to have the proposal from CBS/Showtime by next week.
"We will have the HBO/Time Warner proposal first, and go to CBS/Showtime to get their proposal, which we will have next week," Arum said. "This will be the most incredible marketing plan and publicity plan ever for an event in history. Any event. The estimate of the $15 million that is being analyzed by media experts as we speak. God knows what number this can be. We're really excited on this one."
The 79-year-old promoter admits to being blown away by the high paced pursuit by both networks to secure the next Pacquiao pay-per-view.
"It's unprecedented. CBS/Showtime has not been finalized yet, but with HBO/Time Warner coming in, I tell you that they're making everything that came before look very small," Arum said.
"We're in the process now of making a decision within the next week. HBO blew us over last night with its proposal. We're not dealing with the sports department. We're dealing directly with the chief executives. I never believed that they would come up with anything like this."
On November 12 Manny Pacquiao will defend his WBO welterweight championship against Juan Manuel Marquez in a trilogy that has been simmering for a few years now. The two champions are very familiar with one another, having fought to a split-draw against one another in May of 2004 followed by a razor-thin Pacquiao victory nearly four years later. The first two fights went down in Las Vegas and Pacquiao and Marquez will be returning to the scene of the crime for their third fight, set to take place inside of the MGM Grand. And while Pacquiao is recognized as one of the top two attractions in the sport along with Floyd Mayweather Jr., his promoter Bob Arum isn't cutting any corners with the buildup to his next duel. Arum is planning a world tour to hype the contest, starting in late August and culminating in early September, leaving ample time for each man to rush back home and fit in two solid months of training afterwards. Pacquiao and Marquez are tentatively planned to be making appearances in eight cities in seven different countries, including stops in Manlia in the Philippines, Tokyo, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, New York, Los Angeles, and finally Marquez's native Mexico City.
Arum gave his reasoning for such elaborate stops and also revealed what he will be expecting, numbers-wise, from Pacquiao-Marquez III.
"Pacquiao has long ceased to only be a product in the Philippines, the United States, or Mexico. He is already a global icon, and therefore, we are going to travel the world [promoting] this great fight. We'll start this in August and end it in September, with the [necessary] time required for both fighters to return to their camps. It will be a great fight and we expect 1.6 million homes on pay-per-view," Arum said in a BoxingScene.com piece. Just a few weeks after the tour is finished, Mayweather Jr. will return to the ring against WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz in an equally-interesting pay-per-view clash. Perhaps Arum is looking to up the ante a bit with his star fighter, as people will surely be comparing the overall revenue generated by both events.
Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum is planning a world tour to promote the trilogy fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao. The event takes place on November 12 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Arum says the tour will involve seven cities in eight countries. The early schedule has the tour starting in the last week of August in Manila, Philippines, which is going to be followed by a whirlwind promotional tour of cities like Tokyo, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, London, New York and Los Angeles, and the tour will end in Mexico City in early September. Arum explained why the two boxers will travel thousands of miles all over the world.
"Pacquiao has long ceased to only be a product in the Philippines, the United States or Mexico. He is already a global icon, and therefore, we are going to travel the world [promoting] this great fight. We'll start this in August and end it in September, with the [necessary] time required for both fighters to return to their camps. It will be a great fight, and we expect 1.6 million homes on pay-per-view," Arum told Sal Rodriguez.
Lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez will do everything possible to avoid the mistakes which led to a dominating decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2009. Marquez moved up by two divisions to face Mayweather at 147-pounds. On November 12 he climbs back up, by nearly two divisions, to a catch-weight of 144-pounds to face WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao.
Marquez plans to work with a specialty group of medical physicians to shape his body and to assist him with a proper gain in weight, so the boxer retains his speed and gains power from the added muscle. Marquez blamed the "gained weight" for his loss to Mayweather. He felt weaker and lost much of his speed. He won't make the same mistake against Pacquiao.
"The fight with Mayweather was a [learning] experience for me. This time I'll go up [in weight] and I'll be very strong, fast, and this time I shouldn't notice the difference. I'm going to see specialized doctors to work on that," Marquez told Sal Rodriguez.
Marquez returns on July 16 in Mexico in a ten round bout against Likar Ramos.
MANILA—Showtime has the inside track, but HBO may yet spring a surprise and make a solid bid to air the third fight of the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez trilogy on Nov. 12.
After all, a Pacquiao headliner, regardless of the opponent, is a guaranteed blockbuster as proven by the pound-for-pound king’s 147-pound clash with Shane Mosley on May 7.
Though perceived to be a mismatch after it was first announced, Pacquiao-Mosley raked in a lofty 1.3 million pay-per-view buys, worth about $71 million, for Showtime, which was given the broadcast rights by fight promoter Top Rank over longtime partner HBO.
As a result, Showtime enjoys the right of first refusal in Pacquiao-Marquez III.
Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports tweeted that Top Rank chief Bob Arum will meet with Showtime executives today to receive its initial offer.
If CBS throws its full support behind Showtime in the endeavor, then HBO will need to use its persuasive powers and shell out more money to reclaim the broadcast rights.
Pacquiao’s fights have generated an average of more than a million buys for HBO. His fight with Oscar De La Hoya raked in 1.25 million PPV buys, Ricky Hatton (850,000), Miguel Cotto (1.25 million), Joshua Clottey (700,000) and Antonio Margarito (1.15 million).
Showtime showed a viewer base larger than HBO’s after Pacquiao’s fight with Mosley exceeded these PPV figures.
What can you do when a pesky fly keeps buzzing your ear? A few seconds of silence has you thinking that it went away. Wrong! You try to shoo it away but it keeps returning. It keeps bugging you and it is just irritating, frustrating, and dam right very annoying. It wants to feed from you, and it will keep pestering you until it does. Sooner or later you realize what you have to do to get rid of this irritant fly.
So you let that fly have what it wants so you can squash him for good. You offer an arm and wait, the fly thinks he will finally dine at your expense. You let him have a little taste, and a little more to position the killing blow, and then, SPLAT!! That fly was hungry and desperate, a gentle shooing wouldn’t make it go away. It was on a suicide mission. Of course he didn’t know it was a suicide mission, he thought it would dine like he had so many times before.
On the good graces of Manny Pacquiao and Bob Arum, both have tried their best to shoo Juan Manuel Marquez to go away. It is a sad day today. I am going to have to place Juan Manuel Marquez on suicide watch. He is intent to commit, “suicide by Pacquiao.” Like the fly, Juan Manuel Marquez’s (JMM) last meal will cost him greatly. SPLAT!
The big difference between JMM and the fly is that JMM knows it is a suicide mission fighting Manny Pacquiao. He is already hinting and laying out the foundation of his impending defeat. Now he is floating that Pacquiao has waited for him to age before accepting a third fight. Yet he persisted! Why? Meal ticket, it’s JMM’s retirement fund. Like the fly, he pestered Pacquiao until he could feed.
If you’ve been following my articles, I’ve been aggressively campaigning against Manny Pacquiao giving Juan Manuel Marquez (JMM) a third fight. My main gripe against JMM is that he has not proven himself worthy and able to be fighting at Welterweight. JMM’s only foray above the Lightweight division was a total disaster. He was just too small, too slow, and too weak at the Welterweight division. JMM was knocked down early in the second round by Floyd Mayweather jr, subsequently he lost every round of their fight.
When Pacquiao left the Lightweight to concentrate on fighting at his natural weight in the Welterweight division, we found out that Pacquiao is a BIG, SCARY MONSTER at 147. At Welterweight, Pacquiao is faster, takes a better punch, much stronger, hits harder, and is offensively much better than Floyd Mayweather Jr. Fighting at his natural weight, Pacquiao punished, pummeled, and sent the much bigger Antonio Margarito to the hospital with a broken orbital bone. Margarito was 17 pounds heavier than Pacquiao at fight time. SPLAT! Didn’t the paper-fisted Juan Diaz rock and wobble JMM at 135 pounds? You do the math.
According to Freddie Roach, Pacquiao has been struggling with his weight while he was fighting at 126 and at 130 pounds. The first Pacquiao/Marquez fight that ended in a draw was at 126 pounds, their second that Pacquiao won by SD was at 130 pounds.
I tried desperately to help save Marquez from himself; and from Oscar De La Hoya as well. At one time, before he sought medical help and salvation, Oscar De La Hoya wanted to use Marquez as a fertilizer. Oscar wanted to feed Marquez to his youngens, Victor Ortiz and Saul Alvarez, to generate growth for his up and coming pair of ponies. But what would a starving fly want to do with an anemic pair of ponies if a gold vein was in his sight and within reach.
Roach is particularly irritated and annoyed at JMM’s buzzing of his favorite son’s ear, Pacquiao. Arum and Pacquiao had hoped that a gentle shooing would make JMM leave and bug someone else. They tried to call Marquez off from the ledge. But JMM was intent of becoming an irritant to Pacquiao. He buzzed Pacquiao at every opportunity he had. To Roach’s delight, the pesky JMM is going to have a chance to gorge himself on Pacquiao, he thinks. An arm will now be offered to JMM.
What led Juan Manuel Marquez to this?
For the past few years, Marquez has been going around doing his version of Chicken Little’s delusional state. If you guys remember, Chicken Little was hit on the head by an acorn nut that fell from the tree. Chicken Little then tried warning everyone that the sky was falling. I’m not sure, but I think Chicken Little went around wearing a T-Shirt that read, “The Sky is Falling.” Well, after receiving numerous punches on his head, Marquez went around wearing a T-Shirt that read, “MARQUEZ BEAT PACQUIAO TWICE.
Juan’s delusions probably stemmed from his first and second fight with Manny Pacquiao. In the first fight, he was hit hard on his head numerous times and was sent reeling to the canvas not once, not twice, but three times. And it all happened in the span of three minutes. In their second fight, Marquez was once again sent to the canvas splayed on his back in the third round; at the end of that round he was sleep walking. The round ended with Marquez doing his best at impersonating of a lost puppy by tailing Pacquiao to his corner. The referee then did his best impersonation of a kindly animal shelter officer by gently cornering Marquez back to his owner.
The only way I see JMM making it to the final round against Pacquiao on November 12th is by copying the Sour Shame Mosley “Chicken Survival Dance.”
A man has got to know his limitations. JMM’s limitation is that of the Lightweight division. He knows it, but he needs the money. He knows you don’t pull on Superman’s cape, he will for a pretty penny. He knows not to spit into the wind. But then again, he drinks his own urine.
Manny is a merciful warrior, it showed against Margarito and Mosley. But wearing a T-Shirt that reads, “MARQUEZ BEAT PACQUIAO TWICE,” just to embarrass Pacquaio is disrespectful.
Filipinos are nice and accommodating people, but disrespect them and you get the other side of the coin. On November 12th Marquez will get the tail end of an ass kicking.
Manny tried his best to shoo Marquez away. Remember this, Marquez fans campaigned for this fight to happen. They foolishly think Marquez can win. The Mayweather fans don’t want to see the fight to happen. They don’t want another hit to the face that shows Manny will outdo Mayweather once again.
I was against this fight, don’t blame anyone but Marquez and his fans for the outcome.
Lightweight champ Juan Manuel Marquez doesn’t plan to make the same mistake twice, when he faces Manny Pacquiao at welterweight as it pertains to fighting at a higher weigh tclass.
Marquez says he plans to meet with specialists in order to help him properly gain weight for the November bout.
“The fight with with Mayweather served as a good experience and in this fight, I’ll be strong, fast and I don’t expect to feel much of a difference [being at a higher weight]; I’ll be meeting with specialists to work on that,” said Marquez.
Marquez knows he can’t be careless and is currently in the gym as he’s set to face Likar Ramos on July 16 in a 10-round bout, possibly in Mexico City.
"Man, Marquez is an old fighter. I like him as a fighter, but Marquez won't put up the same fight this time around against Pacquiao," stated world-class trainer Floyd Mayweather sr., who shared his thoughts on the long-awaited third fight between pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao and lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez. Never hesitant to share his opinion, Mayweather Sr. was quick to point out that Marquez is no longer the same fighter he once was over three years ago when the two men faced each other for the second time. "He's 37 years old and Marquez has a lot of wear and tear on him and it's showed in his last couple of fights. Hell, he didn't win one second of a round against my son and people still think he's going to give Pacquiao a tough fight, so what does that tell you if my son was to fight Pacquiao?"
Recalling their first two encounters, Mayweather Sr. thought the technical skills displayed by Marquez should have been enough to at least earn him the victory the second time around. "If you want my honest opinion, I thought Marquez beat Pacquiao in the second fight and a lot of people thought he won the first fight, but I could see that one being a draw because Pacquiao started off so hot," Mayweather Sr. continued. "But that second fight...he won that fight man."
As for the third time around, Mayweather Sr. is of the opinion that the higher weight will once again prove to be a major factor working against the lightweight champion, who just might end up being knocked out for the first time in his illustrious career. "Pacquiao may stop him this time. He's old, man. They haven't fought each other in over 3 years man and it's clear which fighter is the more damaged since they last fought. He's almost tailor made for Pacquiao right now," he added. "But you never know, he may still give him fits. I just don't see it; not at 144 pounds."
Juan Manuel Marquez finally gets the third, and safe to say the last, fight he has been moving heaven and earth to have before he retreats to the sunset.
There is not much money fight left in him as he approaches his 38th birthday.
He has had two memorable and controversial fights with reigning pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao, both when he was at the prime of his career.
While both fights were close enough that they can be called both ways, Marquez never showed the kind of dominance that fellow Mexican Erik Morales did against Pacquiao during the two’s first of three fights.
Like many Mexican boxers before him, Marquez failed to even knock down or put Pacquiao in real danger of losing. True, he had his moments. He gave Manny the biggest puzzle with his sweet counterpunching styles. But because their two fights went the distance, boxing fans had to accept the scorecards. After all, it is the reason why judges are there – to score the fight.
Also, nobody really cried highway robbery when Manny won by split decision in their second fight. In contrast, Manny was a victim of a judge’s error when the latter failed to properly score the first round in the first Pacquiao-Marquez fight which would have meant another close majority decision for the Filipino world boxing sensation.
Marquez and Manny first fought in 2004 and again in 2008.
Since their first fight, the two have gone separate ways with Manny bouncing from his heartbreak loss to Morales to go 15-1 and in the process capturing five more titles in as many weight divisions.
Marquez, on the other hand, would lose three more times in 13 fights.
Career-wise, Manny is still at his peak and has morphed into a complete boxer that is remarkably different from the trigger happy lefty that Marquez encountered in the past.
Not only is Manny now bigger and more technically sound and proficient, that he is at home at the agreed weight that he and Marquez will be fighting for the third time. And he has not lost a step. Nor the sting of his punches.
Manny was having trouble meeting the weight limit when he fought Marquez as a featherweight in 2004 and as a super featherweight in 2008.
Marquez, in the meantime, is having difficulties carrying added weight outside of his lightweight frame. He was a lot slower when he lost a unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr two years ago and has become even more hittable.
If he felt Manny’s punches when they were featherweights, there is no question he will feel the same, if not even more, when he gets tagged squarely the third time around. He may no longer be able to bounce back to his feet when Manny connects with his patented left straights and equally explosive right hooks, punches that were missing when they first fought.
To his credit, Marquez is a true-blue Aztec warrior. A third fight will probably give him a peace of mind and surely the gold mine.
Marquez will be receiving the biggest pay check of a career that is likely to end before Manny’s.
But he may be trespassing in a territory that rightfully belongs to Manny.
Kevin Iole (who is just a machine of Bob Arum news today) says that Top Rank executives will meet tomorrow with Showtime, as the network has "first dibs" on negotiations for the November 12 fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, but an offer from HBO is also expected soon.
Showtime, of course, handled the May 7 fight between Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley, which was a huge story in boxing TV news in the United States, as Showtime hadn't promoted a major pay-per-view event in nearly a decade by that time. The jump by Top Rank to take Pacquiao to Showtime caught everyone by surprise, and with about 1.3 million pay-per-views sold, you have to consider the move a success, though you also can't say they did better than HBO would have.
What it comes down to, I suspect, is two key factors:
How seriously Arum and Top Rank take the budding relationship with Showtime and more importantly, Showtime's parent network CBS. If they're dead set on getting boxing back on network TV, continuing to grease the wheels with CBS is vital.
HBO has a lot more money than Showtime to throw at this fight. If they decide to really go after it, they can simply make Top Rank an offer that they can't refuse. Money makes the boxing world go 'round, frankly, and I mean short-term money. Boxing promoters are notoriously short-sighted businessmen and if HBO makes a blowaway offer, can we really expect Top Rank to turn it down for something as silly as the future good of boxing?
The two networks have had terrific years, and boxing overall has been better than I can remember in the recent past. Good fights are being made constantly, and HBO in particular has a positively stacked lineup right now, as they've rebounded tremendously from any failures or perceived failures.
So what do you expect? Who reels in this big fish fight?
MANILA—Hall of fame trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain believes he has devised a fight plan to finally shame Manny Pacquiao.
He said all his prized ward Juan Manuel Marquez needs to do is execute the strategy perfectly to exact revenge on the Filipino pound-for-pound king in their third showdown on Nov. 12 in Las Vegas.
In a recent interview with FightHub TV, Beristain surmised that it would take a “quick fighter, not fast with the hands and feet, but with the mind and reflexes” to solve the Pacquiao riddle.
The trainer said Marquez and Floyd Mayweather Jr., who are both regarded by fight pundits as intelligent and methodical fighters, can execute his plan.
Marquez nearly proved Beristain right in his first two fights against Pacquiao—in 2004, which ended in a draw, and 2008, which the Filipino won by split decision.
Beristain acknowledged, though, that Pacquiao has become stronger, bigger and a more technical fighter, making Marquez’s task of ending the Filipino’s five-year ring dominance doubly hard.
“Pacquiao is very difficult to beat,” Beristain told the Spanish TV show ‘Golpe a Golpe,’ in 2009. “If it was difficult before, imagine now.”
It begs the question really, do the first two fights actually matter when speaking of a third showdown between the two superstars?
Since their last encounter, Juan Manuel Marquez has established his name as the best Lightweight in the world. Aged yes, but only in numbers as in terms of skill Marquez has yet to see any of his decline translate into a disadvantage in the ring. He’s still one of Boxing’s best in-ring tacticians with the ability to adjust mid-fight to any fighter’s style and develop a strategy for victory on the fly.
Pacquiao on the other hand, well, we all know what happened to him as we saw his star rise to epic proportions. Pacquiao has since become Boxing’s biggest attraction and is adored by fans the world over. His dominance can only be compared to that of a Muhammad Ali, whose transcendent popularity is passed on to Pacquiao.
The first two fights between Pacquiao and Marquez saw both fighters unravel before our very eyes. It was as if these two fighters were made to fight each other over and over again. Unfortunately, Boxing is as much a business as it is a sport and out-of-ring issues prevented the two from ever fighting when they should have (the gap between their first fight and the second one is four long years).
If we can take anything from the first two fights between these two elite fighters, it’s that they are a matchup made in heaven, technique wise. Styles make fights and theirs make a perfect combination atop the squared circle.
Marquez’s pinpoint counterpunching versus Pacquiao’s devastating relentlessness and speed, that’s the premise we dealt with in I and II, and that’s what we expect to see in III.
But you can’t really predict the outcome of the third fight with the first two fights as your basis. Frankly speaking, they’re irrelevant now. The two pugilists are far different fighters now than when they last fought in 2008. Marquez has aged and has declined physically yet has gained better experience and has mastered his technique. And Pacquiao on the other hand has bulked up to be a Welterweight beast that carries his power and speed well in the higher weight class.
Simply put, the two fighters we saw in 2004 and 2008 are nowhere to be seen irrelevant of what most boxing analysts bring up when speaking of these two fighters. 2008 was a million centuries ago, 2011 is something completely different. Both Marquez and Pacquiao have improved dramatically with no question.
Just how much each has improved over the other will be the deciding factor.
Any which way, Pacquiao – Marquez III will be a slobberknocker. Just don’t expect something like the first two fights, it’s not going to be a repeat. I don’t think, as well as others, that Marquez has the ability to hang with Pacquiao at Welterweight.
Later this year, Mexican boxing legend Juan Manuel Marquez finally gets his third shot at Pound-4-Pound King Manny Pacquiao and a chance to avenge his razor-thin split decision loss to the Filipino slugger back in March of 2008.
Marquez insists that he won both his previous fights against Pacquiao, which resulted in a draw and loss on his record. Pacquiao's Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach has said time and time again that he thinks Marquez is the one fighter that has Pacquiao's number, and expects another transcendent war between the two.
But this isn't the Pacquiao of 2008 now is it?
The last time both men fought, it was at 130 pounds. That was the last time Pacquiao fought at that weight, and aside from cameos at 135 and 140, he has fought mostly at 147 and has grown into a legit welterweight, and has not looked back since. Marquez, who will be 38-years-old by the time he squares off against Pacquiao in November, is the lineal champ at 135 and will be fighting Pacquiao at the catchweight of 144 pounds. Unlike Pacquiao though, he has not been able to carry the extra weight as efficiently, and was blown out by Floyd Mayweather Jr. back in September of 2009 when they fought at a similar catchweight. Although Mayweather did not honor that 144 limit and came in at 146 against Marquez at the weigh-ins, Pacquiao still has the significant advantage because of the 144 catchweight, because he can make that limit comfortably as he has not weighed-in more than 145 in any of his fights ever. Honestly, despite what history suggests, I do not give Marquez much of a chance at beating Pacquiao.
Yes. Styles do make fights. And as much as Marquez's style has given Pacquiao fits, this upgraded version of Pacquiao punches harder, is much stronger, and is more skillful and elusive than the one that dropped 'Dinamita' four times in the past. With that said, I expect nothing less than a knockout win for Pacquiao, unless Marquez decides to pull a 'Shane Mosley' and not fight at all. I, however, have far more respect in Marquez's breed to think he would lay an egg like that and simply cash his check. Besides, how stupid would he look if he won't even put up a fight after calling out Pacquiao on numerous occasions and claiming he won each time they fought?
Anything less than a Pacquiao KO win can be chalked up as a disappointment.
If Pacquiao fans truly believe Pacquiao can beat Mayweather, how can they expect less either, when Mayweather simply toyed with Marquez? Yes, Mayweather's style forced Marquez to fight uncharacteristically and take risks. Instead of being the counterpuncher that he usually is, Marquez became the aggressor, and dramatically failed in trying to do so against the defensive wiz that Mayweather is.
Pacquiao will never make Marquez look as foolish as Mayweather did. That's not his style. Marquez will still be able to tag him, simply because Pacquiao's aggressive style leaves him susceptible to counters. But with that said, and all the advantages like age and weight favoring Pacquiao, he should finally be able to close the book on this rivalry and overwhelm his Mexican nemesis. If the 'come forward' Michael Katsidis was able to drop Marquez, and Juan Diaz was able to administer a beating on him when they first fought at 135, Pacquiao should ultimately be able to finish him for good.
And if this fight ends up as close as the first two, Pacquiao fans definitely have to reconsider his chances against Mayweather. Pacquiao needs to make a statement and end all discussion with his fists. And who better to do it against than an opponent who has repeatedly questioned his abilities, discredited and disrespected him? Greatness is expected from those who are regarded as the best. If you don't think so, then you are simply pulling your own leg.
The argument as to just who deserved the decision after Saturday's instant classic between Manny Pacquaio and Juan Manuel Marquez, in their superb rematch, will no doubt go on for some time. Yet one thing the fight proved beyond any doubt is the fact that Pac-Man is once again boxing's number one most thrilling operator.
In his last two bouts, against Jorge Solis and Marco Antonio Barrera, it was clear Manny was not firing on all cylinders. As a result, both fights did not produce the pulsating action Pacquiao fights normally do. Well, guess what - Pac-Man is back to doing what he does best, namely putting the fans attending his fights through absolutely pulse quickening drama. Last night's return bout, four years in the making and all, was nothing short of a majestic and glorious battle.
The fight also asked a number of questions, not least, who actually won? Also, the following posers were put forth; can Pacquiao really go any further up in weight? Will there be a third Pacquiao-Marquez bout, was the rematch even better than March 1st's Vazquez-Marquez rubber match? And, finally, can we simply stop talking about a Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton fight?
Now to answer these questions one by one.
Firstly, for what it's worth, this writer had last night's fight scored as a one point win for Juan Manuel Marquez. The fight was desperately close, however, so the question of who won can only come down to a case of take your pick. One does hope that there are no cries of robbery, though. This fight was too good to be spoiled, at least partially, by any complaints of that nature. The action was dead close, let's leave it at that.
Can Pac-Man go up any further in weight? For a guy who made his pro debut down at a mere 106 pounds, the Filipino superstar has already achieved plenty. But to go up to lightweight? That may be biting off a little more than Manny can chew. Super-featherweight looks, to this writer, anyway, about as successfully high as the 29-year-old can go. As it is, Manny has already earned himself the accolade of being the first boxer from his country to win as many as four world titles in different divisions. In short, Pacquaio doesn't need to take risks by going up any higher, his legacy is already cemented beyond any doubt.
Will there be a third fight? How can there not be? The fights, both one and two, were absolute barnburners, and it could be argued (indeed, it almost certainly will be) that we have yet to see a clear winner in either fight between the two men. As great as fights one and two were, last night's return especially, there will surely be a third clash. Hopefully this year.
Was last night's great fight even better than March 1st's rubber match war between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez? Again, it's down to individual opinion, but I say yes. The drama was absolutely agonising last night, and the action more than delivered. Sure, the March 1st fight between Juan Manuel's brother and the magnificent Israel Vazquez delivered big style too, but for me Pacquaio-Marquez II topped it. Just. Whatever the case, though, we have almost certainly seen 2008's fight of the year - whether or not you think it took place two weeks ago, or just last night.
How about talk of a Pac-Man-Ricky Hatton clash? No. In a word, no. This fight should not happen. Yes, I know Manny enters the ring at around 144 pounds or so, but he is just too small for Hatton. There is no shortage of other, equally intriguing fights out there for Pacquaio, so why go after a natural light-welterweight like "The Hitman?" Such a fight would no doubt prove incredibly lively and dramatic for a while, but it wouldn't be a long while. Manny is not the hardest guy in the world to hit, and get hit hard and often he would by Hatton. Against a man so much naturally bigger, it would simply not be fair. Pacquiao is fearless, and would take the fight in a heartbeat, without question, but this particular mountain would be one too high to climb.
For the time being, however, whatever path he chooses to follow in the coming months, let's all congratulate, not only Manny Pacquaio, but also the equally superb Juan Manuel Marquez, on a fight exceedingly well fought last night at The Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Without any question, Pacquiao-Marquez II was a fight for the ages!
On 8th May 2004, tough Mexican and future Floyd Mayweather Jr. opponent Juan Manuel Marquez fought current pound for pound champion Manny Pacquiao in a memorable contest.
To look at this fight and analyse it, one has to turn back the clocks and see where each fighter was in their careers at this point in time.
Manny Pacquiao was widely regarded as a star in the making. At featherweight, the weight at which he would fight Marquez, Pacquiao had never been defeated, and he was always going to prove to be a huge test for Juan Manuel Marquez. Just before the Marquez fight, he put in a fantastic performance against legend Marco Antonio Barrera, winning a unanimous decision, and the only other super featherweight in the world that was rivalling the 'Pac-Man' for the top spot in that division was Juan Manuel Marquez.
Juan Manuel Marquez was the IBF Featherweight Champion and the WBA Featherweight Super Champion. He had only lost twice beforehand and one of those losses was a DQ, so really Marquez had only been truly beaten once. He himself was on the verge of becoming the top fighter in the division, but there was someone in his way; this was Manny Pacquiao.
Fight Night Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez
The opening round was a huge round for the Filipino. Pacquiao floored Marquez three times in the opening session, using his speed and aggression to befuddle the Mexican. Make no mistakes about it, these were far from flash knockdowns, but Juan Manuel showed great heart to last the round and weather the storm. This was a huge 10-6 round for the Filipino, and showed Marquez had a lot of work to do to save the fight.
In the second round, Marquez tried to steady the boat. Unfortunately for him, Pacquiao was still coming forward like a buzzsaw, but Marquez at least managed to stay on his feet in this round. However, the damage had been done by this point, and Manny had managed to gain a five point lead over his opponent in the first two rounds.
Round three saw Marquez truly get into the fight. His legs were steady by this point, and he seemed to be able to deal with the power of Pacquiao a lot better. He had also managed to slow the pace down, which meant Pacquiao wasn't throwing any more relentless combinations at Marquez. This was great news for the Mexican counter puncher.
The next three rounds saw the fight continue at the right pace for Marquez, although arguably Pacquiao nicked the fourth narrowly. Freddie Roach was urging Pacquiao to up the pace again, as it was obvious from the start that Marquez couldn't deal with the power of the 'Pac-Man'. However, he didn't, and there is a case to say Marquez took 4, 5 and 6.
Pacquiao did better in the seventh though. He got through with several head shots which seemed to hurt Marquez. Juan showed admirable heart though staying on his feet.
Rounds 8 and 9 were very close. There was a case to say either round went either way, and this fight was starting to have 'classic' written all over it.
Round 10 wasn't quite as close though. Marquez slowed the pace of the fight down again, and even stunned Pacquiao with a hard head shot. At the end of the round, Roach once again read Pacquiao the riot act, imploring his man to up the pace, as he felt the last two rounds were neccessary to win the fight.
Pacquiao was just too tired to fight at a faster pace though, and Juan Manuel did better in the championship rounds than his opponent. This was a fantastic turn around on behalf of Marquez and this showed that he was most definitely the real deal.
So the judges had to render their decisions on the fight. John Stewart marked the fight 115-110 to the 'Pac-Man'. Guy Jutras gave the fight to Marquez by the same margin, and unbelievably, Burt Clements scored the bout at 113 a piece, making the fight a draw.
The Implications Of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 1
This showed that Marquez was a true warrior, as most fighters just simply don't have the heart to scrape themselves off the canvas three times and fight eleven more rounds. As for Pacquiao, he lost nothing in this fight and gained credibility by taking what he did off Marquez.
These were two different fighters fighting two different fights. Marquez was a tactical counter puncher that looked for openings, and Pacquiao at this point was an all out attack fighter with superb movement. There was a rematch of this fight four years later, but the result of this won't be given away now as this may feature in this new 'Classic Fight Of The Week' article at some point in the future.
However, what can be said about the fight is that both fighters moved onto bigger and better things. Pacquiao as of now is considered as the top pound for pound fighter in the world, while Marquez is preparing for a massive fight against Floyd 'Money' Mayweather. Both of these fighters are future hall of famers, and Pacquiao vs Marquez 1 is a must see fight.
This is a blogsite about the Pacquiao vs Marquez 3 fight on November 12, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
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