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!

Juan Manuel Marquez The Dreamer

Back when I was small I would get up early in the morning and watch the vacant streets of where we once lived, tracing it far past my cousin's house and that huge Star Apple tree, far down to the river. Watching from our rooftop I would climb even farther up to thirty feet in our radio antenna just to know how it looks like to be on top of everything because when you're that high up sometimes even taller buildings from a distance seem to appear a tad below you.

One thing I truly admire about the Mexican boxer, Juan Manuel Marquez is his willingness to chase his dreams, no matter how far up he has to move in weight just to fulfill his dreams. If I have to think of one word that would best describe his characteristics as a man behind the prizefighter, it would be a "dreamer."


After his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. when he also had to pack up a huge weight difference, it is as if it's apparent effects on his poor performance have not become a deterrent to his quest for a future fight with the Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao.


The way I see it, it is not as if the Mexican has not learned from his mistakes. Instead, it appears like Marquez is not going to let his mistakes prevent him from pursuing his dreams. Not only does he have to give in to the weight demands to fulfill this fight, but he'll be on a huge disadvantage with his age, which is considerably advanced in the prizefighting realm.


To be where he is now, he had to keep himself sharp and by that he fought fierce competitors such as Michael Katsidis and "Baby Bull" Diaz, and even Floyd Mayweather Jr. at Welterweight just to prove to the world that he is fully equipped and up to the challenge, or whatever odds are evidently preventing him from another encounter with Pacquiao.


The last time I saw Juan Manuel Marquez personally was when he came to the Philippines and challenged Pacquiao to fight him one more time, which I don't find to be the smartest of moves. I honestly do not have the slightest admiration for whiners. At that moment he took the microphone and blurted his emotions I couldn't help but run in my mind thoughts of a cry baby begging for something, and Pacquiao was just being a class act at that time smiling; not even a hint of being offended or about to get mixed up in a heated conversation.


While it is true that styles do make fights and it's become an established fact over the past encounters that "Dynamita" Marquez has the best boxing style to offset Pacquiao's in and out, unrelenting offense many believe the former won't be able to handle the highly improved Pound for Pound champion. He has upgraded his fight game arsenal in so many aspects over the years while maintaining his vaunted speed and stamina. And the power Pacquiao has at this point of his boxing career is just tremendous, so just imagine the difficulty of fighting him now. Offensive game aside, just think of how much Pacquiao's defense has improved; the lateral movements, the experience and lessons he has learned fighting and defeating a series of boxing greats at the higher divisions. It's almost like an entirely new ball game now. If Marquez had a hard time against him in the past the odds of success in trading punches with him now is so overwhelmingly against his favor, even to some extent where his safety up in the ring could be argued by some as a real issue. Many boxing pundits believe Marquez could be destroyed up there, and when you analyze it all in paper the basis for that is not too far flung at all.


The slow-starter, Juan Manuel Marquez, who is also very crafty may have shown stability in his last few fights and have raised brows of many critics for being able to hold on and still perform well at his age, but I don't think we can expect him to improve any further from this standpoint. He is more likely to be the same boxer Manny fought to a controversial win, while the latter has improved so much now. But the sport of Boxing is like life in that it is peculiar. You just cannot discount a dreamer.


Marquez vows to die trying

JUAN Marquez lost a decision (March 15, 2008) the last time he battled Manny Pacquiao.
Earlier, (May 8, 2004) he got up from three knockdowns to eke out a draw verdict with the current toast of boxlandia.

Now, they’ll tear each other’s throat at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas on Nov. 12, a gainful result of an eight-year gambit Marquez employed in chasing Pacquiao for a high-paying third fight.

This welterweight title match has a funny way of rewarding Marquez as he makes all snug his strops for a tuneup against Columbian Likar Ramos. 

Recall that the Mexican counter-puncher became a punchline with his incessant claim of being cheated after failing twice to beat GenSan’s Pacman.

A flamboyant launching of the Pacquiao-Marquez trilogy is slated in the first week of September at the historic Rizal Park at the Luneta, where a record-breaking attendance of an outdoor world title fight was achieved when featherweight boss Luisito Espinosa turned back the challenge of Cesar Soto of Mexico before some 350,000 delighted fans.

After Manila, the globe-trotting troupe hits Japan, Singapore, London. Abu Dhabi, Las Vegas and Mexico.

Note that the places scheduled for stops are all capable of staging the in-demand Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather pairing—a reasonably expected final war to end all ring wars.
Coincidence?

Methinks by design.

And just so the Pacman wouldn’t think Marquez isn’t ready to turn the page against the idol this time, the counter-punching Mex is hard at work devising a novel type of ring assault based on a dramatic style of dancing called ballet. (ab ovo usque ad ma la) from soup to nuts, from beginning to end?)

The Pacquiao-Marquez fight caps a long-running drive to end an organized trilogy between the bitter disputants.

“I’ll go for the kill or die trying,” said Marquez.

Is this what a new JuanMa will do to offset Manny’s speed, power and accuracy?

Such braggadocio from an 8-1 underdog in the initial offering by bookies at the tills.

The Sarangani boxing congressman as is his wont isn’t letting anyone know if he’s confused or amused by the Mexican’s rants.

Your 1 gets 10 Marquez believers.

Deal? 

FROM PILLAR TO POST: MARQUEZ GEARING UP FOR THE FIGHT OF HIS LIFE

Juan Manuel Marquez has done a lot of shouting and hollering about how he feels he got jobbed against Manny Pacquiao, not once, but twice. His desire for a third fight has turned into an obsession. As we all know, Marquez finally got his wish and is now looking at a November 13th showdown with Pacquiao at Welterweight. But first, the lightweight champion is going to test the waters at a higher weight when he takes on the unheralded Likar Ramos in a Junior Welterweight showdown next weekend.

Ramos is a stiff in every sense of the word and is being picked because he's a southpaw and will serve as a Pacquiao tune-up for Marquez, who hasn't been in the ring since his November slugfest with Michael Katsidis in a fight that saw Marquez touch the canvas before regrouping to win. Though I highly expect Marquez to win, I wouldn't be surprised that, at 38 years of age and after taking a tremendous amount of punishment since his last fight with Pacquiao,  Marquez's performance won't make people froth at the mouth for the Pacquiao fight.

The only thing I'm wondering about is, if Marquez looks bad or even loses, with the Pacquiao camp still go through with fight anyway. Whatever the case, a third fight with Marquez should have happened when both fighters were at 135, not at some catchweight of 144 pounds. Marquez will just be yet another old duck who will either get stopped because he's too brave for his own good, or he'll attempt to beat Shane Mosley's backpedal speed on the night of the fight.

The Best of the Rest

Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito are going to face off this December for Cotto's WBA Super Welterweight title in what will be one of the most anticipated fights of the year. Cotto is coming off a 12th round TKO victory over Ricardo Mayorga last March and Margarito was last seen getting his face broken by Manny Pacquiao, requiring career-threatening eye surgery. Though both guys are nowhere near as fresh as they were three years ago, this fight is even more compelling than their initial bout and I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Erik Morales will be returning on the undercard of Mayweather-Ortiz against British champion Anthony Crolla and the winner may somehow end up as the #1 contender for the WBC Jr. Welterweight title despite the fact that Morales lost his last fight against Marcos Maidana and Crolla isn't even ranked by the WBC. If Morales does get the spot, it might be enough to get Timothy Bradley to sign with Golden Boy and defend his belt against Morales some time in 2012.

Sebastian Lujan looked mighty good against Mark Melligen last week and promptly called out Devon Alexander to take his challenge. While Alexander will be looking to the direction of rival Paulie Malignaggi, a fight I would love to see is Lujan against Kermit Cintron, who is attempting to flop, er, I mean drop his way back to 147.


Pacquiao seeks Lim’s help in promoting fight vs Marquez

FILIPINO boxing hero and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao has sought the assistance of Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim for the promotional tour of his forthcoming fight with Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez in November.

Pacquiao said he invited Lim to a dinner where they exchanged pleasantries and discussed the details of the said tour. 

Also present in the dinner-meeting held at the Century Park Hotel was Wilson Tieng, president and executive director of  Solar Films, Incorporated who, it was learned,  also arranged for the said get-together on the boxer’s behalf.  Tieng has also been responsible for bringing Pacquiao’s fights to local screens live via telecast.


The meeting outside of City Hall and stripped of formalities was the first between Lim and Pacquiao.


It was learned that should plans push through, the promotional tour of Pacquiao will kick off at the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta.


Lim said Pacquiao merely asked for support in terms of traffic arrangements and security preparations in the area where the event will be held.


The mayor readily assured Pacquiao of every possible assistance from the city and its resources, saying “we are more than willing to be of help in any way we can.”


On the other hand, Pacquiao thanked Lim for accepting the dinner invitation and responding positively to his request in connection with his promo tour.


Lim, meanwhile, expressed confidence that Pacquiao will again overcome Marquez as he has done before, after the meeting that took about two hours.


The said tour is aimed at drumming up support and interest for the said fight, the third between Pacquiao and Marquez.


During the bout slated to be held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Pacquiao will be defending his World Boxing Organization welterweight title.

Source:  http://www.journal.com.ph

MICHAEL KONCZ: "I THINK THERE'S GOING TO BE CONTROVERSY IN THIS FIGHT TOO"

"You know, again, we gotta be worried about Marquez too. I've always said I was never excited about doing another Marquez fight because we fought two times now and we've had controversy both times. I think there's going to be controversy in this fight too. They say styles make fights, but for some reason, Marquez has Manny's style figured out...I'm confident in Manny's abilities and skills, but I still think there's going to be some controversy when this fight is over...I'm hoping, but I still have concerns, that we can put this trilogy to rest in tremendous fashion and the fight doesn't go 12 rounds and there is no controversy, but I'm not so convinced that there isn't going to be any controversy," stated Manny Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz, as he shared his thoughts on a potential third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez. Check out what else he had to say about Pacquiao, Marquez, and much more.

BT: I think Ortiz might look a little better than people expect against Floyd, but I think you're right. Ultimately, experience wise, it's probably a little too soon for him. It would be kind of like throwing Mike Jones to Manny (laughing).

MK: You know, again, we gotta be worried about Marquez too. I've always said I was never excited about doing another Marquez fight because we fought two times now and we've had controversy both times. I think there's going to be controversy in this fight too. They say styles make fights, but for some reason, Marquez has Manny's style figured out. Look, we've knocked him down 4 times and he's gotten up. Sometimes that just happens and, you know, I don't know. I'm confident in Manny's abilities and skills, but I still think there's going to be some controversy when this fight is over. It's not going to be a walk in the park either.

BT: Obviously Manny will be looking to make a statement in hopes of bringing an end to all of that controversy, but is there any extra motivation to look better than Floyd looked when he fought Marquez?

MK: Well, the last fight, you know, when we were negotiating to do Shane Mosley, that was my discussions with Manny. "Manny, let's do Shane. That's the biggest money maker at this point in time. He's got a name, he's got a fan base and so forth, but more importantly, he fought Mayweather, so let's try to do something that Mayweather couldn't do. Let's go in and see if we can make him quit or knock him out." And I think we achieved what we wanted to achieve through that fight, at least from my perspective, because if you look at the Compubox record, the punches thrown by Mosley were very limited compared to what he did with Mayweather. As I explained to Manny, and why I believe we achieved what we wanted to achieve, is that once he [Mosley] got hit by Manny and knocked on his behind, he realized the power of Manny and realized that if he tried to engage in the middle of the ring and go fist for fist with Manny, he's going to get hurt or knocked out. So I think we demonstrated to him that Manny has much more power than Floyd did. I've watched the replay of Floyd's fight with him a couple of times and he engaged Floyd more frequently, much more frequently than he did Manny because the power of Floyd wasn't effecting Mosley as Manny's power was. I don't want to say we made him run, you can make your own determination, but he had no choice. That was my whole plan, to use him as a marker to show people that we are, you know, better in different ways than Floyd and I think we achieved that, as I just stated.

BT: So are you looking at Marquez in the same way, as an opportunity to do something that Mayweather couldn't do?

MK: To be honest with you, I didn't look at that Marquez vs. Mayweather, but again, right now, this is how Manny makes a living, this is his life, he risks it every time he goes in the ring, so we have to look at the business end of it right now. Other than Floyd, Marquez was the most logical sense from an economical perspective. Secondly, I'm hoping, but I still have concerns, that we can put this trilogy to rest in tremendous fashion and the fight doesn't go 12 rounds and there is no controversy, but I'm not so convinced that there isn't going to be any controversy.

BT: Well, I don't think there's going to be any this time. I have a feeling Manny is going to stop him and look pretty good doing it.

MK: Well, I hope and pray and I have faith in him, but we'll see because again, I thought he was going to do that before too. But maybe this extra weight, maybe that's the downfall to Marquez too. Maybe he can't do what he used to at 130 at the higher weight.

BT: I think the problem that Marquez is going to have is that he hasn't gotten any better since their first two encounters, but Manny has.

MK: That's a fact. Manny's improved tremendously. Instead of being the student, he's now the professor because if you watch him in the ring during training, a lot of times, Freddie will suggest something and then Manny will go, "Coach, I think this is better," and Manny will demonstrate it and Freddie will agree with him. I noticed that tremendous change in Manny in the De La Hoya fight. To me, I observed in the De La Hoya fight that he became a thinking fighter, not just a wild fighter throwing all these punches. If you watch the De La Hoya fight, he's anticipating, he's analyzing, he's waiting, and then he's anticipated what Oscar may do and before Oscar can do it...a lot of times, Oscar would throw a punch and Manny's already long gone. I think that's where it started and it just slowly progressed from there where he does that a lot more now. Instead of just being wreckless and using his hand speed and his power, he still wants to entertain and when he gets tapped once or twice, he taps his gloves together and gives the fans what they want, but I think he's matured tremendously and he's now analyzing right in the ring and anticipating what to do right in the ring.

BT: You can see that in a couple of his fights, when Manny alters the game plan and Freddie gets a little upset with him for doing his own thing in the ring (laughing).

MK: That was exactly like in the Cotto fight, you know, he laid against the ropes there for half a round and Freddie was going ballistic. Right after the fight, Manny and I talked and I asked Manny why he did that. He says, "Mike, because I wanted to play with his mind. I wanted to show him that even though he's a bigger guy, that I can take his punches, but you know what? It hurt." (Laughing) So he knows now how to play these psychological games in the ring too. That was the sole purpose of doing it. He just wanted to play with Cotto's mind, saying, "Hey, hit me with everything. I'm not even punching back. You can't hurt me." But, you know, he admitted to me that it did hurt (laughing). But, you know, sometimes that will take the will of the other fighter, so he's mature. He's become very ring savvy. His patience, I think, is his virtue now.

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