Is Pacquiao-Marquez 3 the Right Fight at the Wrong Time?

Critics of Manny Pacquiao like to point fingers and make claims of cherry-picking and convenient matchmaking and, Lord knows, I have engaged in such behavior over the years as the Filipino Phenom has gotten bigger, both literally and figuratively, as a pugilistic icon.

In my opinion, the criticisms have been warranted in five of his last seven fights. However, as Manny's November fight with Juan Manuel Marquez approaches, this critic will go on record as saying that Pacquiao is fighting the right fight for all the right reasons. The one question, though, is whether the right fight is taking place at the wrong time.

The first two furious bouts between the modern day icons, contested at featherweight and then super featherweight, were pure fistic joy. Two battles between proud warriors who not only wouldn't back down, but, almost literally, couldn't.

In the eyes of many, Marquez, who came away with a draw and a close decision loss, actually won both encounters. The second fight was especially controversial, with even the likes of Filipino Sports analysts Ronnie Nathanielsz, Recah Trinidad and Ed Picson giving the nod to Marquez. But any way you cut it, both battles were close, fiercely fought affairs.

And ever since the controversial decision was read at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Juan Manuel Marquez has been aggressively campaigning for a rematch.

But Manny, literally, had bigger things in mind as he would immediately move up to lightweight to take on WBC titlist, David Diaz. 

Three months after Manny moved up to 135, so did Marquez and he continued to call out his rival, in search of redemption. By then, though, Pacquiao was counting the coins that accompanied a fight at welterweight with golden goose, Oscar De la Hoya. Marquez would keep up his campaign, but Pacquiao was no longer even pretending to pay attention.

Marquez stayed busy, cleaning out the lightweight division and taking his own money bout, a 2009 welterweight blow-out loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr.

After exhausting all other options, Pacquiao finally came back to Marquez, who was still working toward a rematch and more than willing to sever his relationship with Golden Boy for the chance to even the score while collecting a mid-seven figure payday.

The best time for this contest would've been three years ago when both fighters were lighting up the lightweight division, but it just wasn't in the cards. So, now, fans will get the second best possible fight (need I see which is first?) at a weight and a time that is less than ideal for Marquez.

The Mexican warrior definitely has the style and mindset to beat the reigning WBO welterweight champ, the question is whether the 38-year-old will be able to execute effectively at an artificially bloated 144 lb. limit.

We shall see, November 12th. 

Source: http://www.associatedcontent.com

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Manny Pacquiao Hospitalized; What Does it Mean for Marquez?

Three words that all boxing fans dread hearing became a reality recently when the following headline sprung up all over the web: Manny Pacquiao Hospitalized.

One of the two biggest stars in his sport, Pacquiao, was hospitalized recently as a result of his reoccurring battle with acid reflux. The Filipino champion reportedly spent one night in Cardinal Santos Hospital in San Juan, Philippines before being released the following morning. Pacquiao’s wife, Jinkee Pacquiao, cited her husband’s tendency to skip meals as a possible cause of this repeated situation.

Pacquiao, of course, was famously hospitalized for acid reflux in May of last year as well.  

The big question surrounding all of this, however, is – how does this impact his upcoming November 12 bout versus Juan Manuel Marquez? Does Marquez now have a better shot at proving all of the doubters (read: experts, oddsmakers, etc.) wrong and pulling off the upset victory?

Absolutely not.

Pacquiao could lose two hands and a leg before November and he’d still be the odds on favorite to beat Marquez in the third and final part of their trilogy. This fight, frankly, is coming at least a year too late and is really more of a stopgap/payday for Pacquiao than anything else. At this point, Pacquiao is just kind of walking around in circles, stalling and patiently waiting for his arch nemesis, Floyd Mayweather Jr., to come around and drop lawsuits. Assuming that Pacquiao’s nonsensical court games don’t push Mayweather away, that bout actually seems possible now.

But who knows, maybe Marquez will get a little boost of confidence or something as a result of this latest happening. Maybe he now sees at least one chink in Pacquiao’s seemingly infallible armor.

Or maybe Marquez is smart enough to know that not even lightening striking Pacquiao would change the unavoidable proceedings scheduled for November 12.

Source: http://www.opposingviews.com

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Notebook: The HBO Pacquio deal, Pavlik update, and more

It seems that Bob Arum is depending more on his stepson, Todd duBoef who also is the President of Top Rank. That is now evident after the deal was made last week with HBO pay-per-view to distribute and produce the Manny Pacquiao welterweight title defense against Manuel Marquez on November 12 from the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Arum took part in the negotiations, but the ultimate decision making process was in the hands of duBoef, the eventual successor to Arum in the company. Showtime PPV had the rights to the last Pacquiao title defense against Shane Mosley in May, and there was every reason to believe that they would get another deal for the next Pacquiao fight. And now HBO is back in the driver’s seat to get a hopeful and eventual Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. showdown.

That, though, is looking down the line, but possible because HBO has this working relationship with Mayweather, and they have rights to Mayweather going after the WBC welterweight title held by Victor Ortiz next month. 

There are also reports the Pacquiao fight deal with HBO can also shutout Showtime from handling the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito redemption bout scheduled for New York at Madison Square Garden on December 3rd. But that is all speculation and still subject to negotiation.

 

So HBO scores big and gets back Pacquiao in a third fight with Marquez. Showtime is disappointed, understanding this is a business. They knew all along that the Pacquiao fight with Mosley could be a one-time deal. But Arum was indicating that there could be more with the new alliance that had, HBO, the leading boxing television provider pondering the future. First they lost Cotto to Showtime and the most popular fighter in the business in Manny Pacquiao. But things changed when HBO forced Ross Greenburg out as president.

In stepped duBoef, who was pleased with Showtime, because the CBS owned network had the ability to put Pacquiao-Mosley previews on CBS owned television and radio affiliates. That granted huge coverage that the sport has not seen in years, let alone granted Pacquiao an additional fan base to the one he already had. However, there have been reports that duBoef was more comfortable with the camera angles and overall production that HBO had produced in the past, a feeling that Showtime needed to upgrade their production as compared to the way HBO has televised previous fights of Pacquio and Cotto.

Whether that can be believed or not, realizing that this all a matter of who offered the best financial deal, Pacquiao is back on HBO and very content from all reports. Pacquiao has always considered himself an HBO fighter and has been reported to say it will be good to be, back home, meaning of course once again HBO has his fight. And the deal will include coverage on the Time Warner stations of TNT, CNN, and spots during the Major League Baseball postseason games televised on the TBS and TNT networks.

Showtime did their part, and Pacquiao scored over a 1.3 million buy rate with the Mosley fight. Much of that was attributed to the CBS coverage Pacquiao received with appearances on CBS owned stations around the country. There was no rift or change of thinking with Arum and duBoef. In the end it was Arum handing the television side of the business to duBoef, who said it was a tough decision but good for boxing, because it shows how the two major boxing networks value the sport.

Now we see where all of this goes. Does Cotto-Margarito also go to HBO? An announcement is expected this week, and the feeling is, with duBoef in command, that soon Cotto will also return home to HBO.

PAVLIK MAY BE DONE: The future of former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik is in question. He was supposed to oppose Darryl Cunningham Saturday night in Youngstown Ohio in a Showtime televised fight, but suddenly pulled out last week. At first the speculation was Pavlik was again suffering from alcohol addiction and then the report came that it had something to do with the negotiated $50,000 purse against Cunningham, and his purse for a proposed next fight for the title against super middleweight champion Lucian Bute.

His promoters at Top Rank are more than disappointed, let’s say annoyed and pondering their next move for their once promising and valuable champion. “It’s not like Kelly to do what he did, unless he does not want to fight no more,” they have been heard saying. They say Pavlik, possibly from the previous addiction had a different attitude about the sport and they are leaving the decisions to Kelly Pavlik.

Supposedly Top Rank negotiated a lucrative deal for Pavlik to fight Bute, though Pavlik went public on a television station in Youngstown and said, “I am not going to fight a southpaw for peanuts.” It has the Top rank office in a fury and wondering, what to do next. Pavlik has not been available to comment and a source close to the fighter said he has been like himself and constantly in disputes with family and friends.

With Top Rank busy promoting their next two big fights, Pacquiao and Cotto, the overall opinion is the former champion needs to weight his options and perhaps move ahead. But another source also said Bob Arum always looks at Kelly Pavlik as a second son and is willing to give this more time and get the ball rolling again.

Either way now, Pavlik is perceived as a damaged fighter and difficult to deal with. Just ask Showtime how they perceive his image. They had to cancel their telecast and big time boxing in the summer is an important entity to the network.

Source: http://www.boxinginsider.com

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Loaded Dynamite: Marquez Looks to Prove He’s Better Than Pacquiao

The boxing world received quite a hit last week when respected trainer Nazeem Richardson spoke about lightweight champion Juan “Dinamita” Manuel Marquez in an interview. Nazeem, trainer of veterans Shane Mosley and Bernard Hopkins, stated that Marquez is no doubt one of the best fighters of the current era and that Juan may even be a better boxer than his nemesis and pound for pound number one fighter in the world Manny Pacquiao.

No one can reasonably dispute Richardson’s knowledge of the game as he’s been around the sports for many, many years and has recently guided his charge Bernard Hopkins to a history making win over ex champ Jean Pascal; making the 46 year old Hopkins the oldest fighter ever to win a major championship. 

But to declare that Marquez (or any current fighter for that matter) is a greater skilled boxer than the lightning quick and amazingly accurate Pacquiao is a major statement for anyone to make.

Everyone knows about the rivalry between these two men; back in 2004 Juan and Manny battled to a thrilling draw for the featherweight championship and more recently in 2008 Marquez dropped a split decision to Pacquiao for the super featherweight title in a very close battle. These two will engage each other again later this year at welterweight on November 12 in order to finally clear any doubt on who is the better man.

Since 2006 Marquez has lost twice, to the top two fighters in the sport in Floyd Mayweather and the close contest with Pacquiao. 

In that time he has won titles in three weight divisions (featherweight, super featherweight & lightweight) and has beaten credible opponents Marco Antonio Barrera, Rocky Juarez, Joel Casamayor, Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz (twice) and Michael Katsidis. Marquez has found this major success in the ring by landing excellently timed counter shots on his opponents and breaking them down with a beautiful mix of body-head attacks after his somewhat slow starts.

Juan has established himself as a top tier boxer and pound for pound top ten fighter with these performances. What Juan lacks in natural speed and power he makes up in strategy, timing and precision. His losses to Floyd and Manny (particularly his washout points loss to Floyd) has kept Juan from getting that career defining win that pushes him to the absolute top of the sport. He has for the majority of his career been given the “second best” tag and has almost been labelled into a Tommy Hearns and Fernando Vargas brand of fighter; where he can absolutely dominate the average to good fighters out there but is missing an element that enables him to hang with the very best.

I personally have noticed a trend with Marquez that makes me very interested in his upcoming clash with Manny. What I have noticed is that whenever Juan goes down in a fight, he seems to get stronger. Manny famously knocked him down three times into their first encounter but Marquez was able to salvage a draw after adjusting to Pacman’s deadly attacks and countering him with crisp shots to the head. In their second fight Marquez went down early on in the fight again but was able to adjust this time as well and went on to score clean shots against Manny before losing the hotly contested split decision that many experts and fans had him winning.

In addition to his brawls with the Pacman, Marquez was also dropped by Mayweather but Floyd was unable to finish him off. 

Against Katsidis, Juan went down yet again early on but came back very strong and knocked out his foe later on in the fight. 

These situations combined with the fact that Juan has never been knocked out before has me very curious to see what happens once he steps in the ring with the new and improved Manny. Since their last meeting Pacquiao has gone on to knock down men much bigger than Juan such as Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley, as well as busting up taller and heavier boxers such as Oscar De La Hoya and Antonio Margarito.

Therefore something will have to give when they meet up; either Juan will finally fall completely to Manny’s now devastating power or he will once again prove that he will not stay down for anyone; and will only hit you with stronger firepower if you hurt him.

The time is now for Marquez to make the leap from number two to number one. Even though the fight will be at welterweight, where Juan has only fought once with lackluster results, he cannot use that excuse at this point in time as this is sure to be his final meeting with Pacquiao if he once again comes up short against the Filipino warrior. I don’t see him ever fighting Mayweather again so in all likelihood this could be his last shot to prove himself as the best in the world and get that “second best” tag off of him.

I personally feel that the fight is more about whether Manny will be able to be the first one to finish Marquez before the bell or not more so than Juan being able to win, but Juan has earned the right to step inside the ring and have the opportunity to show the world what he believes; that he is the more skilled fighter of the two champions and he has what it takes to get that elusive win over his arch-enemy. Despite what Nazeem Richardson or anyone says in terms of how great of a fighter he is, Juan Marquez will come face to face with thunderous lightning on November 12 and he will have to prove to the world that he has the explosive “Dinamita” in his arsenal to combat it. 

Source:  http://3morerounds.com

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Pacquiao-Marquez III is a Pinoy action flick

They don’t make them anymore but a Filipino action picture with a hero, guns, fistfights, a love interest, a comic sidekick and a catchy title always had its loyal followers. Whether it be FPJ, Joseph Estrada, Lito Lapid, Ronnie Ricketts, Philip Salvador or Robin Padilla starring, Pinoy movie fans would watch to escape the ennui of life or to imagine, even for an hour and a half, what it would be like to be a hero.

There was always that moment, the “trailer scene” if you will, where the star would blurt out the title of the film just before the final gun battle (won of course by the hero). Pinned down under a hail of gunfire, the hero snarls at the antagonist to surrender or to come out fighting.

The lines isang bala ka lang (all it takes is one bullet), puno na ang salop (the bag is full) and di pa gawa ang balang papatay sa akin (the bullet with my name on it hasn’t been made) are staples. 

To cast Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez in the same vein, the line tapusin na natin ito (Let’s finish this!) is most fitting. A fourth battle is not being imagined even if it may be stipulated in the contract because a trilogy is the most compelling way to enter boxing’s history books.

The third fight in November is it and both fighters have more than enough reason to want to finish this rivalry.

Marquez will buck age and talk about the current superiority of Pacquiao in a heavier weight class. If there is one fighter of this era who can absorb Pacquiao’s blows, it is Marquez and he has proven this in the first two fights. He has never been intimidated by Pacquiao and knows what to do each time he fights the Filipino champion.

As always, Pacquiao will not trash talk in the fight build-up. Like your Pinoy action hero, he will let his fists do the talking, refusing to predict the round he will end the battle and avoiding any opportunity to taunt Marquez. 

If FPJ had that stare when he was being harassed by longtime film nemesis Paquito Diaz, Pacquiao has that disarming smile. Now that he is a congressman as well, expect Pacquiao to be more politically correct than ever and answer every question with a smile.

But Pacquiao wants to end this Marquez business and all doubt about his mastery of the Mexican. Intelligent and passionate Filipino boxing fans, many of whom have approached me in coffee shops to even discuss their personal scorecards, felt that Pacquiao lost the second fight.

They idolize Pacquiao no end but relish their ability to break down a fight to its minute details. I disagree with their conclusion but our discussions have always been lively and informative.

But it should be quite a battle. The three months of waiting will kill us no doubt because we will tire of speculating and trying to spot any wrinkle in the Pacquiao camp. We will even tire of Marquez saying how ready he is for this fight of his life.

But such is the way of the blockbuster: The hero has to go on a journey to go through a few trials so that his eventual triumph will be worth the wait. 

Source: http://sports.inquirer.net

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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.

Source: http://www.manilatimes.net

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Bubbly Harold Lederman: Manny Pacquiao, world's Numero Uno, came home to HBO

When Manny Pacquiao departed his American broadcast home of HBO for a one off, a fight on archrival Showtime against Sugar Shane Mosley, HBO's Unofficial Fight Judge Harold Lederman was wounded emotionally.

Lederman. who wears his emotions on his sleeve anyway, acted like the pretty high school cheerleaqder who suddenly realize the football quarterback was two-timing her.

"I felt that HBO helped make Manny legendary," Lederman said at the time. "I felt it was somewhat disloyal for him to go elsewhere."

But, at least for his Nov. 12 trilogy bout against Mexican master counterpuncher Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacman is returning to the HBO airwaves.

This news, combined with Floyd Mayweather's Sept. 17 HBO date against upstart southpaw Vicious Victor Ortiz, has Lederman chirping again.

The still active New York pharmacist is licking his lips, believing the Mayweather and Pacquiao HBO dates will make for a fistic feast in the fall season.

I caught up with Lederman as he was sunning himself in Florida and his mood was extra genial, even beyond his usual Harold of Sunnybrook Farm demeanor.

"It's nice, it is very nice that we haver Manny back. I am really looking forward to it," Lederman said.  "I really am chomping at the bit on Mayweather and on Pacquiao.

"I think this trilogy bout will be a great fight. I don't think Juan Ma is too small for Manny. Their first two fights were great, were thrilling, so why would the third bout be any different?

"These two brings lots of emotion into the ring and they both have emotional, loyal fans. They wlill get in the middle of the ring on Nov. 12 and try to kill each other.

"The Mexican fans will be in Las Vegas to support Marquez and the Pacman fans will be there to support their guy who I regard as the best pound for pound fighter in the world," Lederman said.

"Once we get the Mayweather fight out of the way, all the adrenaline will flow to Marquez and to Pacquiao and their fight."

Don't get the idea that Ledrerman considers Floyd-Vicious Victor a mere appetizer or an amuse bouche.

He considers Ortiz "a very live underdog" and said Ortiz will also bring a raft of fans to Vegas with him.

"Victor will have all the Mexicans fans, many of whom turned their back on him when he turned his back on Marcos Maidana," Lederman said.

"I watched the Los Angeles press conference with Floyd and Victor on Youtube and it was just sensational."

I asked Lederman how he graded the 24 year old Ortiz in his sitdown session with Lederman colleague Max Kellerman and Mayweather.

"Floyd was, as excpected, cool as a cucumber," Lederman said, "but I thought Victor handled himself very well. Mayweather is just so used to all that kind of attention."

While some experts think Mayweather may school Ortiz, Lederman thinks the underdog has the tools to surprise.

"Look at his effort against then unbeaten Andre Berto," Lederman said. 

"Victor is a big puncher and a southpaw who can punch with both hands. 

Definitely, he's got the puncher's chance to win it.  Also, Victor has to be on an emotional high these days."

Hey, come to think of it, Lederman and Ortiz do have that in common.
The fighter and the Unofficial Fight Judge both wear their emotions on their respective sleeves.

Source: http://www.examiner.com

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