Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez Online Live Streaming, News, Updates, Pacquiao Marquez 24/7

PACQUIAO - 143 LBS, MARQUEZ - 142 LBS

2011-11-11T16:17:00.001-08:00

LAS VEGAS -- Boxing pound for pound king and WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines (L) came in at 143 lbs while Mexican challenger Juan Manuel Marquez stepped in at 142 lbs during the official weighin held moments ago at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in front of a capacity crowd for the highly anticipated bout Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Legendary trainers collide in Las Vegas

2011-11-11T16:12:00.000-08:00

LAS VEGAS – Not only will two of the top fighters in the world compete in the main event Saturday, but they’ll be handled by arguably the two best trainers working today: Nacho Beristain and Freddie Roach.

And as different as they may be, the trainers agree that work will be over once Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao step into the ring. They’ll become little more than spectators.

“Everybody wants to make it Freddie Roach against me,” Beristain said. “But that is wrong. It is Manny Pacquiao against Juan Manuel Marquez. Once that bell rings, we have nothing to do it with it.”

eristain leaned back in his chair, patted his (relatively) flat midsection and all but sneered.

“I feel like [expletive],” the 72-year-old Hall of Fame boxing trainer growled.

For the past three months, Beristain hasn’t been able to do what he has done virtually every day for about a half century: run five miles.

Beristain has been preparing Marquez to face Pacquiao on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in a welterweight title bout that is one of the year’s most significant. And a half dozen of his other fighters are also competing in noteworthy bouts. He’s got precious little time to do anything but work in his gym and watch tapes. Much of his time has been spent getting Marquez ready to meet Pacquiao, boxing’s pound-for-pound champion.

Marquez fought a pair of excruciatingly close bouts against Pacquiao, drawing in 2004 and dropping a split decision in 2008. Another loss to Pacquiao, close or otherwise, and Marquez will run out of chances.

And so Beristain, one of the game’s unheralded great trainers, the maker of 21 male world champions and two female champions, has thrown himself headlong into his work. Every waking moment, it seems, has been about finding a way to help Marquez defeat Pacquiao.

Daily run be damned.

Even when he gets to run these days, it isn’t as exhilarating, not since he was inducted last year into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Now, whenever he runs, his solitude is interrupted by well-wishers and glad-handers.

“I go running by and they all yell, ‘Hey, Hall of Famer! Beristain, way to go!’ ” Beristain said. “They want to talk, or shake hands, just be around you. But I’ve got a lot to do. This Hall of Fame isn’t exactly what I wanted.”

Across the ring Saturday, Beristain will peer at a much younger man who will almost certainly be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012. Freddie Roach, 51, has trained Pacquiao for more than 10 years and has developed him into perhaps the most fearsome fighting machine on the planet.

Roach is a humble sort, even though his handlers are trying desperately to make him a star. Cameras follow him everywhere, reporters hang on his every word and HBO is planning a series on Roach’s life beginning in January.

Roach has won the Trainer of the Year Award three years in a row, four times in the last five years and five times overall.

His mentor, Eddie Futch, won it in 1991 and 1992, when he was 80 and 81 years old. The Boxing Writers Association of America didn’t create the award until 1989. Had it been given out when Futch started training, he might have a few dozen.

“There’s never been a trainer like Eddie,” Roach said.

The statistics would say that there is no trainer like Roach. When fighters develop bad habits, their managers send them to Roach. When mixed martial arts fighters want to learn to box, they seek out Roach.

Bruce Trampler, a Hall of Famer himself and arguably the greatest matchmaker in boxing history, said if he has a young fighter he wants to be developed properly, he’ll send him to Roach.

Beristain comes from a well-to-do Mexican family. His father was solidly middle class and his mother came from a wealthy family. She was horrified when she learned that her teen-age son had turned to boxing.

She tried desperately to convince him to do something else with his life, but he was fascinated with the fight game and wouldn’t be swayed.

He was a flyweight who won some significant amateur tournaments in Mexico and then went 13-1-2 as a pro before retiring in 1959. His passion for boxing remained, however, and he became a trainer good enough to coach Mexico in the Olympics in 1968, 1976 and 1980.

In those days, the Cubans and the former Soviet Union were dominant teams and Beristain admired their styles. He studied intently and built his own philosophy around what he learned from them, adapting it for the professional game.

Three of his fighters, Ricardo “Finito” Lopez, Humberto “Chiquita” Gonzalez and Daniel Zaragoza, have been elected to the Hall of Fame.

His style relies upon three basic tenets: footwork, making the hands and feet work in unison and learning to throw combinations.

Marquez said Beristain is a perfectionist who isn’t pleased if a training session becomes sloppy or if Marquez isn’t paying close attention to his technique.

“He is always trying to make everything perfect and he gets very mad [if it’s not],” Marquez said. “That’s why I like to train with him.”

Roach, who as a fighter in the 1980s went 40-13 and was more tough than talented, has nearly perfected Pacquiao. When Pacquiao arrived by chance at Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif., in 2001, he was blazingly fast and generated extraordinary power because of his quickness.

But he was far from a complete fighter. He was left-hand dominant and rarely used his right hand. His footwork was a mess and he didn’t put his punches together particularly well.

They’d spend hours in the ring working on the most basic of concepts and pore over fight films, trying to discover and correct flaws.

“Freddie helped me to always keep working on my technique to get better,” Pacquiao said.

Their contributions to the outcome Saturday may lay in the plan they devised. Both Beristain and Roach watched video of the fighters for hours upon hours, rewinding and watching the same segments.

They’re looking for little tip-offs that they could make a difference. The result of the fight, and the balance of power within the sport, could hinge on what they noticed.

“Nacho has had great results with his fighters and obviously, he’s good at what he does,” Roach said. “The thing is, who will come up with the better game plan for this fight, me or him? I feel I got my guy 100 percent ready for whatever Marquez might bring.

“He’s been a counter puncher throughout his career, but he’s been more aggressive, more TV-friendly, in his last couple of fights. He’s put a lot of muscle on, too, and when you put muscle on, is it for counter punching and speed? No. It’s for exchanging and fighting toe-to-toe. I think I have a little bit of insight into what they’re thinking. I told Manny I think he’s going to come out quick. So we have a good sense of what they’ll do and of what we need to do.”

What they each need to do is win, Pacquiao to preserve the possibility of a super fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Marquez to hopefully get one more big payday before he’s through.

Beristain is the father of three girls and a boy, all of whom have college degrees. One of his daughters has a doctorate in economics and another is studying for her Ph.D in economics. His wife, he said, has three degrees “and thinks she’s the smartest one in the family.”

But he said it’s not going to be his smarts or Roach’s smarts that carry the day.

“Whoever wins, [the media] will try to say that I had something to do with it or that Freddie Roach had something to do with it,” Beristain said. “I disagree. When you have good fighters and they’re in good shape, you look like you’re a lot smarter than you really are.”

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com

Manny Pacquiao, Facts, Stats, & Figures

2011-11-10T03:24:00.001-08:00

Some of this stuff you already know, but if you are looking for some statistical data for angle on Saturday’s night’s Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight, or if you’re placing a bet on it, some of this stuff might come in handy.

* Pacquiao’s winning streak is currently fourteen straight fights. He was won three consecutive fights by decision, with his last win inside the distance being a stoppage in the final round against Miguel Angel Cotto in November 2009.

* Pacquiao has fought four times at 144 pounds (the “catchweight” for this bout) or higher. Those were the last four bouts on his record.

* Seven of Pacquiao’s last nine fights have been held in Las Vegas, and four of his last six were at the MGM Grand, the site of Saturday’s fight.

* Thus far, Pacquiao has made two defenses of the WBO crown that will be on the line against Marquez. Those defenses were against Joshua Clottey and Shane Mosley. The decision win over Margarito, which took place a year ago, was for the 154-pound title as sanctioned by the WBC.

* Pacquiao’s first world championship bout took place in December 1998 (almost 13 years ago), as he was the eight-round KO winner over Chatchai Sasakul. His last defeat was in March 2005 when he was beaten on a decision by Erik Morales.

* Pacquiao’s first fight against Juan Manuel Marquez took place at 125 pounds, and for the second one, he was 129 pounds. This contracted weight constitutes a big step up in weight for both guys since that last meeting.

* The second fight against Marquez was the last time Pacquiao has fought below 130 pounds. Two years later, he was at his heaviest weight as a pro – 145-1/2 pounds against Clottey.

* Pacquiao’s fights in recent years have one things in common, in that they have not been particularly close. In his last bout, he won it by a combined 36 points (across the three judges’ cards) over Mosley. Previous to that he had a combined margin of 30 points against Margarito and 32 points over Clottey. He was ahead by a combined 27 points over Cotto until stopping him, led Oscar De La Hoya by 25 points until stopping him after eight rounds, and led David Diaz by 26 combined points when he registered a ninth-round TKO.

* The last fighter to have won on any judge’s scorecard against Pacquiao was in fact Juan Manuel Marquez, who in that last meeting on March 15, 2008 won on Jerry Roth’s card by a score of 115-112. In the first encounter (May 8.2004), despite suffering three first-round knockdowns, Marquez won on Guy Jutras’ card, 115-110.

* Currently Pacquiao has a won-lost percentage of 94.6%, though his 71.7% of KO’s as a percentage of wins is lower than that of Marquez. It is something that can be attributed to the moves up in weight for Pacquiao, which have happened in relatively rapid fashion.

* The knockout distribution for Pacquiao is as follows: 1st – 6, 2nd – 7, 3rd – 5, 4th – 5, 5th – 3, 6th – 4, 7th – 0, 8th – 3, 9th – 1, 10th – 2, 11th – 1, 12th – 1.

* Pacquiao has scored 23 of his 38 career knockouts (60.5%) in the first four rounds. Interestingly enough, only eight of those 38 KO’s have come after the sixth round

Source: boxinginsider.com

Juan Manuel Marquez – Facts, Stats, & Figures

2011-11-10T03:21:00.001-08:00

Are you going to be watching the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight on Saturday? We’re sure you will be. Maybe these statistical and numerical facts will help you take a look at it, or aid in some betting analysis of it, since there are so many gambling propositions on it.

* Since the draw with Manny Pacquiao in their first meeting, Marquez has compiled a record of 11-3, with a loss, of course, to Pacquiao, and defeats at the hands of two fighters (Floyd Mayweather and Chris John) who were undefeated.

* Marquez is the older fighter in this matchup, by a span of five years and four months. When he goes into the ring, he will be 38 years of age.

* Marquez has fought a total of 432 rounds in his professional career.

* The heaviest Marquez has ever been for a professional fight is 142 pounds, which he weighed when he fought Mayweather in September 2009. After that fight he was out of action for ten months, as he dropped to 133-1/2 for his WBO lightweight title rematch against Juan Diaz.

* Marquez will be moving up six pounds in weight (theoretically anyway) in a span of less than four months, as his last bout was at 138 pounds against Likar Ramos on July 16. For much of his career, Marquez has campaigned between 126 and 130 pounds.

* Marquez has won world titles in three different weight divisions – featherweight, junior lightweight (or super featherweight, if you prefer) and lightweight. That’s a weight span of 126 to 135 pounds.

* Marquez is the last fighter to win on any judges’ card against Pacquiao, but when he fought Mayweather, he was decisively beaten. Mayweather, in fact, beat him by scores of 120-107, 119-108 and 118-109,

* This will be the 16th world title fight in which Marquez has engaged.

* Marquez first fought for a world championship back in September 1999, when he lost to Freddie Norwood. So it has been over a dozen years since he first started to engage in world title competition. Despite the fact that he is more than five years older than Pacquiao, his first title shot came almost two years after Pacquiao’s first shot.

* Marquez is hardly a stranger to Las Vegas, having fought there 19 times in his career. In those bouts he is 15-3-1 with ten KO’s.

* Marquez was a win-loss percentage of 91.4% in his pro career. He has scored 73.6% of his wins inside the distance.

* Marquez and Pacquiao have fought some of the same opponents. For example, they have both faced Marco Antonio Barrera; Pacquiao has stopped Barrera and won a 12-round decision over him, while Marquez beat him on a 12-round decision. Pacquiao boxed to an ugly, bizarre six-round technical draw with Agapito Sanchez, while Marquez beat Sanchez in a 12-round decision in an NABO title fight (April 1997). Pacquiao stopped Reynate Jamili in two rounds in 1999, while Marquez took him out in three a year later.

* Marquez and his brother Rafael, a two-time world champion, have a better combined record than Pacquiao and his brother Bobby. The Marquezes, combined, are 92-11-1 with 74 KO’s, while the Pacquiaos are a combined 82-18-5. Marquez and his brother have chalked up 73.6% of their wins by knockout, while the Pacquiaos have a KO rate, expressed as a percentage of wins, of 63.4%.

* Marquez’s first-round knockout of Likar Ramos in July was his first fight since October 2001 that failed to complete six full rounds.

* This is the way Marquez’s knockouts have been distributed: 1st – 5, 2nd – 5, 3rd – 3, 4th – 3, 5th – 1, 6th – 2, 7th – 5, 8th – 4, 9th – 5, 10th – 4, 11th – 1, 12th – 1.

* Marquez’s knockout wins are much more evenly distributed than Pacquiao’s. He has scored a KO or TKO in every round. He also has 19 KO’s in the first six rounds, with 20 coming from rounds 7-12. Marquez has never been stopped in a fight.

Source: boxinginsider.com

Pacquiao-Marquez III: Expect a Classic

2011-11-10T03:20:00.001-08:00

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The virtual stalemate brought about by what many perceived was the indecisive result of their initial two meetings will finally be resolved when Filipino World Boxing Organization Manny Pacquiao and Mexican challenger Juan Manuel Marquez battle for the third time Saturday at the MGM Grand here.

This, Pacquiao himself, owner of the 147-pound belt, and Marquez, who will try to divest him of the crown, reiterated yesterday during a separate press conferences held at one of the function rooms of the official home of the fight.

“I thought this issue had been settled in our second fight, but some people, including Marquez himself, doubted the outcome. Much as I believed that this third fight is unnecessary, still I obliged to erase all doubts that, instead of him, I was the one who emerged triumphant in both fights,” Pacquiao said in Tagalog.

Pacquiao, actually, will try to remove one of the only two thorns tainting what was a supposed to be rosy career, the other one being his twice aborted showdown with American undefeated welterweight Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“He kept on saying he got robbed in the first two fights. This fight will answer all the doubts and all the questions,” the 32-year-old pound-for-pound king and eight-division champ, stressed.

“Everyone, including many of my countrymen, believe he (Pacquiao) really won those fights,” Marquez, the undisputed world lightweight kingpin, for his part, said through an interpreter.. “I will prove them wrong after this fight.”

“I have train harder than all my fights before for this. I know I am at a disadvantage because I have to put additional weights, but that’s the reason why, precisely, I got a new strength coach,” the 38-year-old Mexican “Dinamita” related in reference to an alleged former drug dealer Angel Hernandez (aka Heredia).

“I’ve really grown big, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I lost my speed,” he assured. “I can be as fast as he and as powerful as I used to be.”
Both vowed to give boxing fans all over the world a great fight during the subsequent media conference held under the auspices of Top Rank Promotion and major sponsor Tecate Beer at the MGM Hollywood Theater later in the day.

“Everything is all set,” Pacquiao said as he invited boxing fans to watch and enjoy the fight. “Not everybody can watch the fight live inside the stadium. But just the same, you will be seeing a great fight.”

“I seldom talk about a fight outside of the ring. Inside it, I’ll do my job,” Marquez warned even as he added he is dedicating this third encounter against Pacman to his countrymen and Mexico.

Pacquiao’s chief trainer Freddie Roach, strength coach Alex Ariza, adviser Michael KJoncz, assistant trainer and Pacman’s childhood friend Buboy Fernandez and Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson were also in attendance, seated in the presidential table allotted to the Filipino icon.

Roach’s counterpart, Hall of Famer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain, Marquez promoter Fernando Beltran and WBO president Richard Stern accompanied Marquez in his side of the panel.

Arum, meanwhile, announced that all tickets have been sold as emphasized as he attested the tremendous popularity of the combatants.

“The tremendous demand for tickets speaks well of the popularity of Pacquiao and Marquez, the two best pound-for-pound fighters of this era,” the Harvard-educated lawyer, said.

“This is a fight between two gentleman boxers, who are not only sportsmen but warriors as well,” Arum said. “Expect a great fight, a classic fight,” he said.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Youthful Juan Manuel Marquez

2011-11-10T03:18:00.000-08:00

When I travel to new places I try to embrace that feeling of literally not knowing where I am for there are days when you just wish you could just disappear. When I travel to new places especially down the beautiful countryside I find these occasional stop-overs as perfect moments for it and you step out of the bus and look around and you're not able to identify yourself with anything that you see, and it feels like bursting into this world for the very first time. It's like you've been re-born. It's in that short span of time, however brief and temporary, that you are filled once again, regardless of your age, with the novelty of living your life and youthful energy.

Every round of the fight is going to be like new ground for Juan Manuel Marquez, who may at one point never have thought a trilogy with Manny would finally come to fruition. After two controversial loses, Marquez stood at the crossroads of his career and left to eat dust as his nemesis traveled high up in weight divisions. But the proud warrior perseveres. After living under the shadow of other great Mexican fighters Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales for years, perseverance is nothing new to Juan Manuel Marquez as he never gives up until credit is given where credit is due.

Now he is back again in the spotlight of the world's toughest sport. Every round is going to be a new ground and at 38 years of age, the Mexican champion is young again. He is revitalized with hope after being given another shot at making it right this time with the greatest challenge in his career. Time is giving him a chance to make amends.

Manny Pacquiao has continuously shown us how he has evolved by developing many facets of his game starting from that beat down of Diaz to breaking Margarito's eye socket. Without a face, it would be very difficult to identify the fighter he once was years ago to how he is as a fighter at present. The pound for pound number one fighter has not slowed down a bit. Come fight night we can expect a younger Juan Manuel Marquez. A re-born fighter standing in the middle of nowhere as if with a new lease in life; rejuvenated and hoping to shock the world, as they all say before a match. The question now is whether that new found enthusiasm is enough to come out victorious. He couldn't beat Pacquiao's speed at the featherweights and we really cant expect him to be faster at Welterweight. That goes for his power, too. Even the younger Juan Manuel Marquez never really had that one-punch knockout power, and bear in mind that his opponent has withstood the wrecking power of the likes of Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito.

I do not doubt that Marquez will go out fighting. I expect him to be as good as he was in his younger days, or at least during those two fights he's had with Pacquiao which ended up in controversy. Those fights were a perfect display of the classic resilience Marquez has been known for. I expect him to be as good as the Marquez of old who fought one Manny Pacquiao who had to starve to make weight and an under developed right hand and who's overall fighting skills were unpolished.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Pacquiao vs Marquez 3 HBO 24/7 - Episode 3

2011-11-09T03:00:00.000-08:00

Roach lauds Marquez, gets raw on Floyd

2011-11-09T02:54:00.000-08:00

Manny Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, is confident that his fighter's third encounter with Juan Manuel Marquez at the MGM Grand on Saturday will be the most entertaining yet. The reason, he says, is that Marquez, who has lately been campaigning as a lightweight, has apparently been adding muscle to make the 144-pound limit for this fight.

"Marquez has become a more fan-friendly fighter; he isn't strictly a counterpuncher anymore," Roach told reporters at the MGM Grand on Tuesday. "Let's face it, when you put muscle on, you put muscle on for one reason, and that's to exchange. I like that. If he wants to exchange with us, I think that's great. He's getting ready for a big fight. He used to be a pinpoint counterpuncher, and I think the muscles are going to hurt his counterpunching but help in the strength area, and so I think he's going to fight us. This will be the best of the three fights with the way both these guys are getting ready, in my mind.

"He's going to come and use his power the best he can. I think he's going to start quick and just go for it, and that's why I'm going to have Manny warmed up really well and ready. [This fight is] going to be good for boxing because both guys are going to try their best and really, really go at it. This is a much more exciting fight than [Floyd] Mayweather."

That said, he acknowledges that a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather is something for which fans are clamoring and is, candidly, after the Marquez bout, the only one that really interests him. But that doesn't mean Roach is equally enthusiastic about the potential opponent himself, or optimistic the matchup will ever take place.

"I don't see any other real challenges," he said. "I think that fight needs to happen, because it's the only challenge out there. I think about that fight, and it's a great challenge and all that, and everywhere I travel in the world, people are excited about that fight and ask me to make it happen. But I'm getting kind of tired of Floyd, to be honest with you. Shut up and fight or not. He wants to make the rules, he wants to dictate everything. We'll fight him any day of the week, under Nevada state regulations. Who the f--- is he to try and make the rules?

"[If he doesn't fight Pacquiao] there'll be a question mark after his undefeated record. He only fights guys he can beat, little guys and all that stuff. Now he's calling us 'the little fella.' I think he's referring to Manny, but I really don't know. He sends Leonard Ellerbe, his gopher, to make a speech. Who the hell's Leonard Ellerbe? Why won't Floyd say it himself? I'm just kind of tired of it. If that fight doesn't happen, I'm not going to cry."

Source: http://espn.go.com

Pacquiao-Marquez III: The Only Preview You Need

2011-11-09T02:52:00.000-08:00

Before we begin, a disclaimer: It is the opinion of your friendly neighborhood commentator that you’d get a better value for your boxing dollar if you simply saved your money and spent this coming Saturday on YouTube watching Angulo-Kirkland again and stirring in the Ali-Frazier trilogy in honor of the late Smokin’ Joe rather than watching the cavalcade of junk that will prove to be the biggest waste of money since Pacquiao’s last pay-per-view against Shane Mosley. But for those of you with enough disposable income that the 99% are planning to occupy your house, here’s everything you need to know about the fights Saturday night.

The undercard features a past-his-prime fighter against a guy who seems averse to truly taking on the very best boxers in his loaded weight class, along with a guy who has one signature win and a whole lot of unanswered questions and an intriguing scrap that would make a great main event on ShoBox. The main event features a guy who is a natural featherweight moving up to a catchweight of 144 to face a guy who rivals Denis Lebedev in his insistence on beating up guys way past their prime. Without further ado, let’s get to the breakdown:

Luis Cruz (19-0, 15 KOs) vs. Juan Carlos Burgos (27-1, 19 KOs), jr. lightweights

The opening bout of the evening promises to be the best potential all-action fight of the night. Throw a Puerto Rican (Cruz) in against a Mexican (Burgos) and you know you’re not getting a chess match. You’re getting a Brooklyn street fight that is unlikely to see the bell ring to end the tenth round. As Max Kellerman said last week about Angulo-Kirkland, “this will be a fun fight as long as it lasts.” Make sure the beer and chips and salsa are all out before the bell rings for round one and hang on tight.

Cruz, for his part, has been brought up against generally mediocre opposition, with his biggest wins coming in his last two fights against Martin Honorio and Antonio Davis. Both of those opponents have fought for world titles and made excellent scalps for the up-and-coming Cruz.

Burgos has himself fought for a world title, taking the only loss of his career against Hosumi Hasegawa for the WBC featherweight crown last November in Hasegawa’s backyard. Since that loss, Burgos has moved up in weight and first clobbered Frankie Archuleta on Friday Night Fights in February (an easy second-round TKO) before taking a wide unanimous decision from Gilberto Sanchez Leon in his last fight in July.

This is a great matchup between two evenly-matched fighters. Burgos is more advanced in his career, but his experience should not be intimidating toward the well-managed Luis Cruz, who seeks to show a large audience what he can do in the ring. The winner of this fight will elevate himself to prominence among the contenders at 130 pounds while if the fight is close, the loser will not see too much damage to his career. This promises to be a great fight.

Mike Alvarado (31-0, 22 KOs) vs. Breidis Prescott (24-3, 19 KOs), jr. welterweights

If ever a fighter has coasted on a fluke, Breidis Prescott is that guy. A Colombian club fighter at heart, Prescott starched Amir Khan, stopping him in the very first round of their battle in 2008. Since that fight, however, Prescott is 4-3 with only one knockout, a stoppage of tomato can Jason Davis. His losses have all come against the kind of guys that a true title contender should be able to beat, namely Miguel Vazquez, Kevin Mitchell, and most recently to Paul McCloskey two months ago. Prescott has some legitimate pop in his punches, but his stamina is the big question mark. The Colombian frequently loses rounds as the fight goes on, while his knockdowns (most notably against Khan) seem to come in the early stages, suggesting that he hasn’t yet figured out how not to punch himself out.

Alvarado is unbeaten and looks experienced, but his biggest wins have come over Ray Narh and Carlos Molina. Notably, the Molina fight was the last pro loss for the current junior middleweight contender before he moved up from welterweight and rattled off a string of 12 straight wins (yes, including the robbery draw he got against Erislandy Lara. Molina won that fight.) When Carlos Molina faced Mike Alvarado, he was not the same fighter.

In a sense, Prescott is the perfect litmus test for the unbeaten Alvarado, since a win, while not completely silencing the critics, would at least add a credible scalp to the resumé of the Colorado native. Meanwhile, Breidis Prescott is running out of chances. The win over Amir Khan is looking more and more like a fluke, and only a genuinely convincing victory, perhaps an early-round knockout, will be enough to shut up those folks who say he’s nothing but a Colombian club fighter at heart.

Timothy Bradley (27-0, 11 KOs) vs. Joel Casamayor (38-5-1, 22 KOs), WBO jr. welterweight title

If this fight had taken place in 2008, it might have been a classic, a case of the aging but still lively veteran against the young rising star. In the autumn of 2011 and the late autumn of Casamayor’s career, it borders on embarrassing. This is not the Joel Casamayor you remember from three or five or ten years ago, the man who reigned over the junior lightweight division like it was his playground once upon a time. This is a forty-year-old man who hasn’t beaten a championship-caliber opponent since he stopped Michael Katsidis in a fight he was losing on two of the three judges’ scorecards at the time of the tenth-round TKO. Juan Manuel Marquez stopped Casamayor in the 11th round of their fight and Robert Guerrero has beaten the Cuban as well. Casamayor’s only wins since the Katsidis fight have come against Jason Davis (the fourth of what is now nine straight fights without a win for Davis, including the aforementioned loss to Breidis Prescott) and Manuel Leyva by split decision.

Meanwhile, Timothy Bradley hasn’t fought since his lackluster win over Devon Alexander back in January; in the meantime he found himself stripped of his WBC title over his inactivity. Since graduating from the hobo circuit Bradley hasn’t knocked out anyone remotely of note, but this is not to say that Bradley has no power at all. He has put opponents on the floor (most recently dropping Lamont Peterson in the third round en route to a wide unanimous decision); he just isn’t a finisher. Against an aging fighter whose chin may go on him at any time, this may work to Bradley’s advantage in brutal fashion when some of that power lands on the chin of Casamayor.

Timothy Bradley needs to decide what his career is going to be. A fight with Amir Khan would make the most sense, otherwise Bradley needs to consider moving up to welterweight and making a matchup with Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather in order to shake the rap that he’s just another guy with a puffed-up record and no real Hall of Fame candidacy. Bradley is 28 years old; he cannot wait forever for that career-defining fight, and Joel Casamayor is not a career-defining fight. Not anymore.

Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs) vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (53-5-1, 39 KOs), WBO welterweight title (catchweight 144 lbs.)

The Catchweight Champion of the World, Manny Pacquiao, the pride of the Philippines, boxing’s most bankable megastar, and an eight-division champ despite having taken the junior middleweight title while weighing in below the welterweight limit…you want a bio, go read People Magazine. As a fighter, love him or hate him, there’s no denying the fact that he’s Bob Arum’s baby, and this pay-per-view will do very little to dispel the notion that all of Pacman’s fights above junior lightweight have been carefully engineered money-making contests rather than genuine contests of pugilistic prowess.

All of the above doesn’t seem to matter to Marquez, however; he is looking to avenge what he believes to be two robberies at the hands of the judges in the two men’s previous fights and prove that he can move up beyond his lightweight domain despite Floyd Mayweather beating him like a redheaded stepchild the only other time Marquez did exactly that.

In the words of Bill Nye, “consider the following”. Even the most ardent fanboy would generally tend to concede that the discussion in boxing’s pound-for-pound ranking is in what order Mayweather and Pacquiao should be 1-2. This would, once the balance of opinion is considered, suggest that if Floyd Mayweather easily handled a guy at welterweight without really breaking much of a sweat, that Manny Pacquiao should at least be able to do the same, styles notwithstanding—and indeed, Pacquiao hits harder and is more aggressive than is Floyd Mayweather. Marquez looked like what he was—an overgrown featherweight—at 142 pounds in the Mayweather fight. It is hard to believe he will look any different Saturday night. Put any coat of paint you want on it, this fight is a mismatch, and a Marquez win, by decision or (especially) by knockout, will be a very grand upset indeed.

That said, anything can happen in boxing, which is why we the fans continue to shell out ungodly amounts of money for substandard cards while trying to convince ourselves that we wouldn’t want to miss the next Ward-Gatti I just because of the price tag. But when Sunday morning comes and you’re feeling the same way about boxing that you did about that girl you brought home from the bar on the morning after, don’t come crying to us. We here at Boxing’s Independent Media told you what you were getting. Bob Arum doesn’t pay us to pimp his substandard product and we wouldn’t take his money even if he did. Remember that when those other sites try to convince you that Pacquiao-Marquez III will be the Fight of the Year.

Source: http://theboxingtribune.com

Pacquiao-Marquez Prediction: Revisiting Manny Pacquiao’s Path North of 130

2011-11-09T02:51:00.000-08:00

by Geoffrey Ciani – When Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs) squares off against Juan Manuel Marquez (53-5-1, 39 KOs) for the third time on Saturday, it will have been over three and a half years since last they met. On March 12, 2008 Pacquiao walked away with an extremely close and competitive split decision victory in a fight many people felt Marquez deserved to win. As it turned out this would be Pacquiao’s last fight at 130 pounds, as he would soon make the move up to 135. A lot of fans were disappointed that Pacquiao did not immediately mix it up again with Marquez, but most figured their paths would cross again sooner or later. Few could have predicted, however, that Pacquiao would go on one of the most impressive runs in boxing history before a third fight with Marquez would finally take place.

When Pacquiao challenged David Diaz on June 28, 2008 for the WBC lightweight title it was widely viewed as nothing more than a testing the waters fight. Not many were expecting Pacquiao to lose. If the controversial win Diaz scored against common opponent Erik Morales told us anything, it suggested that at worst Pacquiao should be able to win a decisive points victory. The real question was whether or not Pacquiao could carry his power up with him. He did. He administered a prolonged beating on a very courageous but overmatched Diaz who finally succumbed to the assault in round nine. It was a good win for Pacquiao, but nothing sensational. Diaz was basically viewed as nothing more than a belt holder, as the top dogs at the time were Juan Diaz (unified champ) and Joel Casamayor (linear champ) when Pacquiao signed to take on David Diaz. Incidentally, Juan Diaz lost his titles to Nate Campbell a week earlier. So it seemed there were some fairly decent opportunities at 135, but Pacquiao had bigger fish to fry.

The prospect of a fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao seemed laughable when news first broke. In fact it was very poorly received by the general boxing public. Pacquiao, after all, had just one fight at lightweight! Oscar was fighting at junior middleweight for the last seven-plus years! How could Pacquiao possibly overcome the gargantuan size advantage enjoyed by De La Hoya? Very few observers were even giving Pacquiao a remote chance in this one. Sheer physics suggested that Pacquiao was in for a prolonged beating. This was not the same as Shane Mosley bypassing 140 for a mega payday with De La Hoya eight years earlier. Mosley had been a career lightweight moving up to welter, whereas Pacquiao had started his career at 106 pounds! This one had “mismatch” written all over it, and what a mismatch it was! Only it was De La Hoya who got thoroughly dominated and outclassed by the speedy pinpoint precision punching from Manny Pacquiao. This was December 6, 2008.

A new superstar emerged.

The De La Hoya victory was what really established Pacquiao on the map. It was both a literal and figurative passing of the torch encounter where Pacquiao assumed the mantle as boxing’s biggest star. Even Floyd Mayweather Junior had not beaten De La Hoya so impressively and so thoroughly, and there is where it all started. Pacquiao versus Mayweather—when will it happen? Money Mayweather, of course, was retired at the time. This is why Pacquiao landed the De La Hoya fight in the first place, as Oscar was originally gunning for the rematch with Floyd, and it appeared likely to happen. It did not. Instead Pacquiao had arrived and suddenly fans were excited for a big super fight with Mayweather that seemed to have materialized out of nowhere. This one had been nowhere on the radar, but then, there it was. Could it happen? Well it was probably no coincidence that Floyd decided to announce his comeback so soon after Pacquiao’s dominant effort against De La Hoya.

A fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather would surely have to happen sometime in the future, but first Pacquiao decided to go back to the division he initially skipped over. When it was first announced Pacquiao would be facing 140 pound top dog Ricky Hatton on May 2, 2009 a lot of people still doubted Pacquiao’s abilities north of lightweight. Hatton, after all, was no De La Hoya! De La Hoya was slow, he was old, he was a part time fighter, he was badly weight drained, and he was far removed from his prime. Hatton, on the other hand, was young, fresh, strong, transforming into a more complete fighter under the guidance of Floyd Mayweather Senior, and had just the right style to give Pacquiao hell. Or did he? Apparently not, as Pacquiao ended up demolishing him less than two rounds. Manny dropped him twice in the first and finished him off with a devastating bomb in the second. This was a fight that many felt would be tough and competitive, even for those favoring Pacquiao. As an interesting side note, Pacquiao had once again outperformed adversary Mayweather Junior against a common opponent.

Despite shockingly impressive victories against De La Hoya and Hatton, Pacquiao still had his doubters and not without good reason. Although Hatton did get to Pacquiao a little bit in moments that have long been forgotten, Pacquiao had yet to prove his ability to take a flush shot from a bigger fighter. Certainly a guy like Miguel Cotto could test Pacquiao in that regard, and on November 14, 2009 Cotto got his chance and test him he did. While some observers made a big deal of the fact that this fight was fought at a catch weight of 145 pounds, most did not give it much consideration because Cotto had weighed 146 pounds in his previous fight with Joshua Clottey. Would one pound really make that big a difference? During the fight Cotto mixed it up with Pacquiao early and actually had the advantage in the first round. It almost appeared that Pacquiao had finally bitten off more than he can chew, but his incredible combination of speed, accuracy, and angles began baffling the Puerto Rican fighter. Pacquiao dropped Cotto twice during the first half of the fight. After that Cotto went into survival mode as Pacquiao stalked him throughout the ring until the referee finally called a halt the bout in the twelfth and final round.

This was the last time Pacquiao would be perceived as a little guy. The victory over Cotto made him a bona fide elite fighter in the welterweight division. Pacquiao was a household name and the biggest star in boxing. With the string of improbable victories against De La Hoya, Hatton, and Cotto, commentators began mentioning Pacquiao’s name alongside true legends of the sport like Sugar Ray Robinson and Henry Armstrong. By this point in time the idea of a third fight between Marquez and Pacquiao seemed worthless. Floyd had already returned to the ring and dominated Marquez, who looked absolutely awful carrying the extra weight. Pacquiao had proven his meddle as a legit threat to anyone south of junior middle. There was really only one fight people wanted to see Pacquiao involved in, and that was a fight with Mayweather. Unfortunately, despite agreeing on the finances of the fight, “Olympic Style Drug Testing” prevented the fight from coming together and became one of the most highly disputed topics on boxing message boards.

Since the Cotto fight Pacquiao’s fights have not been as fascinating on a number of levels. For starters there was not the same level of intrigue. Even though Pacquiao’s next three opponents—Joshua Clottey (March 13, 20102), Antonio Margarito (November 13, 2010), and Sugar Shane Mosley (May 7, 2011)—were all significantly bigger men who were legitimate threats, Pacquiao was expected to beat these guys. There was no longer the question of Pacquiao being tested. Sure, these guys were tough fighters and big men, but the perception was that Pacquiao was better. And he was! He proved that by thoroughly outclassing all three of those foes in matches that were frighteningly one-sided. These are fights that, had they all taken place a year or so earlier, would have been considered dangerous for Pacquiao. But they weren’t because there was (and is) only one man that fans and the general public view as a true challenge for Manny Pacquiao, and that man is Floyd Mayweather Junior. Now Sergio Martinez is out there too, but he will continue to be stuck on the outside looking in. Pacquiao-Mayweather is the fight the public has demanded.

Some fans are viewing Juan Manuel Marquez as a real threat based on styles. After all, Marquez’s style gave Pacquiao so much trouble in their first two fights that it could just be one of those things in boxing where two guys will always match up well against each other. That is probably not the case here, however. Since they last met Marquez has been on a slow but visible decline. He is older, slower, and not quite as sharp as he once was with his timing and reflexes. On the flip side, Pacquiao is bigger, stronger, and has seemingly entered his prime fighting years since right after their long awaited rematch that happened back in March 2008. Marquez already proved he did not have that same “certain something” that made him special when he attempted fighting Mayweather at a higher weight. Pacquiao is better adjusted to these higher weights and he has also improved, whereas Marquez has declined. This fight will likely be another mismatch win for Pacquiao, but this time it will not be going to the cards. In fact, it will be surprising if Marquez survives to see the bell for the start of the fifth.

With Mayweather Junior having beaten Ortiz in a fight that only escalated his public persona as the villain, the timing could not be better for Pacquiao to obliterate Marquez and put an exclamation point on his three-fight series with the man who has been his biggest rival inside the squared circle. As much as Mayweather embraces the villain persona, in the same way Pacquiao is often perceived as the hero in this on-going out of the ring drama between Pacquiao and Mayweather. Should Pacquiao beat Marquez with an explosive stoppage victory, it would be the perfect way to pave the road to the showdown we have all wanted to see next May. Time will tell if this storybook vision will play out to kickoff what will become the biggest fight in boxing’s long celebrated history, but things are looking promising—at least for the moment.

OFFICIAL PREDICTION:

Manny Pacquiao TKO3 Juan Manuel Marquez

Source: ontheropesboxingradio.com

Pacquiao-Marquez III: Roundtable Preview

2011-11-09T02:48:00.000-08:00

Only days away from the highly anticipated rubber match between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, the 3MoreRounds staff sits down to discuss the upcoming welterweight clash.

After the two engaged in a memorable encounter in 2004, which resulted in a disputed draw, the two did it again in another war that saw Pacquiao come away with a split decision in 2008. Now three years later, they’ll do it again at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this Saturday night.

It’s been a little over 3 years since Pacquiao last faced Marquez. How much has each fighter advanced since then in terms of overall skills?

Ali Shakoor: Pacquiao has clearly advanced to an all-time, P4P, elite level. His power has improved, as well as his endurance. Clearly, he’s a better and stronger fighter above 140. He punches in combinations better, and has better angles and movement. He also has a better defense and chin.

Marquez has actually slowed down just a bit, but has very good power at 135. Otherwise, he does everything just about as well as he ever has. He’s a brilliant counter-puncher. But at 38, you gotta see that his speed and reflexes are just a bit on the downside.

Igor Frank: Their last fight in 2008 was spectacular. Both combatants were on top of their game. Since then, the speed and reflexes of Marquez have declined. Several years ago JMM was in a life and death battle with volume punching Juanl Diaz. In all fairness , he did knock him out, but not before going through hell and back early. Pacquiao was already a two-fisted fighter in 2008. He was on top of his game then, but in the words of well known Filipino journalist Chino Trinidad, who has been covering Manny since the beginning, Pacquiao broke through the ceiling and ascended into another dimension since 2008.

Jonathan Yaghoubi: I feel that both men have gone in the opposite direction since they last fought in 2008. Marquez has certainly not gotten better in terms of his overall skills but how could he now at the age of 38? He is not as quick and doesn’t have the same snap to his punches. He’s going to need all the power he can get to beat Manny. Marquez is still a great fighter and really has not had any need to improve his skills in the last three years.

For Pacquiao, he has really came into his own since the last time he stepped in the ring with Marquez and has taken over as the top boxer on the plane. He has become an all-time fighter by breaking Henry Armstrong’s record of five titles in five different weight classes. There is no doubt that Pacquiao has improved far better than Marquez.

Scott Tonelli: In so far as skills are concerned, Marquez hasn’t improved too much. Marquez has always been able to apply pressure, and use classical boxing skills (thanks to the teachings of Nacho Beristain) to make his fights competitive and highly entertaining. I don’t believe Marquez has necessarily learned anything new that could contribute to his gameplan against Pacquiao, but what he does have, and has always had, should be enough to make Pacquiao realize that he’s in for another fight. Although I will say that it seems as though Marquez has increased his punching power a little, I don’t expect a completely new Juan Manuel Marquez come fight night.The moral of the story here is, as the saying goes, if you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you’ve always got. Nacho Beristain won’t teach Marquez anything new for this fight, but he will keep Marquez’s natural skills in top form.

As for Pacquiao? forget about it. Everytime Manny Pacquiao comes to the ring he looks faster, counters better, and learns some new manuever that keeps his opponent on the losing end of every round. Freddie Roach has been able to successfully turn a powerful, one-handed fighter into a complete fighter with speed that has yet to truly be overcome. Although Pacquiao’s best punch is still, undoubtedly, his straight left hand, he has learned to use his right hand effectively in order to keep his opponent off-balance and confused as to his next move. However, the real crown jewel of Pacquiao’s skills is his foot work. Freddie Roach has done a tremendous job teaching Pacquiao how to effectively navigate around his opponent, and apply pressure from different angles that other fighters just do not have the skill to duplicate.

Moses Vered: In terms of overall skills I don’t beleive each fighter has changed all that much. The Pac-man is more accustomed to fighting bigger men while Marquez has become a more offensive counter puncher.

Raj Parmar: Obviously Manny has taken his game to another level and is much stronger and skilled than his last encounter with Juan. Marquez has not seen an Alex Ariza conditioned Manny before and he may be shocked when he feels the newfound power and speed combination Pacquiao now possesses. Marquez for his part has remained fairly consistent since he gave Manny the fight of his life 3 years ago. Juan has also attempted to focus on his physical conditioning with greater importance for this fight so we may also see a slightly different Marquez this Saturday, whether it’s in a good or bad way.

Speaking of their previous fights, how did you score their first two confrontations?

Ali: I didn’t really “score” the first one, but I’m okay with the draw, just by what I saw. I think the second fight was won by JMM by a couple points. Save for the knockdown, he was more durable and landed the more effective punches. He also seemed more “comfortable”.

Igor: I scored the first fight for Manny Pacquiao, because of the first round , which I scored 10-6. The second fight I didn’t score, but I think Manny got the decision because of the knockdown.

Jonathan: I had the first fight 114-111 Pacman. That first round is the sole reason why he won that fight. The second fight I had it 115-112 for Pacman again. Even without the knockdown, Manny still wins the rematch, but barely.

Scott: In their first fight back in 2004, I felt conflicted as the final bell rang. On one hand, being knocked down three times in one round round makes an astounding difference in the scorecards, and overcoming such a horrible round is a next to impossible task. However, Marquez was able to wear down Pacquiao, and use effective counter-shots to in order to bring himself back into the fight, and make it a competitive one at that. I found it really challenging to pick a winner in this fight, but I believed Pacquiao did just enough in the later rounds to earn him a split decision. However, I had no problems with the fight being declared a draw. Marquez showed a level of stamina and heart in the ring that night that inspired everyone who was lucky enough to watch the fight, and I believe that he ability to adjust to Pacquiao’s style in the later rounds made him worthy of receiving a draw instead of a loss. For the record though, I had it 114-113 for Pacquiao.

As for their second fight, that was, personally, even harder for me to score. The fight appeared dead even to me, although in my mind, and apparently the minds of the judges as well, the knockdown in the third round was the deciding factor in the fight. With a fight that close and competitive, one round can make all the difference. And in this fight, the third round made the difference for me. And although Marquez landed a higher percentage of punches, Pacquiao was able to keep himself in the fight, and barely get by with a split decision. Strangely enough, I once again scored the fight 114-113 for Pacquiao.

Moses: Had Pacquiao winning the first fight 115-110. Also Had Pacquiao edging the second 114-113.

Raj: I had Pacquiao winning the first fight and Marquez taking the second; with both being close decisions. Knockdowns have been an issue for Marquez when he faces Manny and if he goes down again he will be hard pressed to get the nod here.

Is the catchweight going to play a big part in this fight?

Ali: It will if JMM carries too much weight, like he did against Mayweather. Honestly, I think JMM should just ignore the 144 lb weight limit. That’s way too high for him. He shouldn’t even come it at 142. JMM should just pick a weight that’s completely comfortable for him, which I figure would be somewhere between 135-139. If JMM swells up all pudgy like he did against Floyd, Manny will eat him alive in a completely uncompetitive bout, because JMM would lose his speed and reflexes. Based on their recent history concerning fight night weights, I think they’ll be within a few pounds of each other anyway on the night of the fight, regardless of where they weigh in on the day before.

Igor: I am not sure. On paper it should help Marquez, because he has been fighting as a lightweight for the most part, but Manny and JMM are basically the same size and both needed to gain weight for this fight. Pacman recently said that he is very comfortable at this weight. As far as Marquez, we will have to see.

Jonathan: With the fight being at a catch weight of 144 pounds, you can bet that on the day of the fight, Pacquiao will weigh in around his normal fighting weight of about 150 pounds. Pacquiao has already gotten use to moving up in weight and has fought at 144 pounds or more for the last 2+ years. Marquez failed miserably the last time he moved up in weight as he was manhandled by Floyd Mayweather. Marquez is not even close to the hall of fame fighter if he is fighting above 140 pounds.

The extra pounds will be felt by Marquez in the latter rounds of the fight, as Pacquiao’s relentless, attacking style will wear Marquez out.

Scott: I really can’t see the catchweight being a big factor in this fight. Although I believe Pacquiao will be more comfortable at the weight of 144 pounds, Marquez isn’t completely unfamiliar with the challenges that come with fighting at that weight, and I believe he is more than capable of competing at that level. Although Marquez just had one other significant fight at this weight class, it was against Floyd Mayweather, so he can’t be judged too harshly. However, I have to give Manny the edge when it comes to this particular catch weight due to his experience fighting at this level. Pacquiao knows what it takes to be a champion in this weight class, and his knowledge of how his body will react on fight night might just be enough to give him the edge in the fight.

Moses: I believe so. Fighting over 140 pounds is just too much for Marquez who looked sluggish and slow in his welterweight fight with Mayweather. JMM best weight is probably lightweight.

Raj: I feel it will, as Marquez has altered his training due to the extra weight he needs to add on. He has brought in specialists to assist him in carrying his power and speed at the higher weight and this additional training could make him stronger in the ring as hes more muscular now than before but he may also be slower as a result. Therefore the catchweight will be playing a major part in how the fight goes
specifically for Marquez.

We know Marquez didn’t look good at welterweight when he fought Mayweather. If you were his team, what would you do differently for this fight?

Ali: Like I wrote in the previous question, ignore the weight limit. Otherwise, just forget about the Mayweather fight. Manny is much more aggressive than Floyd and available for JMM’s counters. Also, JMM and his team know Manny very well after 24 rounds of action. They should trust that knowledge base, and expect instincts to take over during the fight. One thing JMM needs to prepare for, is getting cracked harder than he ever has in his life. He should be prepared to hold on and/or dance, as opposed to letting his pride cause him to try to retaliate right away. Of course, they should also study tape to pick up on any changes in Manny’s technique, but otherwise just go in for “round 25″.

Igor: I think his team had a good idea of hiring a strength and conditioning coach. I am not so sure about the choice of the particular coach, but it was the right idea. What I would try to do would be to keep him as light as possible, sacrificing additional weight in favor of speed. Maybe even come to the weigh in at 140 pounds instead of contracted 144, because all the extra weight hindered Marquez in a fight with Mayweather.

Jonathan: I feel that Marquez’s team needs to tell him to get the Mayweather fight out of his head. Marquez has traditionally had problems with fighters who use movement effectively, and Mayweather is the best in the world at that. It was Mayweather’s significant advantages in reach and speed that made the difference in that fight, not his ability to overpower Marquez with extra weight. The fact the matter is that Mayweather would have been a terrible matchup for Marquez at any weight. He knows what to expect from Pacquiao and the speed advantage that Manny has had against bigger men like Mosley, Margarito, and De la Hoya won’t be nearly as pronounced when he steps in with Marquez.

Scott: Team Marquez needs to realize a few things about their fighter, and his previous fights with Pacquiao in order for Marquez to win it. First of all, his team needs to realize that Pacquiao WILL be much faster than Marquez. With this being said, Marquez needs to psychologically break down Pacquiao by drawing him into the slugging match we all want to see, and then use his counter-punching techniques effectively in order to wear Manny down and take away his speed factor. I believe that Pacquiao can be drawn into a slugging match when provoked, and Marquez must use these golden opportunities in order to land effective counter shots that will win him rounds. Another aspect of the fight plan that team Marquez needs to stress is body punching. The difference in speed between Marquez and Pacquiao is going to be the biggest difference between them, and if Marquez can walk down Pacquiao and land effective body shots, he will take away Pacquiao’s greatest weapon, and use his counter-punching style to finish him off. Counter-punching was the key to the first two fights with Pacquiao, and I highly doubt that team Marquez will de-emphasize that aspect this time around.

Moses: Come in lighter, around 140 lbs.

Raj: Change the way he conditions himself, which he has done. I think Juan has done a very smart thing by bringing in outside experts to help physically prepare him to fight effectively at the higher weight.

Do you feel Pacquiao will once again have a tough time due to Marquez’ counter-punching style?

Ali: It won’t be as tough of a time because JMM is slower nowadays. Also, as discussed above, Manny is so much stronger and more durable. I guy like Manny will always struggle against world-class counterpunchers(you reading Floyd???), but I don’t at all see JMM having the same success that he had in the previous two bouts.

Igor: Pacquiao’s style of fighting is tailor made for Marquez. However at this stage of their careers, JMM will not be able to handle the potent offense, speed and power of Manny Pacquiao.

Jonathan: I think it’s a little foolish to think that Pacquiao won’t have any problems against the classic counter punching style of Marquez. Both of their fights have been as close as you can get because Marquez has the style to give Manny a ton of problems. Marquez can brawl if he has to and will put on a boxing clinic when needed. Dinamita accomplishes things to hurt an opponent and a lot of things to steal close rounds. An aggressive opponent like Pacquiao is almost tailor made for Marquez as it allows him to showcase his fantastic counter-punching skills. I expect Marquez to land some of those shots on Manny to hold off that Pac Man barrage. However, I still don’t feel it will be enough to defeat him.

Scott: I do feel that Marquez has a style that can effectively hurt Pacquiao, and that the counter-punching aspect of his style is his greatest asset. Team Pacquiao needs to realize that in order to win this fight, Pacquiao needs to remain more mobile than his was in the first two fights with Marquez, and not be drawn into a brawl that will wear Manny down and make his vulnerable to counter-punches. If Pacquiao has learned his lesson, and puts more emphasis on speed this time around, he will have an easy night. However, if he allows Marquez to draw him into a brawl, he will find himself in a position where he is susceptible to the counter-punching style of Marquez.

Moses: As we all know, styles make fights, and Marquez’ highly intelligent counter-punching prowess will always give the Pac-Man problems.

Raj: I think Manny will have less trouble with Juans counter punching as Manny has made his right hand almost if not as effective as his left hand, giving him more weapons to handle Juan’s in-ring craftiness. Manny has become very explosive and Marquez could get bombed out if he attempts to take Mannys punches in hopes of returning with his own shots.

Pacquiao appears to be a much bigger favorite this time around; should he be?

Ali: If Manny had to drain himself to get down to somewhere in the 130′s, I’d say it should be an even money fight. As is, I think Manny should be the heavy betting favorite, for the reasons we’re discussing.

Igor: The odds appear to be a bit inflated. They are 10 to 1 in favor of Pacquiao right now, but there is a good reason for it. Pacquiao cleaned out the welterweight division in last several years, while Marquez competed and had some very tough fights at lightweight.

Jonathan: I think Pacquiao should be the heavy favorite but not at the odds they are giving him. At the moment, Pacquiao is a 10 to 1 favorite. At 10/1 odds, you would have to bet $1000 to make $100. While some will see it as an easy $100, let’s not forget that Marquez gave Pacquiao everything he could handle the first two times the fighters met. With those odds, a lot of people are going to be very tempted to put money on Marquez because the payout would be gigantic.

Scott: I believe he should be. Pacquiao has proven himself at welterweight many times over by now by beating bigger, stronger men with relative ease. As for Marquez, he has had one fight at welterweight, and lost a lopsided decision to Floyd Mayweather before retreating back to his natural division, lightweight. Pacquiao has, as I’ve already mentioned, become a better, more complete fighter with every passing year. Marquez still remains sharp in so far as his skills are concerned, but it does not appear from his recent fights that he has learned anything new. Another aspect of the fighters that makes Pacquiao a big favorite is age. Although being a 38 year old boxer is not as much of a factor as it used to be, there is still a six-year age difference between the two fighters, and many believe that the counter-punching skills that Maquez desperately needs in order to win this fight might have slowed the ageing fighter just enough to make him that much more vulnerable to Pacquiao’s superhuman-like speed.

Moses: He should; he is proven against much bigger men. He has carried his power well. Just look at Margarito and Cotto’s faces post-Pacquiao!

Raj: For sure, hes been pummelling guys much bigger than him in recent years; one can only imagine the punishment he may be able to lay on a fighter smaller than him like Marquez. It’s hard to picture the fighter who punished Margarito and demolished Cotto to not be able to overcome a natural lightweight fighter.

What must Marquez and Pacquiao do respectively, to win this fight?

Ali: Manny needs to just keep his anger and pride in check. I’m so glad that we likely won’t see the compassionate and glove touching “sportsman” we’ve seen in the past few fights. I’m frankly tired of that sh*t. Manny doesn’t really care for JMM, and wants to prove once and for all, that he’s the superior fighter between the two. I appreciate his desire to win emphatically, but he can’t let his emotions distract from his technique and game plan. If he just fights like he did against Cotto, I’d expect Manny to win via KO inside of 6 rounds.

Marquez is in a world of trouble, I feel. I can’t see him winning this fight at this stage of their respective careers. I think he should try to get inside of Manny’s head by talking trash at the weigh-in, then right before, and during the fight. He needs to goad Manny into making a mistake in anger. JMM should also attempt to rough Manny up, and fight a tad dirty, because Manny is capable of getting frustrated in the ring. Lastly, just perhaps he is to Manny what Norton and Frazier were to Ali. Perhaps he just has the style and chemistry to beat Manny, regardless of their respective career arcs. You could make the case that Norton beat Ali all three times. And Frazier was pretty washed up, when he gave Ali the fight of his life in Manila. JMM just may have the mojo to always cause Manny problems. That’s not something that can be easily explained in any type of non-abstract way.

Igor: Marquez must be careful and utilize his counter right hand as often as possible. Hopefully his punches will carry enough power to keep Pacquiao honest. As in the previous two fights, JMM is still a better technical boxer than Pacquiao, so he should box. Manny Pacquiao should launch a furious, fast-paced attack and see if his adversary will be able to keep up.

Jonathan: Marquez needs to focus on his defense big time if he is going to pull off the upset. There is that old saying that sometimes your best offense is a great defense. There is no boxer in the world that possesses quicker hands and more explosive punching power than Pacquiao. With that said, Pacquiao has the great ability to stop a fight with one punch. If Marquez can avoid Manny’s power punches, it will work in his favor in that Pacquiao might get a bit frustrated. Anything Marquez can do to get Pacquiao off his game should be considered a plus in his favor. Marquez must avoid a knockdown at any cost during the fight. It has cost him in both of his fights and very well could be the deciding factor in their trilogy.

Pacquiao needs to do what he did in the previous two fights and that is to enforce his power on Marquez to try to score an early knockdown. Pacquiao has not only carried his left-hand power over eight weight divisions but has made it stronger as well. If he can impose his will and power early on Marquez, he may destroy him mentally as well. If Marquez gets knocked down early in the fight, it may ruin him for the remainder of the fight.

Scott: For Pacquiao to win this fight, he must use his speed effectively to keep the stronger Marquez off balance. Pacquiao cannot afford to be drawn into a brawl that will give Marquez the chance to put his counter-punching skills to the test, as he was allowed to do in the two previous fights. Manny Pacquiao can win this fight with easy, but it’s up to him to stick to the game plan, and not let the crafty Mexican star get inside his head and challenge him to a phone booth style fight. Pacquiao must also do a better job at conserving his energy this time around, and not tire himself out within the first five round, much like he did in their first fight. The strike and retreat method should be enough to wear Marquez down, and possibly even knock him out.

As for Marquez, his approach needs to be more psychological in nature. Marquez needs to somehow draw the much faster Pacquiao into a toe-to-toe brawl that allows him to use his counter-punching skills both to the head and the body in order to wear Pacquiao down, and take away his legs. Marquez had an easier time in the last two fights with Pacquiao conserving energy, and in order for him to win this fight, he needs to take Pacquiao’s stamina away in order to make him more vulnerable to a powerful counter-punch that can change the course of the fight in a hurry. Marquez must walk down Pacquiao, and cut off the ring so that Pacquiao is not able to attack and retreat. If Marquez can stick to this game plan, and not simply “give up” because he cannot catch Pacquiao within the first few rounds, then I believe he has a chance to win this fight.

Moses: Marquez needs to fight a smart fight, not get over aggressive and slowly pick his spots. For Pacquiao he needs to attack early and prevent Marquez from getting into his groove.

Raj: Marquez needs to find a way to hit Manny and avoid any return fire. In the past two fights they exchanged quite a bit and the result was four knockdowns by Manny to Marquez. Pacquiao is stronger this time around so Juan has got to avoid those exchanges and make Manny miss all night. Pacquaio on the other hand needs to seek and destroy; he must chase Marquez down and give him no time or space to breathe. An all out war favours Manny here; he cant make this a boxing match and needs to rush the aging Marquez and blitz him with his laser quick flurries.

Prediction time…who wins and why?

Ali: Manny is simply a bigger, stronger, and more durable fighter. Just look at his legs now, compared to the last two fights. Combine that with improved technique, great speed, and more power, I don’t see this fight going past 5 or 6 rounds. A repeat of the Hatton fight wouldn’t surprise me at all. JMM is a great, first ballot, HOF legend. He’s the best Mexican fighter since Chavez. I have all of the respect in the world for him. But he’s now just a tad too slow, small, and old. His pride and fighting spirit will just expedite the inevitable.

Manny wins via 3rd round TKO.

Igor: Manny Pacquiao wins by a knock out in the middle rounds, between five and seven. Right now he is just too fast and too powerful for his opponent.

Jonathan: All the momentum is pointing toward Pacquiao and unless he chooses to fight a little wild, he should come away with the a decision victory. This is a much more complete Manny Pacquiao than Marquez has seen before and is not even on the same planet as Manny right now even though they have fought two very close fights. I wanted to be bold and go with a 4th round TKO for Manny but I will go with a decision victory.

Scott: And now for the moment of truth, drum roll please. The fans and the press were right to make Pacquiao a heavy favorite in this fight, because at the end of the night, Pacquiao is going home with a unanimous decision victory. For several of Manny Pacquiao’s recent fights, Manny has employed an effective “attack and retreat” strategy that has worked on bigger and stronger men than Juan Manuel Marquez. Team Pacquiao has no reason the fix what isn’t broken, and I believe they will use this same plan of attack in the upcoming fight. Marquez might be able to draw Pacquiao into a brawl, and if he does then he has a chance of breaking him down and defeating him. However, I’m not so sure that Manny is going to be willing to engage in a brawl that might make him look anything less than completely dominant, especially with a potential fight against Floyd Mayweather looming in the distance. I believe Pacquiao is going to play it safe this time around, possibly looking for the late knockout after he has worn down Marquez with combinations and fancy footwork. Pacquiao has made many improvements since he last fought Marquez in 2008, and those improvements will become more obvious with each passing round. Marquez will be looking to draw Pacquiao into a toe-toe fight, but this time around Manny won’t take the bait.

Moses: Pacquiao by UD with scores about 116-111.

Raj: Manny by KO or TKO, hes too strong and too fast for Marquez who may be a bit over his head in this one. Marquez is very gutsy and does not fold easily, however it is tough to picture him lasting the distance here without pulling a Shane Mosley and completely refusing to participate in the match. Juans heart, honour and courage will not let him coast to a decision loss therefore he will go down fighting within the scheduled distance as Manny seals the rivalry and their feud with a big KO win.

Source: http://3morerounds.com

Pacquiao owes Marquez for making him better; must pay debt by finishing rival

2011-11-08T07:44:00.000-08:00

"It's one thing to be great, but another to even strive to push yourself to be even greater. Pacquiao and Marquez gave each other the reason to do so."

Manny Pacquiao's strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza can continue patting himself on the back and taking all the credit he can get and dish out blasphemous figures of speech to discredit his boss' nemesis and opponent this weekend at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but the long and the short of it is this: Juan Manuel Marquez is the second best thing that has happened to Pacquiao's professional boxing career, next to his trainer Freddie Roach.

Some say Ariza may even be the worst thing that has ever happened to Pacquiao's career. (I can only guess why, but I'll remember that statement when the time comes).

(Click here for my interview with Munoz before his fight vs. Leben as he talked about his training and his thoughts on Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3)

Rivalries between greats are what elevates any sport to the next level. Think about the Celtics and the Lakers; Bird vs. Magic, Yankees vs. Red Sox, Manchester United vs. Liverpool and right from boxing's archives, Ali versus Frazier (As of this writing, the great Joe Frazier was reported to have passed away. May his soul rest in peace).

Not only do fight fans love to see two great teams or athletes go up against each other and give it their all, rivalries between the best are like two opposing forces that conjure up a tornado leaving those who witness it in awe of it's sheer brilliance and impact.

Just like how Larry Bird and Magic Johnson pushed each other throughout their college and pro careers and made each other better and compete harder, the same can be said about Pacquiao and Marquez.

It was a perfect clash between two opposing styles and two equally determined competitors with work ethics second to none. After giving it both their all in their Fight of the Year of 2004 candidate that ended in a stalemate, and their controversial fight in March of 2008 which Pacquiao won via split-decision by the slimmest of margins, each has worked on improving the nicks in their game that was exposed by the other.

Not only have Pacquiao and Marquez been the cream of boxing's crop since their last clash, they have also drastically dominated their opponents while showing improvements on the facets they needed to- Pacquiao with his defense and counter-punching, Marquez with his aggression and finishing off fights. By themselves, Pacquiao and Marquez were two individually great fighters. After their classic wars in the ring, however, they elevated each other to "All-time Great" status.

It takes two exceptional fighters to make such a special rivalry happen. The difference between Pacquiao and Marquez's rivalry compared to other rivalries out there fueled by personal dislike and anger is the fact that these two men, despite what they say in the media, actually respect the greatness in each other.

Their quest is not to destroy the other person like how Barrera and Morales did against each other, their motivation is to prove who truly is the better fighter. It's one thing to be great, but another to even strive to push yourself to be even greater. Pacquiao and Marquez gave each other the reason to do so.

For Pacquiao, it was Marquez, more than anybody, who gave him reason to better himself. Matterfact', Marquez reminded him twice. So it is only fitting, now that Pacquiao has reached the top of boxing's pedestal, to give his nemesis the best tribute he can give him as a way of saying "thank you": Pacquiao should retire and finish off Marquez for good.

No more split decisions. No more draws. Finish the unfinished business. It's the only true way he can show his appreciation for how this rivalry has helped transform him into one of the greatest to ever do it.

Source: Examiner.com

Pacquiao's thought-provoking silence

2011-11-08T07:43:00.002-08:00

HOT POTATO via WILD CARD GYM, Hollywood, Caliornia - Make no mistake! Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will both punctuate November 12, 2011 in the history of boxing at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. And anyone who follows these both fighters' trek in the ring of madness would know it's going to be classic as ever. As Pacquiao finalizes his last session today and prepares to lead the way of his team to proverbial, impertinent Sin City, the anxiety level among the hardcore boxing fans raises to the level of schizophrenic haste: relative discussions, debates and infighting words ensue at almost every corner and forum of the boxing world in perpetual order.

Last week, Pacquiao insisted that "it's going to be a bonus if I win by knockout". But, since the last three days, silence as to prediction has been dominating the entire Team Pacquiao. No word implying of prediction could be heard at this time, not even from Pacquiao who used to suggest images of gruesome prospect upon Marquez come fight night. He's been speaking less and less as the fight date is nearing. And he has more moments of meditations where he becomes captive of his own thoughts. It's like one of strange monstrosity. Untold to many, the pound-for-pound king is apparently nervous, reflective and at times stares into the distance in the midst of many point blank, yet extremely dangerous. Perhaps he's visualizing of what will come to pass. It's like the same silence is setting up for a lightning strike at the heat of exchanges with Marquez.

HOT INSERT: Mayweather Argues With Shade 45 Radio Host Rude Jude About Ducking Pacquiao

Pacquiao's insurmoutable training, discipline, mindset and bearing all seem predictive. He has shown no regrets to get on the ring with Marquez the third time. He is ready for the kill.

HOT INSERT: Muhammad Ali Over Manny Pacquiao as the Greatest

Relevant Perspectives:

Pacquiao's confidante, Chavit Singson, former Security Adviser of former Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, says "It's difficult to predict this time. Marquez is a difficult fighter."

Marquez says: "I am motivated to knock Pacquiao's head off in order to leave no doubts."

Marquez insists he beats Pacquiao twice back in 2004 and 2008 respectively. On the basis of the scorecards and official decisions by the judges, the 2004 fight was a draw and the 2008 for Pacquiao winning by split decision. Marquez otherwise does not give a damn to the said decisions and rather wants to beat him again more convincingly.

Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain, who trains Marquez, says : "This is going to be the most difficult fight for Pacquiao in all of his life."

Conversely, Freddie Roach, who trains Pacquiao, asserts saying, "Marquez would be lucky to pass six rounds."

But, Angel Hernadez, the surprising import as the conditioning coach of Marquez who advocates his newfound pupil should not drink his urine as a nutrional supplement but "something else", predicts Marquez winning by knockout.

And worse, Alex Ariza, conditioning coach of Pacquiao, emboldens the scenario saying, "It's going to be Pacquiao by knockout within three rounds."

Boxing fans, meanwhile, view Pacquiao-Marquez fight in three categories as explored per random sampling: 65.5 % for Pacquiao winning by knockout, 17.5% for Marquez winning by knockout, 5% for Draw, 9% for Pacquiao winning by unanimous decision, 3% for no contest and 0 for Marquez winning by unanimous decision.

For Mexican promoter Fernando Beltran, "Marquez will win by knockout".

Top Rank Godfather Robert "Bob" Arum, nevertheless, believes "Pacquiao is going to be super explosive. And Pacquiao winning by knockout would just punctuate anytime in their twelve rounds of boxing."

"Pacquiao has the speed and power with his right and left hands," Arum adds.

Stay tuned for more!

Source: Examiner.com

Pacquiao set to light up Vegas

2011-11-08T07:43:00.001-08:00

LAS VEGAS– With challenger Juan Manuel Marquez already in town, it is the champion Manny Pacquiao’s turn to arrive here as the countdown for Act III of their trilogy starts. Like Marquez, who blew into town Monday amid hundreds of his Mexican fans, the World Boxing Organization welterweight titleholder will be accorded a Grand Arrival ceremony at Porte Cochere at the front lobby of the MGM Grand where they will meet in a showdown that is most likely their last.

Pacquiao, the undisputed pound-for-pound best fighter in this era, will set foot here in a custom-built luxury bus along with chief trainer Freddie Roach and the rest of their team. The ceremony is at noon.

Both the Pacman and the Mexican “Dinamita” have broken their respective camps and their long-drawn out preparations for the much-awaited encounter set Saturday with the eight-division champion starting his in Baguio City before transferring to the Roach-owned Wild Card Boxing Gym in downtown Los Angeles.

The 38-year-old Marquez opened up camp in his hometown Mexico City before moving to California in a bid to dethrone the Filipino icon of his crown and justified his three-year claim that he won their first two fights despite a draw decision in 2004 and a split verdict in favor of Pacquiao four years later.

Both promised to come up with convincing results to erase the doubts created by their twin showdown that has been the subject of debate the past three years. The following day (Wednesday in Manila), the main event press conference will take place at 12:30 p.m. following a media luncheon at noon. The undercard news conference is scheculed Thursday at the media center, which opened Tuesday after Marquez’a arrival.

The official weigh-in is scheduled Friday November 11 at 2:30 p.m. Doors will be opened to the public at 1 p.m. Magna Media International which handles the fight’s media accreditation, also announced that distribution of the temporary credentials to media also started Tuesday at the main lobby of the hotel. The fight week media center will be transferred at the Studio A & B of the MGM Grand.

The credential desk will move to the Hollywood Theatre for the convenience of media men attending the press conference. Fight night credentials will be available at the “Old VIP Box Office” location on Saturday, continuing until 7:00 p.m.

Source: PhilBoxng.com

Juan Manuel Marquez Shrugs off Doubts, Focuses on Pacquiao

2011-11-08T07:37:00.000-08:00

After two fights deemed classics by fight fans and writers around the world, Juan Manuel Marquez is still searching for that clear win over Manny Pacquiao. Though only the knockdowns scored by Pacquiao separate the two men, knowing he came close in scoring a draw the first time and losing a close decision the second is simply not enough for Marquez. So at age 38, four years after their last encounter (the first happened at 126 pounds, the last at 130), Marquez moves up to 144 pounds (a catchweight agreed upon by Pacquiao since Marquez is currently a lightweight) to give it one last go.

“I believe this is the best training camp he has had in his whole career and we are going to give Pacquiao a great fight,” said Marquez’s trainer Nacho Beristain. “Without question, we have prepared ourselves to win this fight again. They can say what they want. They are great trainers and he is a great fighter. If they feel they won the first two fights, so be it – we feel the same way and that’s the way you should go into a fight.”

“That’s why we are doing this third fight,” said Marquez. “The first two were very close and this fight should end all doubt. We are not the only ones saying we won the fights. There are a lot of fans and media out there saying the same thing- that we won those two fights.”

At this stage of their careers, both men’s abilities are clearly defined. Pacquiao has fought a slew of well-matched fights against bigger men past their primes in title-winning affairs, moving on from the last Marquez fight to 135, 140, 147 and finally, a 150 pound catchweight fight with Antonio Margarito. Along the way, as he faced these bigger men, he began to develop his right hand lead style and learned to effectively learned how to use his feet, jab, and right hook. Pacquiao has also proven to be able to take a solid punch at the higher weights.

Marquez went on to become the lightweight champion and defended the title in grueling affairs with Juan Diaz (the first time. A rematch was a shutout win for Marquez) and Michael Katsidis (Marquez would dominate the action but get dropped early on only to stop Katsidis late). Marquez moved up to welterweight to face Floyd Mayweather in a 144-pound catchweight fight. While Mayweather changed the weight the week of the fight to make it a full welterweight fight, the point was a moot. Two weight classes north of his optimum weight, Marquez looked flat, slow and simply ineffective. This time around, Beristain feels it will be different.

“I think Pacquiao has become a better technician as a boxer,” said Beristain. “I think Marquez has become more mature as a fighter and now fights at a higher level and has gotten better. At his age, sometime you wonder if he is focused for the fight but I know that he is – he’s always going to be focused and he’s always going to be ready for a fight. We are looking to give you guys a great fight and he’ll fight like he’s 24. I think Pacquiao’s punches are thrown technically better – he is not as wild as he used to be. He looks like he knows what he is doing and that is a direct impact of Freddie Roach. He is throwing a much better right hook.”

Marquez felt that moving up in weight hurt him but that the style of Mayweather had as much to do with the shutout loss as anything.

“I had problems moving up but I would rather fight Pacquiao three or four more times than fight Mayweather once,” said Marquez. “Mayweather is a defensive fighter – he doesn’t let you fight but we know Pacquiao comes to fight and he is a spectacular fighter. He is always going to give you a fight and that’s why I know it will be a war between us.”

There is no question that when Pacquiao and Marquez step into the ring on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, fireworks will go off. How long it lasts is anyone’s guess. It says here that this is a mismatch at this weight and age and that Marquez will be knocked out cold in eight rounds.

However, there will be one question in the minds of everyone paying attention to the promotion: Why did Marquez employ the services of one Angel Hernandez AKA Angel Heredia? If you don’t know who he is, Heredia was the key witness in the BALCO case as well as the 2003 case against track-and-field coach Trevor Graham, who trained runners Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery among others. Graham anonymously sent a syringe containing an illegal substance developed by BALCO to the United States Anti-Doping Agency. The man Graham had been working with to allegedly get PEDs like EPO, HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and testosterone was Heredia, who would eventually turn state’s evidence on both Graham and BALCO founder Victor Conte.

It is interesting to note, however, that while the case began in 2003 and Heredia gave testimony all through that time, he may have still been dealing illegal substances.

As revealed in an arbitration document from the USADA, Angel “Memo” Heredia testified in a case against Olympic sprinter and coach Raymond Stewart (once coached by Glenn Mills, current coach of Jamaica’s Usain Bolt) in 2010 that he supplied drugs to Stewart and his athletes for a decade.

http://www.usada.org/uploads/6-25-10%20Arbitrator%20Award%20110.pdf

“The arbitrator is comfortably satisfied that Raymond Stewart regularly dealt with ‘Memo,’ an admitted drug supplier to the track and field world in order to secure drugs which were prohibited by WADA, for use by athletes that he coached and trained,” reads the USADA arbitration document.

“The relationship between these men spanned ten years while Stewart held himself out to the world as a coach of track and field at elite levels and all the while he knew he was regularly communicating with a known drug dealer trafficking in performance enhancing drugs,” the document also reads. That period, according to the document, began sometime around 1996.

One question that comes to mind is why was Heredia allegedly dealing PEDs while serving as a key witness in major performance-enhancing drug cases? When did Heredia become an informant? He later told USADA he was dealing PEDs as late as 2006. This was around the same period he was testifying against Graham and Stewart. The BALCO case was in 2003 and according to this article, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/the-chemist-of-mexico-comes-clean/story-e6frg7mo-1111116309112, the lead prosecutor in the BALCO case, Jeff Novitsky, did not get hold of Heredia until March of 2005. In this regard, someone’s got to provide some answers.

Another question would be, why use Heredia at all? Ignorance of his past was one excuse given.

“I just know that when I met him, his background was with elite athletes,” said Marquez. “We discussed what I needed to do. I didn’t find out anything about this stuff that has been written until the last few days. It was big news to me but it is a shame because of all the work I have done and preparation has been thrown into the trash can by this guy Conte and [Alex] Ariza by saying these things. I worked very hard but I’m not going to stop training for the fight. Whatever testing they want to do- blood or Olympic- I am ready to do it. We’ll do it, no problem, as long as he does it too.”

While Victor Conte, who now works with several top fighters, did time in prison for his involvement in BALCO, he never testified against anyone else, instead owning up to his crime. Heredia became a key witness in several cases. In a documentary on German TV, Heredia demonstrated for the cameras how easy it was to procure EPO (a blood doping agent) in Mexico City and also how to use it. He did this by injecting it into his own stomach. The documentary came out in 2009 and can be seen via the following links:

A video from Germany of Angel Heredia documentary where he injects EPO into his stomach: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0GbnVdWaIU&feature=player_embedded

Part one of a German documentary on doping in sports: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN4g4liR4Pw&feature=related

Part two, featuring Angel Heredia:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjiWoEOSpCI&feature=related

Part three:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjiWoEOSpCI&feature=related

Part four:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyAyl2_n_pI&feature=related

The documentary and the information provided by Heredia in this transcript of the documentary interview here, http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,571031,00.html, makes the following comment by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum seem woefully uninformed at best about the potential problem of performance-enhancing drugs in boxing.

“Many of you are really behind the times,” said Arum in an attempt to squash all suspicion of Heredia on a recent conference call. “Conte and Hernandez were implicated in the use of steroids in the so-called BALCO case. The two of them are the least to be involved in steroids since they have learned their lesson. Secondly, people who understand getting athletes ready know now that you don’t use steroids, not because [athletes] are good guys but because naturally, supplements, used correctly, have the same effect of steroids without the bad part- without the rage and the future health concerns. So the conditioners who know what they are doing wouldn’t touch steroids because they are not as effective as the natural substances and the sophisticated training methods now used. You are talking about things that existed five or ten years ago that are not currently being used.”

Now does this mean Marquez looked for an illegal edge in this fight? No. In fact, Marquez himself said he would be willing to do any sort of testing the Pacquiao camp wanted. Team Pacquiao said they had no problem with Marquez working with Heredia. Recently, Arum was quoted as saying he was open to Pacquiao using USADA testing for a possible Floyd Mayweather fight.

So where does that leave us? With a fight on HBO PPV between two men who know each other as well as any two fighters can. Will it be a war? Possibly. Will Marquez win? Certainly Beristain believes the new condition his fighter is in will help.

“I have the most respect for the work [Heredia] has done for us,” said Beristain. “When Juan Manuel comes to the gym, he has the power and energy – a guy that I know I can work with and will be ready. That’s why I think we will win the fight. I have the utmost respect for what he has done and how Juan has responded to his work.”

With the Nevada State Athletic Commission being far outdated when compared to USADA year-round testing that includes blood and urine evaluation, if Heredia was up to anything at all, we would never know anyway. All we have is the word of a man who changed his name and refused to be interviewed about his past by a Maxboxing.com reporter.

Does this taint the fight? To most viewers, most likely not. Pacquiao is a celebrity on a superstar level. Marquez is a near-living legend fighter beloved by all of Mexico. Their respective trainers are thought of as gods by the boxing world and are both in the Hall of Fame. In the end, it will be a fight like any other.

It says here that what the fight will represent is a call for better testing in boxing. That way, what some deem as unfair criticism of a coach or trainer and their methods will be cleared by the best drug testing the world has to offer: year round, in competition, out of competition, and in-between, random blood and urine testing. Nothing tailor-made to a training camp when most athletes who use PEDs generally do their dirty business in the off-season anyway. We need a separate body that governs this part of our sport and that does not take money directly from the parties involved. The sport has enough problems without adding more conflicts of interest.

You can email Gabriel at maxgmontoya@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gabriel_montoya and catch him on each Monday’s episode of “The Next Round” with Steve Kim. You can also tune in to hear him and co-host David Duenez live on the BlogTalk radio show Leave-It-In-The-Ring.com, Thursdays at 5-8 PM PST. Gabriel is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Source: maxboxing.com

PACQUIAO’S CUTMAN COULD PLAY A MAJOR ROLE

2011-11-03T03:33:00.000-07:00

Everything that has been said or written about Manny Pacquiao’s preparation for the November 12 trilogy with Juan Manual Marquez at the MGM Grand Las Vegas has been about his well documented training sessions with Freddie Roach and his conditioning routine with Alex Ariza.

From those end, there has been no stone left unturned.

Pacquiao has been trained exceedingly well by Freddie Roach and has fully mastered the main game plan. From what I have seen, he even has an excellent Plan B although there may not be a need for that.

Alex Ariza has done a hell of a job too in gradually conditioning Pacquiao to last even well past round 12. The man has developed Pacquiao into a superbly oiled fighting machine that can fire not only high volume of punches from all conceivable angles but punches that carry tremendous power behind them as well.

Pacquiao’s power can be clearly seen when he hits the heavy bag. The bag flies almost horizontally when he hits it with one of his well documented power shots. I have yet to see any of the gym rats at the Wildcard Gym demonstrate such power hitting the heavy bag.

With all of the possible training and conditioning angles fully covered, only one issue, albeit a very important one, needs to be addressed.

The cutman.

The choice of the cutman must be addressed delicately considering the seriousness of the issue.

As we all know, this fellow can make or break the fight and all the training done with Freddie Roach or the conditioning with Alex Ariza will be rendered moot if the cutman does not performed to the max.

Hopefully whoever makes the choice will make it based on the full capabilities of the cut man.

Age, experience and the number of fights the cutman has been involved with must not be the only factors that must be considered.

And certainly, friendship and “connections” and any “other deals” must not play important roles in the choice of the cutman.

The cutman must have proper training and experience in handling injuries that result in bleeding.

For a fight of this magnitude, he must have the proper medical background to address the injuries and the frame of mind honed by constant daily exposure to issues involving injuries that includes a lot of blood.

Most importantly, he must himself have the ability to legally prescribe and procure the medications needed to address injuries that may occur in the ring. And, for whatever it is worth, must have a working knowledge of “infection control”. Example: Not keeping a Q-tip between his teeth and breathing germs all over it as he works on the boxer.

In addition, he must be using only medications that are approved and purchased in this country where there is a strict drug quality control. None of those supposedly “effective medications” whose contents are not even seen let alone approved by the FDA.

The use of the most common medication (1:1000 epinephrine) alone is not sufficient. The cutman must have other alternatives to use in case epinephrine does not address the issue as quickly and effectively as needed.

Let’s not have another Jorge Linares incident during the Pacquiao-Marquez fight. Linares fought Antonio de Marco several weeks ago at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. He lost a title fight he was leading on points on all the three judges’ score cards because the cutman failed in his job to handle the injuries to Linares.

As Alex Ariza told this writer, Linares lost because the cutman “did not have the right stuff” to handle the situation.

What a sad situation.

Hopefully, Manny Pacquiao himself will put his foot on this issue and have a big say on who will be the 4th man and important man in his corner.

He may not necessarily need it because he can end the fight early; even before any cuts occurs.

But on the outside chance an early ending does not occur and the fight is dragged into the deep waters and cuts and bruises occur, he must have a very competent man in his corner to address the issue.

Pointing fingers after fact, as in the Linares fight, would do no good.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Marquez lets thirst for validation motivate him vs Pacquiao

2011-11-03T03:30:00.000-07:00

HOLLYWOOD—Manny Pacquiao has made the third chapter of his feud history with Juan Manuel Marquez personal. His trainer, Freddie Roach, has done the same thing.

“I think payback is going to be a bitch,” said Roach.

The noted trainer was referring to Team Marquez showing up for a promotional event in the Philippines wearing shirts with the words “We Were Robbed” emblazoned on them.

All those verbal volleys, however, have failed to shake the knees of Team Marquez, which is growing confident by the day that the Nov. 12 showdown between two fierce rivals in Las Vegas will produce one of the most stunning upsets in boxing.

“We are not the only ones who felt that we won the other two fights,” Marquez said during a media conference call Wednesday. “We are prepared to win this one as well.”

The two punch-heavy combatants collide in a trilogy-capping match that is far from your garden-variety decider. Pacquiao knocked down Marquez thrice during their first meeting and wound up with a controversial split draw.

Their second fight was even more argument inducing. Leaning on a third round knockdown of his counter-punching foe, Pacquiao narrowly hammered out a split decision that Marquez felt should have gone his way.

In a sense, a Marquez victory will hardly settle the score between the two rivals. Both will still own a victory each while sharing a draw. Team Marquez, however, feels that this third match will validate who is the better fighter.

Pacquiao will defend the WBO welterweight crown he snatched from Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto two years ago and Marquez feels that winning the crown will put him one up on the current pound-for-pound king.

“Now it’s time to shed doubt as to who the best fighter is,” Marquez said.
While Pacquiao has kept saying the fight is personal—a change of tone from a fighter who has made it a point to stay away from word games—Marquez also upped the ante from his corner, saying he will treat the fight the same way because he felt he deserved favorable decisions in their first two meetings.

“I’m upset I didn’t get the decisions,” said Marquez. “This fight is going to be good because we both want to win it badly. The clear winner this time will be the fans.”

If anything about the fight can be guaranteed, it’s that fans won’t want for action. Marquez said Pacquiao brings something to the table that not even Floyd Mayweather Jr., the Filipino’s pound-for-pound rival, can bring.

“Floyd does not let you fight,” Marquez said. “We know Manny will fight.”

The Mexican will go into the match a heavy underdog, but Marquez doesn’t care about the odds.

“Odds don’t do anything for me, they don’t have anything to do with the fight,” he said. “If the opportunity comes, if I hurt him, I’ll go for the knockout.”

Source: http://sports.inquirer.net

Pacquiao vs Marquez Online Live Streaming Coverage

2011-11-02T03:58:00.000-07:00

Pacquiao - Marquez HBO 24/7 - Episode 2

2011-11-02T03:45:00.000-07:00

Marquez tiene aliciente extra

2011-11-02T03:44:00.001-07:00

Hot Potato via Hollywood, California - Lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez has shown no sense of worries about his upcoming fight against Pound-for-Pound king Manny Pacquiao on November 12 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. He appeared last weekend in the Mexican television on Plaza de las Estrellas program.

HOT INSERT: Photos: Behind the scenes of Marquez's training camp

"Hago una excelente preparación, no le tengo miedo a Pacquiao (I have an excellent preparation, I am not scared of Pacquiao)," says Marquez. "Estoy muy tranquilo (I am very calm)."

"Esto es muy motivante para mi (This is very motivating for me)," Marquez adds.

Marquez, this time, does not mention that he's aiming to win by knockout.

Last week, Marquez told the media: "I want to win by knockout (referring to Pacquiao) on November 12."

Yes, Marquez has extra motivation (Marquez tiene aliciente extra). That is to ultimately win over Pacquiao, if possible by knockout. And this makes his trilogy with Pacquiao more exciting because of his increased strength and resistance, according to his trainer, Nacho Beristain.

At one level, there was media frenzy in the past eight weeks in Mexico that dominated the headlines in the sports section of the Latino newspapers. And today, the same excitement among the boxing aficionados and fans continues. Printed T-shirts and hats with both names of Pacquiao and Marquez become the hot commodities, especially in Mexico City, according to Mexican media.

"He deserves tremendous media attention in his home city of Mexico because he is a true Aztec warrior, " says Saul Martinez, a boxing fan from Mexico City who now lives in Los Angeles. "We like him because he never gives up."

Despite his four knockdowns he took upon from the hands of the Filipino Superstar in their previous encounters, Marquez continues to refuse to be stampeded into passing acceptance of defeat from the hands of Pacquiao.

And there is one significant difference this time, however: Marquez emerges with his credibility intact. Where he might be tempted to sacrifice his reputation, he chooses the most difficult challenge to fight the best and the younger Pacquiao, even at his late age 39. His record speaks: 53-5-1, boasting 66.1% wins by knockout versus Pacquiao's 53-3-2, inclusive of 65.52% wins by knockout.

Marquez is said to stage a sparring exhibition at Santa Anita Park on Breeders’ Cup Classic Day, this Saturday, Nov. 5.

Stay tuned for more!

Source: Examiner.com

Marquez's strength trainer has a sordid past

2011-11-02T03:42:00.000-07:00

Angel Hernandez, the new strength and conditioning coach of RING and WBO/WBA lightweight champ Juan Manuel Marquez, is widely known to have a past history of being involved in performance enhancing activities, according to reports.

Marquez (53-5-1, 39 knockouts) hired Hernandez in preparation for his third bout with Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Marquez will challenge for the WBO welterweight belt owned by eight-division titleholder Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs) in the HBO Pay Per View-televised clash.

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said he only recently became aware of Hernandez's past and was not involved in Marquez's hiring him but declined further comment. Neither Marquez nor any of his camp members could be reached on Tuesday.

Marquez was to hold a national conference call with the media on Tuesday, but it was pushed back to Wednesday due to "a crush of media" during his workouts in Mexico City, according to Top Rank Inc. publicist Lee Samuels.

Identified as Angel Hernandez during Episode 2 of HBO's 24/7 series, Hernandez, who is 36, who apparently went by his real name, Angel Heredia in May of 2008. That's when he testified in a San Francisco Court that he supplied former track stars Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery with illegal substances, according to a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Heredia admitted to giving the blood-booster EPO, growth hormone and insulin to Jones in 2000 at the request of her then-coach Trevor Graham, who was on trial. Heredia also sold banned substances to Montgomery.

Having competed for Jamaica at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Graham sparked the investigation into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) in 2003.

Controversial BALCO founder Victor Conte tweeted his knowledge of Hernandez's past on Monday. Conte apparently has gained in popularity and credibility in the sport of boxing since becoming aligned with WBO/WBC bantamweight titleholder Nonito Donaire, and, more recently, Andre Berto, who credited Conte with helping him to overcome problems associated with over-training and anemia prior toward dethroning Jan Zaveck as IBF welterweight titleholder by fifth-round knockout on Sept. 3.

Conte also worked with Zab Judah prior to his fifth-round stoppage loss to WBA and IBF junior welterweight beltholder Amir Khan.

Marquez, meanwhile, has won three straight fights, including the last two by knockouts, since debuting in his lone welterweight bout -- a one-sided unanimous decision loss to present Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September of 2009.

Marquez and his trainer, Nacho Beristain, blamed rapid weight-gain for slowing down the fighter during his performance against Mayweather.

"I think that as a fighter you must change. I've always fought as a lightweight," said Marquez on 24/7. "I have to gain weight, and somehow, I have to get up there and still keep my speed and power."

Marquez, who was floored once by Mayweather, has also expensed with throwing boulders in the mountains, which he did during his preparation for Mayweather.

"That training was different. He was carrying rocks, and it changed his natural flexibility. He became a little more slow, as if he had lost his explosiveness," said Beristain on 24/7. "All of this, combined with Mayweather's natural ability and his weight advantage, and we didn't stand a chance."

For Pacquiao, Marquez and Beristain wanted to try something new, which also meant abandoning Marquez's longtime habit of ingesting his own urine as a means of gaining strength.

"Yeah, they saved my life. No, I think that I felt fine. On the advice of my doctor, and my physical trainer, Angel, They told us that we should stop," said Marquez on the series.

"We're looking for what can help me, and if the doctor says that no longer drinking it will help, then we'll stop."

Enter Hernandez, a graduate of Texas A&M's exercise science program who believes that his state of the art techniques are better suited for helping Marquez to gain weight.

"A lot of the drills focus on speed and strength in his arms and shoulders," said Hernandez. "So his reactions will be more about muscle balance."

Marquez said that he likes the changes.

"It's something that I've never done in my career. I really feel confident," said Marquez on HBO. "I think that when the time comes, it will serve me well."

Pacquiao has battled to a draw and a split-decision victory over Marquez, as a featherweight and as a junior lightweight in May of 2004 and March of 2008, respectively.

Pacquiao won a title in a record eighth weight class when his unanimous decision victory over Antonio Margarito earned him the WBC's since-vacated junior middleweight belt in November.

The win over Margarito ran Pacquiao's undefeated streak to 14-0 with eight knockouts since losing to four-division beltwinner and current WBC junior welterweight titleholder Erik Morales (51-7, 35 KOs), of Tijuana, in March of 2005.

Source: http://ringtv.craveonline.com

POTENTIAL FIGHT EXPLOSIVENESS IN PACQUIAO-MARQUEZ III

2011-10-25T04:38:00.000-07:00

Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez is a uniquely different contender to fling down the gauntlet against eight-division title-holder Manny Pacquiao.

Pacquiao cannot afford to hyperbolize his presumed advantages against Marquez. He doesn’t have an assurance to warrant “presumptuousness” heading to a “star war” against the boxer who made him stagger in the air and gave him some real hurting blows in their first two encounters. Only the Marquez camp knows for certain at this juncture who Pacquiao would be up against on fight night.

The room for improvement has no restrictions. Every person has equal opportunity and access to it. Pacquiao went through that room and has emerged a complete boxer. So does a “better” Marquez approaching destiny. But as to what type of a fighter Marquez has evolved to this day against Pacquiao since they last figured in a brawl, the odds makers can only play their familiar game (to guess), wildly as they please.

Marquez is confident and already in a fighting mood as he exuded readiness and determination during a recent interview: “This third fight would be just like the two-closely- fought fights and very much a war... the smarter, better-conditioned fighter will win this fight.”

The Filipino champion has found his match in the Mexican counter-punching specialist who knows how to get up twice each time he falls down. Unlike Pacquiao’s previous opponents, Dinamita has the resilient “distinct style” suitable to challenge the Pacman dynamo (in every round and angle), good enough to cause “shiver” in the heart of Freddie Roach and Buboy Fernandez, the reason being why they tried to avoid making the trilogy happen. For styles indeed make fights, and make fights intense and classic.

All being invariable in the equation of both fighters’ strength and weakness in style and ability, there is going to be fierce exchange of punches again between Marquez and Pacquiao come November 12, but on one condition. This time, though, it’s going to be a knockout win for either of the two champions, but, again on the same one condition. Other than that, there will be nothing much different in the vaunted upcoming welterweight contest in Las Vegas except that Pacquiao is not the same static, single-dimensional and “less-powerful” fighter anymore from his two previous bouts against Marquez. Thus it would be a great undoing for Marquez to engage Pacquiao exactly the way he did before if he doesn’t pass the test.

Hence the requisite: Unless Marquez catches up with the big improvements of Pacquiao, the outcome of the Pacquiao-Marquez III would be a one-sided sensational and devastating knockout victory within seven rounds in favor of the Filipino sports icon.

Pacman continues to soar. He “lightly” calls the fight to be “personal” to him, a simple- sounding harmless word that carries a lot of weight to what it means and something that the team Marquez ought to take cautiously, and with much preparedness.

The excitement, therefore, of the forthcoming third matchup between a “Superman” and a “Spiderman” is laid heavily on the shoulders of the Mexican “swinging” hero; for him to do enough in training and conditioning to gain grounds in areas where Pacquiao has made adequate strides and has effectively put in place significant “adjustments” to become versatile and stronger inside the ring, or in space.

If Marquez improves just the way he should, he has the chance to pull an “upset” in a surprising fashion or he could be the toughest foe that the current top pound-for-pound pugilist would have ever fought and will ever likely face in the future which may include Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Sergio Martinez.

The ultimate “finale” between Pacquiao and Marquez ought to be suspenseful and very explosive as both fighters could be aptly described in their long-running rivalry as Dynamo vs. Dinamita. Though if not, it is going to be just another “fireworks” exhibition hit-show on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena amid the rousing applause of the entertained “happy” crowd.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Pacquiao to set out boiling moments, then a freezing point on Marquez - Ariza

2011-10-25T04:16:00.000-07:00

Exclusive HOT POTATO Update - Over a foggy Monday morning hovering upon Griffith Park of Los Angeles, renowned conditioning coach Alex Ariza sees a clear picture come on fight night of November 12 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas highlighting Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao versus his longtime nemesis, Juan Manuel Marquez.

"I could see Pacquiao setting out boiling moments before knocking Marquez out anytime in the first three rounds," smiles Ariza as he heads out to Palazzo Apartments after the usual treacherous outdoor training with the congressman of the Philippines. "Marquez may not see it coming."

Ariza insists an early knockout is inevitible as Pacquiao is seen to have added an extra push on his training and extends extra miles to his usual regimen this time.

"He is going to be too much for Marquez to bear on their trilogy," Ariza adds. "He (Marquez) will freeze once he feels the impact." Ariza is referring to a single knockout punch which he believes Pacquiao would fire upon Marquez at the heat of their heavy exchanges in the first three rounds.

HEALTH CONCERNS FOR PACQUIAO WITH FANS

Meanwhile, Pacquiao, as always, is not without a huge crowd of fans closing in with him for glances, autographs and pictorials, even stolen kisses by some female fans.

Last Saturday, Pacquiao had his outdoor training at the Pan Pacific Park right across Palazzo. He had shown slight body weakness and manifested episodes of "runny nose", a likely symptom of common cold which prompted him to shorten his outdoor exercises for the day, according to Ronnie Lu, one of Pacquiao's trail-tracers.

"He only jogged two rounds and went home quickly," Lu adds.

But, this morning, Pacquiao was upbeat and has shown no signs of retreat. Like a wild horse in the desert, he goes full speed and dusting the Hollywood lanes at 360 degrees focus, even at 56 degrees farenheit.

Some observers, however, have raised concerns about some fans who dare to get close to the champion and even leave inoculating marks of kisses with potential microscopic buccal fluids.

"They should be prudent not to get close to him, that if they really care about him," says James Garces from Long Beach who came along with his friends, all asking Pacquiao to sign autographs on their boxing gloves.

Even then, Pacquiao remains too gracious to his fans and only failed to entertain a few comers who came late to Charles Turner Hollywood Hiking Trail just when his driver whisked him away. Eli Sechback, an ardent and fairly known boxing fan videographer for his own ESNEWS website, was one of them who was not entertained. He wanted his boxing gloves signed. Even after his attempt to compel him to slide down the window by showing off his face through the windshield of the passenger's side of the SUV's front where he was seated, Pacquiao secured himself in and signaled he must leave, at least for now. It was 9:05 when Pacquiao left back to the Palazzo Complex, about eight miles away from Griffith Park.

"Limits to close contacts with fans should be set as Pacquiao nears his fight date," says Marco Sabanal, one of the fight fans from West Covina.

Stay tuned for more!

Source: Examiner.com

Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez 3 HBO 24/7 - Episode 1

2011-10-24T07:28:00.001-07:00

Marquez will be taught a lesson - - Freddie Roach

2011-10-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

When Juan Manuel Marquez arrived in The Philippines wearing a shirt that said, '' I beat Pacquiao twice'' it wasn't very funny in the eyes of Manny and his team. Recently I spoke with famed fight trainer Freddie Roach and he informed this writer that the little prank played by JMM didn't sit well with Manny Pacquiao at all.

Roach explained, '' Manny felt disrespected when JMM showed up in The Philippines wearing that shirt. I think he will teach him a lesson inside of the ring in November.''

Roach also commented on the intense training camp that Pacquiao is having thus far, ''This may be the best Pacquiao I have ever seen. The way he is taking out sparring partners and being so aggressive says something. I don't think he will let up on Marquez like he did with his last 2 opponents. I think he will keep Marquez on the floor this time.''

Pacquiao usually is a very humble guy but with this camp he seems irritated with Marquez and that probably does not bode well for the Mexican brawler. Marquez has shown in the past that he can compete with Pacquiao, but most say that with this fight he is in for a much tougher time.

A normal Pacquiao sends his opponents to the hospital. Ask Tony Margarito about that. A mad Pacquiao could be an even more dangerous monster to deal with.

What was Marquez thinking? Did he think that he could just fly into The Philippines and wear a shirt that disrespected Pacquiao and get away with it? Or is Marquez actually the clever one and by doing so he will take Manny out of his game?

We will certainly get the answers in November.

Source: Examiner.com

Juan Manuel Marquez says it's not about size, it's about mind and style

2011-10-19T05:16:00.002-07:00

There’s very little question that of all of Manny Pacquiao’s recent opponents, Juan Manuel Marquez has presented the most dynamic of challenges. With his great timing, ability to adapt inside of the ring, and iron will, Marquez’s two battles against Pacquiao in May of 2004 and March of 2008 were both exhilarating and controversial.

The first encounter between them saw Marquez floored three times in the first round before storming back to work his way into the fight before seeing a split-draw verdict arise on the scorecards. Nearly four years later, Marquez again fought on even terms with Pacquiao but was nipped on the scorecards, with his third round knockdown coming back to haunt him.

Marquez is now less than a month away from extracting some sort of revenge on Pacquiao, as the two rivals are set to meet on November 12th inside of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, the same location as their first bout. The three-division champion recently fielded a few questions from our good friend Hermie Rivera at Manila Standard Today and isn't concerned about the fight taking place at a catch weight of 144 pounds, with Pacquiao's WBO welterweight crown on the line.

The previous two duels had been held at 126 and 130 pounds, respectively, but Marquez insists that this fight has much more to do with just weight alone.

"Again, it is not about the size, it is about the mind and style. I have also knocked out bigger guys at 135 pounds. The smarter, best-conditioned fighter will win this fight," Marquez stated.

The cards appear to be stacked against Marquez, a huge underdog in the contest, but he is showing little signs of concern. He finished up by brushing off the notion that he will be finished by Pacquiao, who dropped him a combined four times in the first two bouts, in dramatic fashion.

"We will both find out on Nov. 12 on how easy or how hard it will be for him to beat me or even try to beat me. We both know who won the first two fights and who got the decision. This third fight is a whole new chapter. The first two fights are history, let’s see what happens in the present.”

Source: Examiner.com

Manny Pacquiao training harder than usual

2011-10-19T05:16:00.001-07:00

The man who has watched boxers prepare for fights since the 1960s approached the trainer of the sport's current king and expressed some cautionary words.

"Slow him down, Freddie," veteran fight promoter Bob Arum said near the sweat-soaked ring in Hollywood.

It's there where Manny Pacquiao has returned to train under Freddie Roach for the final four weeks before his third fight against bitter rival Juan Manuel Marquez on Nov. 12 in Las Vegas.

"Slow him down," Arum repeated.

Almost from the moment the fight was announced, there have been concerns about properly pacing Pacquiao, who didn't even wait for the introductory news conference in the Philippines to start running.

Pacquiao, 32, is telling those close to him he doesn't want this fight in the hands of the judges after his prior battles with Marquez resulted in a 2004 draw and a 2008 Pacquiao victory by split-decision. The decisive score was a one-point margin.

He wants the knockout, and Roach says, "That's what we're training him for."

But there's danger in peaking too early, of working so hard in the first month-plus of training that the body inevitably fatigues in the final weeks before a fight.

"We're way ahead of where we usually are, like 75-80% of where we should be by fight night," Roach said. "We're usually around 50% right now. I have to make sure we don't overdo it."

Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 knockouts) grinned his way through being questioned about his fervent effort to get ready for the 38-year-old Marquez.

"I'm focusing on my strength and speed," Pacquiao said. "They're watching my body, so I don't become too big. I control my training, step by step, until the time comes to fight. I want to be gradual in my training."

Pacquiao's words aren't matching his actions, conditioning coach Alex Ariza says. Pacquiao and Ariza had an occasionally animated conversation in the ring last week. Ariza said he convinced Pacquiao that drills to build up strength in the feet and legs are more important at this juncture than upper-body strength training.

"He wants to be as big as he was against Miguel Cotto," Ariza said of Pacquiao's last knockout two years ago — which has been followed by three consecutive unanimous decisions versus larger opponents. "But Cotto was the equivalent of a linebacker, and Marquez is a free safety.

"I think he just wants to kill Marquez."

Pacquiao has never forgiven Marquez (53-5-1, 39 KOs) for not only complaining incessantly after the 2008 loss, but traveling to the Philippines to wear T-shirts saying he was robbed of victory and pleading for a third fight.

"This fight," Pacquiao said, "will be the answer to all those doubts."

Source: latimes.com

Wanted: Sparring partner for Pacquiao

2011-10-19T05:15:00.001-07:00

The search for a new sparring partner for World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao continues.

This, after the eight-division world belt-holder looked to have run out of somebody who, not only could approximate Mexican arch-rival Juan Manuel Marquez’ style, but at the same time withstand his punching prowess.

Last Saturday, Pacquiao, who is preparing for his third bout with Marquez on November 12 in Las Vegas, according to trainer Freddie Roach, floored a sparring partner, whom the Wild Card Boxing Gym owner refused to identify, during a skirmish at his famous sweat shop.

Roach, in interview midnight Tuesday (Monday in Manila), wouldn’t divulge whether the guy was Zambian Olympian Hasting Bwalya, whose face he rendered bloodied during a separate sparring session Thursday.

Roach, who was apparently half-asleep and was awakened by the call of this reporter in that wee hour of the night, would not bare the identity of the fighter, obviously, to avoid destroying his boxing career, except to say that the pound-for-pound king just dropped him to the canvas, in what round, he also refused to say.

“He (Pacquiao) knocked him down … he knocked him down… ,” he murmured to Malaya Business Insight.

Asked if Bwalya, who he said he will give another chance the same day, did spar and wherther he is already out, Roach, likewise, would not say.

“I’ll see what happens tomorrow (Tuesday start of the sparring sessions in Team Pacquiao’s second week of training in Los Angeles).”

Meaanwhile, Pacquiao resumed his roadwork Monday morning at the hilly Griffith Park in downtown L.A. with strength and conditiong coach Alex Ariza supervising and assisted by assistant trainers Buboy Fernandez and Nonoy Neri.

Also in Pacquiao’s roadwork were Filipino fighters Bernabe Concepcion, Rodel Mayol and Richie Mepranum who are all scheduled to in a boxing card on October 27 at the San Manuel Indian Casino in Southern California.

Asked by this writer, in a separate interview, whether Pacquiao was affected by the loss of Jorge Linares against Antonio de Marco Saturday for the World Boxing Council lightweight championship, Ariza allayed such fears.

“He’s sad, yes because the two have already cemented their friendship in their three-week stay in Baguio City in the first leg of Manny’s training,” Ariza assured. “But whether it will affect the remaining phase of his training is out of the question.”

“Manny is Manny. He has never been and will not be affected by events, said of otherwise, that happened during camp,” Ariza said. “in fact, he is now more focused in what he’s doing thinking that the fight against Marquez is just around the corner.”
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Pacquiao, who attended the fight to lend morale support to Linares, even went to the Venezuelan dressing room after the bout to console his friend.

“Manny is all business as usual and is looking extremely fast and powerful during training,” Ariza said.

Ariza, likewise, expressed disappointment with the result of the fight, saying it was stopped prematurely.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Marquez bulks up, stays fast, furious in workout

2011-10-19T05:14:00.001-07:00

MANILA, Philippines - Juan Manuel Marquez shadow-boxed and limbered up in front of a huge mirror, surrounded by his supporters and some members of the media.

He looked like Lou Ferrigno, the “Incredible Hulk.”

Yes, the 38-year-old Mexican, gearing up for his Nov. 12 clash with Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, has bulked up and has grown so big it’s a little hard to recognize him these days.

Marquez, during last September’s whirlwind press tour for his third clash with Pacquiao, said he will be a changed man by the time he climbs the ring at the MGM Grand just 25 days from now.

He is a changed man.

Marquez has added up on the muscles he thinks he’d need to beat Pacquiao, now the reigning welterweight champion.

“I need to prepare myself physically for this fight. My body must be ready as well as my mind,” said Marquez, who has hired medical experts to make sure he bulks up without sacrificing on speed.

In a 57-second video that was posted at www.pinoygreats.com, Marquez, the lightweight champion, was shown as he wrapped up his training in Mexico, in white trunks and groin protector.

His feet bounced off the floor as he shadow-boxed and shuffled, and smiled at those near him. He looked fast, muscular and ready.

Pacquiao, meanwhile, continued to train at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, and entered the crucial stages in sparring.

A fresh batch of sparring partners is coming his way after Jorge Linares left for a recent fight, while Hastings Bwalya, the Zamibian fighter, was reportedly given the pink slip.

Bwalya sparred four rounds with Pacquiao over the weekend, and proved a little cocky, and paid the price – a bloody nose.

Pacquiao is peaking just in time for the fight, cool, calm and collected as he awaits the November issue of Playboy Magazine where he will be featured.

Source: philstar.com

Pacquiao sparmate sent packing home

2011-10-19T05:11:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines — As Manny Pacquiao enters the most crucial phase of his training, his handlers have decided to give the touted Zambian sparring partner the pink slip after failing to live up to his billing.

“We have sent him home,” said Mike Koncz, who handles the day-to-day affairs of the Filipino fighter revving up for the Nov. 12 trilogy with Juan Manuel Marquez.

Last week, Hastings Bwalya was told to report at the Wild Card Boxing Club and work out with Pacquiao.

Bwalya, who had sterling credentials, failed to give the 32-year-old Pacquiao the work trainer Freddie Roach wanted and was told to go home.

Koncz said another guy from Orange County is arriving to replace Bwalya and work alongside many-time sparmate Rey Beltran in the remaining weeks.

Koncz is hoping that the new guy will not follow the path of the trash-talking Bwalya, who wound up with a bloody face after trading power blows with Pacquiao.

“But if he does, we have no choice but to look for another,” added Koncz.

This week, Pacquiao’s sparring sessions will reach its zenith and towards the end of the month, he would already be tapering off.

Source: mb.com.ph

PACMAN THE DOG

2011-10-17T05:08:00.000-07:00

Dogs appearing in movies could be more popular than this canine, but certainly, Pacman is the most-travelled of his kind in the world today.

Pacman, of course, is the favorite pet of World Boxing Organization welterweight and eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao who always makes it a point to tag the Jack Russell along terrier wherever he goes to fight since acquiring pint-sized animal five years ago. Pacman, who is based in Los Angeles, even has a special permit from the U.S. department of foreign affairs to join Pacman wherever he wishes to go.

“Pacman is an American citizen,” Noel Lautengco, an uncle-in-law of the pound-for-pound king’s wife Jinkee assigned to take care of the canine, attested in an interview one day during Team Pacquiao’s three-week stint in Baguio City in the first leg of his preparation for his third fight with Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez. “He’s gone to many places, kasi lagging isinasama ni Manny tuwing bi-biyahe either para lumaban, mag-training o mamasyal,” Lautengco, who is married to Jinkee’s aunt Marlyn Jamora, said. “Kaya nga masasabi kong siya na sigurado and the most-travelled dog sa buong mundo.”

“Well, maybe the kind which appear in movies could be more popular than Pacman is, but, undoubtedly, hindi nila mapapantayan ang dami ng biyahe ni Pacman. Just think of how many times Manny fought since 2006. Ang dami na. Eh yun pang biyahe kapag nag-ensayo? “ Lautengco who now works as an on call plumber in L.A. said.

“Manny nga always tags him along sa mga biyahe niya. Si Pacman kasi ang taga-gising nya kapag tumatakbo sa umaga in the course of his training. Kaming mga nasa Team Pacquiao, alam na namin kapag gising na si Manny kasi nauuna nang bumaba sa Pacman,” Lauterngo related. “Kapag nagising kasi ‘yan sa umaga, pupunta agad kung saan natutulog si Manny at kakatukin nya hanggang magising. Napakasipg naman sa takbuhan. Lagi siyang nauuna kay Manny sa roadwork. Kaya tuloy siya na ang ginagamit ni Manny na Pacer,” he continued.

“Pacman is the only guy who could keep pace with Manny on the road, kaya team up lagi silang dalawa. At si Manny lang nag nakakasabay sa kanya. Mabilis kasing tumakbo at tuwqang-tuwa siya kapag nagkakarera silang dalawa ni Manny,” Lautengco, who claims to be Pacquiao’s confidante even before the boxer wooed Jinkee, said.

The past few days in Pacquiao’s first week in L.A., Pacman, again, shared the limelight with his popular boss as he, as in the past, kept the champ company in his roadwork at the mountainous Griffith Park in downtown L.A.

“Manny and myself were already friends even before he courted my niece, who then worked as a model and endorser for Ponds (a beauty product). “I was, in fact, responsible for introducing him to Jinkee. Lautengco relayed that Pacman is actually a half-breed Jack Russel terrier given to him by boyhood friend and now assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez. “The dog was given to Buboy by a friend. Hiningi ni many kasi nagandahan. Maliit at malikot. Si Buboy na ang nagbinyag ng Pacman.”

“Napamahal na kay many si Pacman. Before Pacman slept besides Manny sa gabi. Pero na-allergy si Manny sa balahibo kaya sa akin na pinatatabi sa pagtulog. Ako ngayon ang binubuwisit, kasi ayaw nang walang katabi. Nilalagaya ko sa lapag ng kama bago matulog, magigising na lang ako nasa paanan ko at kasukob ko sa kumot,” Lautengco related chuckling.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Pacquiao spars on first day

2011-10-12T05:25:00.001-07:00

MANILA, Philippines — Even though he was not scheduled to spar on Monday – his first day of training at the Wild Card Boxing Club – Manny Pacquiao was ordered to lace on his gloves and put on a headgear by trainer Freddie Roach.

Roach paired Pacquiao with Venezuelan Jorge Linares and the two did four rounds together and another four rounds was added, this time, with Ray Beltran, who had helped many times in the past, as the Filipino's sparmate.

Roach wanted to give Linares, who fights this Saturday at Staples Center in Los Angeles, his final quality sparring session and exactly got what he wanted.

Since Pacquiao had an unscheduled sparring session, Roach said the next will not happen until Thursday and with Linares out of the picture, only Beltran and an African puncher training under cutman Miguel Diaz will fill the void.

Roach said the three-week training in Baguio City proved very helpful and Pacquiao himself said upon his arrival in the US over the weekend that he feels that he is 80 percent in shape for the Nov. 12 rubber match with Juan Manuel Marquez.

While Pacquiao insists that he is already in fiery form, Roach believes there are still lots of work to do.

“I think Manny's about 65 to 70 percent now,” said the 51-year-old Roach, who has eght weeks to whip the pound-for-pound king into a beast come fight night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao is an 8-1 favorite to repulse Marquez's challenge but he is not taking chances against the 38-year-old Mexican, who he said will go all-out since this will be his last big fight.

Source: mb.com.ph

Is Juan Manuel Marquez Making Manny Pacquiao Nervous?

2011-10-12T05:24:00.001-07:00

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez are set to do battle for the third -- and hopefully, final -- time on November 12. Even though Bob Arum and the powers that be involved with marketing the bout have tried to sell it as an “anything’s possible” type of showdown, fans and pundits seem to agree that Pacquiao will handily beat his opponent.

Naturally, the assumption was that Pacquiao was just as confident as the fans and pundits going in and that, even if he couldn’t publicly say it, he realized that he’d destroy Marquez. His conditioning coach Alex Ariza, after all, not too long ago explicitly stated that Pacquiao would wreck his opponent.

Over the last few days, however, certain things have happened or come to light that throw into question just how confident Pacquiao and his camp really are. Just yesterday, it was revealed that Pacquiao and his advisors requested a rematch clause prior to this fight being agreed to – albeit, one that they have deemed as just a precaution. Then, on Monday, Pacquiao arrived at Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles and, in the words of The Philippine Star, “broke tradition.”

According to the report, usually when Pacquiao arrives in L.A. he spends the first Monday “breaking sweat and loosening up” as he prepares for the more grueling aspects of training. This time around, though, the Filipino champion was all business. Instead of taking it slow, he opted to spar – something that in the past he has traditionally only done on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

And, on top of all that, Pacquiao has also been earily quiet over the last few weeks. Granted, he did peak his head out of the shadows a few days ago to say that he was “80 percent" ready for Pacquiao – but that’s as far as it’s gone. Nothing on Sergio Martinez. Nothing on Floyd Mayweather Jr. Nothing on Amir Khan. Nothing on Timothy Bradley.

Pacquiao, of course, has already met Marquez twice before to mixed results. The first time around the pair fought to a draw, even though it was later revealed that the Filipino champion was robbed of a victory by a judge’s error. The second time around, he beat Marquez via a decision even though many skeptics questioned the validity of the win, noting that Marquez had better stats throughout the bout.

“Yes. I feel that, you know, there’s an extra motivation for this training camp I think because of what happened in our last fight,” Pacquiao recently said.

“This fight, this will be the answer to all of the doubters about whether or not I lost to my opponent.”

Should Manny be nervous heading into November 12? Absolutely not.

Is he? It sure looks that way.

Source: opposingviews.com

Pacquiao picks Hawaii for next title bout

2011-10-12T05:21:00.000-07:00

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Manny Pacquiao's next fight may not be against Floyd Mayweather, but local fans of the WBO Welterweight Champion and Filipino congressman may still have cause for celebration.

According to local defense attorney Michael Green, Pacquiao wants his next title bout to be staged in Hawaii. The islands are one of seven potential sites worldwide Team Pacquiao is considering, with the fight taking place in either 2012 or 2013. An opponent has not yet been discussed.

Green says that Pacquiao is more than familiar with his loyal following in Hawaii, and has sought the attorney's help in planning a fight in the islands, possibly at Aloha Stadium. Green says he plans to do research and crunch the numbers, but thinks a Pacquiao fight would sell out the venue.

Pacquiao is slated to visit the islands between November 19 and 21, ahead of a potential Hawaii fight and just a week after his highly anticipated November 12 bout with Juan Manuel Marquez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

During that trip, Green is hopeful that several local high-profile officials, including Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle and Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie, will help solidify the deal with such shows of support as offering the boxer a key to the city.

Pacquiao is also scheduled to attend a fundraiser at the Hilton Hawaiian Village during his visit.

Source: hawaiinewsnow.com

24/7 Pacquiao-Marquez Music Video & Fight Preview

2011-10-11T05:10:00.000-07:00

It's still about a month until the third installment in the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez series takes place, on November 12th, live on HBO PPV. Debuting much sooner than that, on October 22nd, will be the Pacquiao vs. Marquez 24/7 series. Right here, you can get an early look at the 24/7 show and the fight itself, with this HBO 24/7 Pacquiao-Marquez music video and fight preview.

Basically this is just a short, fun little video clip doing what 24/7 does best... get you nice and hyped up for an upcoming bout. Set to some heavy guitar riffs, we see previous fight footage in the Pacquiao vs. Marquez series, and some glimpses of the two guys training and going about their business, as well as some voiceovers from Jim Lampley as he has called some of their best moments in the past.

Enjoy the 24/7 Pacquiao vs. Marquez music video and fight preview video here, and keep on coming back for more updates on Pacquiao-Marquez III all the way until fight night on November 12th.

Source: proboxing-fans.com

The Pacman is back!

2011-10-10T06:39:00.000-07:00

The wait is over, Manny Pacquiao touched down last night in Los Angeles. The Wild Card Gym will once again go through it's seasonal change as it always does when the 8 division world champion arrives. Manny Pacquiao will wrap up the 2nd leg of his training camp in Los Angeles and will take on Juan Manuel Marquez for the third time in his career.

There hasn't been a fighter that generates such electricity in a long time. With the arrival of Pacquiao comes the arrival of hundreds of fans, all of which will be standing in the parking lot outside of the gym. Each fan will hope that they can get a photo taken with their idol, and perhaps even an autograph. Folks come from all around the country, and in some cases from around the world. I remember when I was out there last year, I ran into a fan from Australia who made the trip just to get a glimpse of the Pacman.

The fans get excited when Pacquiao arrives because it usually means that his fight is oh so much closer. It's been common in his last few fights that he trains in The Philippines for the 1st half of camp, and in Los Angeles for the 2nd half of camp. When Pacquiao touches down at LAX it means the fight is rapidly approaching.

From all reports, Pacquiao had a great training camp in The Philippines. The team looks to pick up where they left off and march right into Vegas with a primed and ready champion. November will be upon on his before we know it. Pacquiao Vs. Marquez 3 is just around the corner.

Most insiders are predicting a Pacquiao victory, and this writer agrees. Former light heavyweight champ Glen Johnson said it best, "It's a tale of two fighters. One is going in one direction and the other is going in a different direction." Pacquiao is primed and ready, and some say Marquez has declined a touch. If this is true, this will not bode well for JMM.

More and more folks are predicting that Pacquiao will not only win, but he will knockout Marquez. Time will certainly tell.

Source: Examiner.com

Why Pacquiao – Marquez III will be the best fight of the the trilogy?

2011-10-10T06:37:00.001-07:00

Pacquiao vs Marquez 3 will be the best fight of the trilogy because both fighters will be coming out guns blazing. Both fighters know exactly what this third bout final chapter clash is all about. Pacman and Marquez agree that the first 2 fights could have gone either way so they will both come out to make one final statement that will draw the line of separation. At the very end of it all, one man shall remain standing with his hand held high, victorious. And this time, there will be no question about it. No need for debate. Both warriors are coming fully armed prepared for intense combat. A classic war from beginning to end. -Albert Alvarez

With the previous two fights being so excessively exciting and action packed, it is truly hard to imagine their trilogy ending bout being any better. To be completely honest with you, I don’t think it will be. Having said that, the reason is important to note. I believe that this fight is unlikely to last more than 6-8 rounds, with Manny Pacquiao knocking Marquez out. I am aware that Marquez is the very definition of a warrior, and has gotten up and recovered from mind shattering blows before. I am also fully aware that he gave Pacquiao a run for his money in their bouts, leaving many people convinced that he beat Pacquiao at least once. Since then, Freddie Roach has used Manny’s natural abilities and learned skills to mold a relentless powerhouse of out him. At 144lbs, the fight will not beat the excitement of the previous two as far as it’s long dragged out war, but with a likely knockout, this fight will raise all from their seats to witness history take place. – Vitali Shaposhnikov

Boxing news www.diamondboxing.com

Marquez will pay for disrespect - Roach

2011-10-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines - Celebrated boxing trainer Freddie Roach predicted the other day Manny Pacquiao will stop Juan Manuel Marquez inside six rounds in their WBO welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Nov. 12 and said the spark in the Filipino icon’s eye in training camp indicates he’s going all out for a decisive victory in their third encounter.

While Marquez has been uncharacteristically polite to Pacquiao during the recent world media tour, Roach said he’ll never forget the Mexican’s whining after the draw in 2004 and losing by split decision in 2008. Marquez even flew to Manila in 2009 with an entourage to taunt Pacquiao and goad him into agreeing to another face-off. Marquez caused a mild commotion at the Araneta Coliseum ringside when he gate-crashed a boxing card to confront Pacquiao.

Last November, Marquez showed up at a press conference in Las Vegas after defeating Michael Katsidis wearing a T-shirt with the words, in capital letters, emblazoned on the front – “MARQUEZ BEAT PACQUIAO TWICE.”

“No doubt in my mind, Manny beat Marquez in both fights,” Roach told The STAR at the Pan Pacific Hotel last Saturday morning. “They were close fights but Manny won both. Manny finished strong in the two fights, taking the last round, and Marquez went down four times in all. The first fight was a draw but it should’ve been a win for Manny by split decision if only one judge (Burt Clements) didn’t make a mistake in his scorecard. I think Marquez showed disrespect to Manny by coming to the Philippines with his followers and claiming he was robbed in both fights. It was like a slap on Manny’s face. It wasn’t right to do that and what made it worse was Marquez did it in the Philippines.”

Roach left Manila with Pacquiao for Los Angeles last Saturday night.

Roach said Marquez will pay for his disrespect. “Manny will win by knockout,” said Roach. “It’ll be over by the sixth round. That should clear the air once and for all. I’ve wanted this fight to happen for a long time to shut Marquez up for good. Manny knows it’s not going to be easy. I’ve told Manny he can’t afford to be Mr. Nice Guy in this fight because Marquez will do whatever it takes to try to win.”

Roach said he even broached the idea of Pacquiao going for an early knockout – as early as the first round. “Marquez is a slow starter and Manny likes to start fast,” said Roach. “So we talked about starting strong and going for a first round knockout. But on second thought, maybe, we’ll just see how the fight progresses because if Marquez survives our attempt for a knockout in the first round, he might gain confidence. This is going to be a mental, not just a physical fight. I was a little worried at the start that Manny might think Marquez will give him problems because their first two fights were close. Sometimes, you think there’s a guy out there who’s your nemesis like in high school, you might have someone on the other side whom you find difficult to beat whether in boxing or basketball or whatever. But talking to Manny and seeing how he’s been in camp, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. That spark in Manny’s eye tells me everything. He’s very focused.”

Roach said after three weeks of training in Baguio City, Pacquiao is 70 percent ready for Marquez and there’s still a month left to work out at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.

“Baguio was excellent,” said Roach. “I couldn’t ask more from Manny. No distractions, no politics. He’d get up early every morning for his run, rest, then in the afternoon, go eight rounds of sparring with Jorge (Linares), then 10 rounds of mitts with me, then work the speedball, heavy bag and do drills, rest, then play pool and basketball. He brought pool players and two basketball teams to Baguio. I never watch him play basketball. I’m against Manny playing basketball while training for a fight and we have an agreement that four weeks before a fight, no more playing basketball.”

Roach said writing a third chapter to the Pacquiao-Marquez story will put a closure to the trilogy. “It’s good for boxing,” he went on. “I think the third fight will be really exciting. I have a lot of respect for Marquez’ trainer (Nacho Beristain). It’s always a challenge for me to go up against Nacho. We were together on a TV show with Max Kellerman for HBO recently and I explained what Marquez and Manny are expected to do when they fight a third time. Nacho felt I shared too much information but I told him, c’mon, I know what he’ll do and he knows what I’ll do so we’ll just mix it up a little and see what happens.”

Last Saturday morning, Roach was touched when a nine-year-old boy came up to him after breakfast at the Pan Pacific Hotel to thank him for giving pride to the Filipino people. The boy posed with Roach for a photo then asked how he met Pacquiao. “He came to my gym one day,” recounted Roach. “We did the mitts and I knew right then, he was good. We hit it off from the start. There won’t be a greater fighter than Manny. He’s an eight-division world champion. He raised the bar and nobody can ever do what he has done.”

Source: philstar.com

Pacquiao looks to close book on Marquez despite rematch clause

2011-10-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

Despite having floored Juan Manuel Marquez four times over the course of two meetings, Manny Pacquiao never was able to put him away.

The 32-year-old Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs) is looking to change that when he makes an HBO Pay Per View televised defense of his WBO welterweight belt opposite the 38-year-old WBO and WBA lightweight titleholder Marquez (53-5-1, 39 KOs) on Nov. 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao battled Marquez through a draw and a split-decision in May of 2004 and March of 2008, respectively, when they competed first for Marquez's WBA and IBF featherweight titles and then his WBC junior lightweight belt.

"I would say that this one is much more personal. Manny Pacquiao will never say that he dislikes Juan Manuel Marquez, but the message that I'm getting, looking at Manny and so forth, he wants to make a statement," said Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach.

"When Juan Marquez came to the Philippines and campaigned that he felt that he won both fights, and he wore a shirt that read that he beat Manny Pacquiao twice, that was a real slap in the face for Manny Pacquiao."

Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz, denied that the fighter has derived any further motivation from the T-shirt.

"Manny doesn't need any motivation from a f--king petty T-shirt or anything like that," said Koncz. "Manny just wants to put it out of everybody's mind that he's not the best fighter out of the two of them."

Pacquiao floored Marquez three times during the first round of their initial meeting, and once again in their second bout. Still, some point out that the knockdowns were the difference on some of the scorecards, and without them Marquez might have at least one victory over Pacquiao, possibly two.

In the first fight, judge John Steward had it for Pacquiao, 115-110, while Guy Jutras had it 115-110 for Marquez, and Burt A. Clemens had it 113-113.

In the second bout, Judges Duane Ford and Tom Miller had it for Pacquiao, 115-112 and 114-113, respectively, while Jerry Roth had it for Marquez, 115-112.

"I thought Manny won both fights. One judge made a mistake in the first fight. How could that happen? They were close fights, with one point separated the two," said Roach.

"Depending on what style you like, that's who you're going to think won those fights. I think we won both fights. But that's life."

"They were two, very good close fights. Manny will never say anything, but when I mention those things to him, Manny gets this sparkle in his eye and he gets that little grin that he gives me," said Roach.

"This time, he really means business. So I don't think that we have to worry about Manny hurting Marquez this time and pulling up and watching him go the distance."

Source: ringtv.craveonline.com

Pacquiao: “I can fight next week.”

2011-10-10T05:33:00.000-07:00

After completing three weeks of high altitude training in Baguio City and a little more than a month before his trilogy with Juan Manuel Marquez, Filipino World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao pronounced himself ready to rumble.

“I can fight next week,” the 32-year-old Pacquiao declared last Friday as he wrapped up his preparation at the Shape Up boxing gym at Baguio home Cooyeesan Hotel.

“Kulang pa sa sparring at takbo, pero mapupunuan na yun pagdating namin sa L.A.,” he said. “One more week of training and I feel I am ready to face him (Marquez) and beat him again, this time convincingly.”

“I really feel good following our three-week stay here. Maganda ang naging resulta ng training despite missing some of the scheduled road work out because of typhoons,” he assessed.
Listening intently as he made his prediction were chief trainer Freddie Roach and strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza as they unanimously nodded in approval.

“Maybe not in a week’s time. There’s plenty of time left in or build up program, but yes, I believe him if he says he’ll ready to mix it up soon,” Roach said. “Certainly, we’ve lineup a tough sparring sessions for him in L.A.”

Roach said Mexican 140-pound challenger Roger “Speedy” Gonzales and Miguel Diaz plus two others are waiting at his Wild Card Gym to help the pound-for-pound king in his needs to completely feel his way atop the ring.

The four-time ‘trainer of the year’ honoree ruled out David Rodela, a long time Pacquiao sparring mate, who suffered a knockout loss in his last fight two weeks ago.

“Rodela’s out. I feel bad about it because he’s such a good sparring partner as he had shown in our previous preparations. But it”s different now that he was knocked out,” he said. “It’s really very hard for a fighter to suffer a stoppage.”

“We are targeting from 120 to 150 rounds of sparring to make
Manny completely ready for the fight,” he bared. “After Baguio, he only has logged some 40 to 50 rounds although think, too, we don’t need that much.”
“Much as I would want him to recover immediately from that traumatic experience, fighting, even in sparring, won’t do it,” he reasoned out. “He’ll be a big loss, really.”

Ariza, for his part, said everything has been set in place in the Baguio leg of preparations, agreeing with the eight-division champion that several more rounds of sparring and miles of running should make Pacquiao really fit to fight.

Both Roach and Ariza agreed that basketball, which their ward used as substitute for missing roadwork several times due to rains that struck the city almost daily, wasn’t sufficient to make up for the loss.

Ariza, in fact, has suggested swimming is the better substitute, but Pacquiao refused. He played his second love nightly right after his grueling training schedule helping his Pambansang Kamao team win the Pacquiao Cup tournament. over the Pacman side in an all Paquiao-owned finale last Thursday at the hotel basketball court.

Pacquiao and his team, including Roach and Ariza and assistant trainers Buboy Fernandez and Nonoy Neri, flew to Los Angeles where he is to resume preparation at the Roach-owned Wild Card Gym in downtown Hollywood.

Pacquiao actually ended up his four-week Philippine side of preparation last Saturday at the MP Tower gym (formerly L&M Gym, which he bought and transformed into a four-storey structure in front of Central Market ) in Sampaloc.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Get Set For Pacquiao-Marquez "Ring Life"

2011-10-07T05:07:00.000-07:00

New York, NY – Two of boxing’s elite prizefighters – who are set to square off on Nov. 12 in an electric pay-per-view showdown in Las Vegas – will be featured on the next installment of the Emmy-nominated HBO series Ring Life, which will be available on the network as well as all the digital media platforms that distribute the series.

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will be meeting in the ring for the third time in their brilliant careers, but their respective path to boxing greatness is a world apart. Born amid poverty in the Philippines, 32-year-old Pacquiao has overcome every barrier in front of him to become a worldwide figure. He is also the lone congressional representative from the Sarangani province of his homeland.

Juan Manuel Marquez, 38, is the pride and joy of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, a place where the prizefighter was born, raised and still calls home. He began his boxing career at the age of eight while sharing a spartan two-bedroom house with his parents, two brothers and five sisters.

Ring Life chronicles the lives of fighters as they define the spirit of boxing; balancing work, family life, training, expectations and the pursuit of their dreams. Front and center in these fighters’ lives, Ring Life presents a chapter on each fighter that delves inside their hearts and minds to discover what drives them in the ring and beyond, in the ultra competitive sport of professional boxing.

The Pacquiao and Marquez Ring Life profiles will air back-to-back on HBO beginning Saturday, Oct. 8 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. Each profile is approximately six minutes.

HBO playdates: Oct. 8 (10:30 p.m.), 11 (5:45 p.m.), 14 (12:30 a.m.), 19 (10:45 a.m.), 23 (10:45 a.m.) and 26 (1:30 a.m.), and Nov. 1 (12:30 a.m.), 4 (2:45 p.m., 9:15 p.m.), 5 (10:30 a.m., 6:00 p.m.), 7 (10:45 a.m.), 9 (8:15 p.m.) and 11 (12:45 p.m., 6:30 p.m.).

HBO2 playdates: Oct. 10 (7:15 a.m.), 13 (6:15 p.m.), 17 (7:45 a.m.), 21 (1:30 p.m.), 24 (9:45 p.m.), and Nov. 10 (9:45 p.m.).

New installments of Ring Life will also be available across HBO Digital Media platforms including HBO.com/boxing, HBO’s YouTube Channel, iPad and iPhone applications, and as free podcasts via Apple’s iTunes Music Store. Additionally it can been seen at www.dailymotion.com/hbo. Ring Life is also offered on HBO GO® and HBO On Demand® to subscribers 24 hours a day as well as on affiliate Free on Demand services and affiliate online platforms.

Source: thesweetscience.com

Pacquiao Breaks Baguio Camp Friday

2011-10-06T05:13:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Oct. 7, members of the training team of world welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao will pack up their bags and break the Baguio City training camp ending a three-week high-altitude training and physical conditioning program supervised directly by Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach and conditioning guru Alex Ariza.

Pacquiao and his team will drive down to Manila after the training Friday, appear in his television show Manny Many Prizes on GMA 7 on Saturday before flying to Los Angeles in the evening to continue with the second phase of his preparation for his third meeting with Mexican boxing legend Juan Manuel Marquez on Nov. 12.

"Manny did good here. We made sure that his feet got wet here," said Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach to allay concerns that the two typhoons and ravaged the country and passed through Baguio City and the lack of quality sparring partners affected Pacquiao's preparation for the historic third meeting with is Mexican nemesis.

In the three weeks that Pacquiao stayed in Baguio under the supervision of Roach and physical conditioning coach Alex Ariza and the training support staff composed of Buboy Fernandez and Nonoy Neri, he sparred alternately with Venezuelan Jorge Linares, a lightweight, Philippine welterweight champion Dennis Laurente and WBO Oriental featherweight champion Lorenzo Villanueva.

"We will have 100 more rounds of sparring (in the Wild Card Gym)," Roach said yesterday.

Pacquiao himself said he was happy with the Baguio training.

"It was Freddie who was trying to control me. I wanted to run more and train more. I'm like a race horse raring to run," he told The Manila Times yesterday.

In his last sparring yesterday with Linares, who will fight Antonio Demarco for the world lightweight title on Oct. 15 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Pacquiao showed exceptional speed and even goaded the smaller Venezuelan fighter to hit him during the seven round sparring.

"Go, go, go," he exhorted Linares as he allowed him to land punches to his midsection which he effectively parried with his arms. When he hit back, it was obvious that the Venezuelan fighter felt the power that Pacquiao is known of.

After the sparring with Linares, Pacquiao did mitts sparring and drill with Roach for 10 more rounds before hitting the bag and the speed ball.

It was not known who will spar with Pacquiao in the second phase of the preparation for Marquez at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Marquez itching to knock Pacman out

2011-10-06T05:12:00.002-07:00

JUAN Manuel Marquez has only one goal when he meets eight-division world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao in their much-awaited third bout.

“I’m getting the best preparation of my career for the fight on November 12, and going there with one goal in mind - to knock out Manny Pacquiao,” Marquez told BoxingScene.com.

The Mexican slugger has an unfinished business to settle.

He drew his first match with Pacquiao in 2004 in a match many boxing experts believe should have been given to the Filipino boxing champion after the fighting congressman from the province of Sarangani dropped the Mexican three times in the opening round.

But Marquez was able to hold on and fought the Filipino for 12 rounds before the decision of draw was handed.

Four years later, it was Marquez’s turn to pour on the heat.

Despite being knocked down in the third round, the Mexican appeared to have the match in his control.

In fact, Marquez landed more punches than Pacquiao. The Mexican landed 172 of his 511 total punches compared to the Pinoy boxing icon’s 157 of 619, according to the punch stats report.

Even the power punches went in favor of the Mexican, 130 of 310 (42%) to the Filipino’s 114 of 305 (37%), giving validity to Marquez’s claim that “he won the second fight.”

Now, the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization world lightweight champion Marquez is very focused and training hard at Mexico’s Iztacalco Gym, where he sparred with Ramses Agaton and Jose Emilio Perea, two undefeated fighters in preparation of his bout on Nov. 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The fight takes place at a catch-weight of 144-pounds.

“Since the second time we fought (March 15, 2008), he has improved. He showed the teachings of his handler Freddie Roach, with his boxing, his punches are more technical, there is more use of the right hand, and he’s matured into an excellent fighter. For me, this fight is about pride, about dignity. Everyone knows I was robbed in the two previous two fights. I beat Pacquiao before, and I’ll do it again.” Rey Joble

Source: manilastandardtoday.com

Secret to Pacquiao’s power comes from PNCs, not PEDS

2011-10-06T05:12:00.001-07:00

I AM not supposed to divulge this secret but I really believe that in order to prove to the world that Manny Pacquiao is greatest boxer of this generation, the playing field must be leveled and everybody must know what it is that makes him so fast and so strong.

Perhaps, Floyd Mayweather could learn from this so that he will stop using the PEDs excuse to cover up for his unwillingness to fight Manny Pacquiao.

Manny Pacquiao’s secret to his speed and power is not the PEDs, or lengthily Performance Enhancing Drugs.

Genetics? Maybe, to a certain extent, yes. But that is not what made Manny Pacquiao what he is. Otherwise, Manny’s siblings, specifically Bobby, would just have been as good as Manny or Rodel, the barangay chairman, would just as be as fast and as quick as the Pacman.

Also, if Manny is simply a product of an outstanding genetic mix, then we would not have a problem producing another Manny Pacquiao because all that we need to do is to convince Aling Dionisia to reconcile with her husband and produce more Mannys.

There are two factors that contribute to what Manny Pacquiao is as an athlete: 1) A mind so tough that brings about the strong-will to ensure hardships in training and the determination to succeed; and 2) a diet that helps develop the strength and fast muscle fibers.

Here is something that would make the Philippine hog raisers sad but gladden the rural farmers who raise native chicken, variably called Manok Tagalog in Luzon, Manok Bisaya in the Visayas and Parawakan in the Southern Philippines. In Malaysia and Indonesia, they are called Kampong chicken.

“I don’t eat pork but I love pure native chicken (PNC),” Manny Pacquiao told me last week during lunch in his hotel room in Baguio City as he feasted on huge cuts of native chicken meat swimming in a plateful of soup which submerged the white rice and green leafy vegetables.

Just like his views on family planning where he supports the natural method, Manny Pacquiao’s food preference is more of the natural. How it contributes to a body packed with power and speed has a scientific basis. Pure Native Chicken are raised in the backyard ranges and survive without any antibiotics or meat-growth enhancing additives.

Pure native chicken feeds on everything that nature offers to be able to survive. It’s just freshly harvested yellow corn, green grass, worms and bugs that they eat before they are harvested by the farmers and sold to the market in rattan crates.

The meat is firmer than the broiler chicken and the pure native chicken barbecue is one of the best delicacies that you would find in the markets in Davao City and Kidapawan City in North Cotabato.

For fruits, Manny loves the Philippine pomelo widely grown in sunny Southern Mindanao, mangosteen largely known for its anti-oxidizing benefits, Philippine mango and a little of the exotic Durian and the imported Ponkan and grapes.

How much contribution does the food intake has on the physical capabilities of an athlete?

Well, I am not an expert on human diet but I can tell you based on my experience in breeding and raising gamefowls, or the fighting roosters, that the food intake of my chickens from Day One up to the time they are ready for the battle would greatly determine their performance inside the pit.

Of course, genetics plays a big role too because even if you feed a Rhode Island Red with the best quality fighting food, it will get whipped by an average Hatch rooster because the Rhode Island Red breed is for meat and eggs.

But a healthy chick fed with high protein food and bred out of outstanding lineage will definitely perform exceptionally on fight day.

So there you go, Manny Pacquiao’s secret is not PEDs but PNCs, pure native chicken, and perhaps Floyd Mayweather will stop the nonsense about the Pacman using drugs.

If Floyd is interested, I can ask the farmers in North Cotabato to raise some healthy native chicken for him so that there would be a leveling of the playing field. He gets to eat what Manny Pacquiao eats.

But I have a suggestion. If Floyd likes to take the PNCs, he should get the Parawakan breed produced in the Southern Philippines.

You see, the Parawakan is actually a double-purpose chicken. They are brave and are also used for naked heel fighting by the tribes in the Southern Philippines and could go on fighting for hours until the other runs away or drops dead. Their other relatives would be the Japs, the Asils and the Shamos.

We call them the Chicken with the Heart.

Floyd could greatly benefit from the Parawakan genes because I think it is the heart that he lacks and needs most.

Source: manilatimes.net

Enjoy Manny Pacquiao while you can

2011-10-06T05:11:00.001-07:00

“ You know who else does their road work at this Park?” inquired Big Steve as we began our run through Griffith Park on a rainy Wednesday morning:” Manny Pacquiao and his tiny dog Pacman.”

“I hate to burst your bubble Steve,” I replied:” But only Manny does his road work here. We just jog.”

Super star boxer, eight division world champion, Manny Pacquiao is scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles on Saturday for a final stage of his training camp in advance on November 12th bout against fierce rival, Juan Manuel Marquez. The road work at Griffith Park begins on Monday.

“I am not going to stay long in boxing,” said Pacquiao in a recent interview with Peter Maniatis:” Couple of fights and I will stop boxing and focus to serve people.”

The young boy who had to put led in his trunks to make the minimum weight to get into the ring at the age of sixteen, took the boxing world by a storm and went trough eight weight divisions. The only fight the world wants to see Manny Pacquiao in is the one with Floyd Mayweather.

Source: Examiner.com

Marquez training very hard

2011-10-06T05:08:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines — Aside from having a couple of unbeaten sparring partners at the Romanza Gym in Mexico City, Juan Manuel Marquez also takes a 45-minute drive to the mountains of Toluca thrice a week to build on his endurance.

Reports from his training camp reveal that the 38-year-old Marquez is training like hell under the tutelage of Hall of Fame strategist Nacho Beristain some five weeks before his Nov. 12 showdown with Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas.

“(Marquez is) training very hard,” said noted PR man Ricardo Jimenez of Top Rank from Los Angeles yesterday afternoon.

A few days ago, Marquez sparred a total of four rounds with southpaw welterweight Ramses Agaton (6-0 with 5 knockouts) and lightweight Jose Emilio Perea (21-0 with 13 knockouts).

Marquez said he wants no less than a knockout victory come fight night to prove he is the better man.

Training in Mexico City is already something else considering that the capital is already 7,400 feet above sea level.

Although Toluca city proper is nestled at 8,700 feet above sea level, the Nevado de Toluca – a dormant volcano — where Marquez does his roadwork is much, much higher at over 15,000 feet above.

It is believed that this volcano has hidden mystical powers and those who make offerings are amply rewarded by the gods who dwell in the stratospheric mountain.

Source: mb.com.ph

Pacquiao expected to silence Marquez

2011-09-08T19:30:00.001-07:00

BOXING king of the ring Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao is expected to silence his old archrival Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico with a decisive win, according to his renowned trainer Freddie Roach.
Roach declared at the Los Angeles stop of the media tour of third Pacquiao-Marquez fight scheduled for November 12 that he wants his prized Filipino boxer to knock out Marquez to finally stop talk that the Mexican was robbed in their two previous encounters.

“This fight is more personal for Manny,” he said. “When Marquez came to the Philippines with those T-shirts … it was a slap in the face to Manny. He will get his payback,” Roach added.

The renowned trainer said that Pacquiao took offense with that Marquez antic shortly after the
Mexican boxer lost his World Boxing Council lightweight title in 2008 to the Filipino boxing king.

“Manny let [Antonio] Margarito and [Shane] Mosley off the hook. In this fight, that’s not going to happen,” said Roach, who has trained Pacquiao since he started fighting in the United States 10 years ago.

Pacquiao will defend his World Boxing Organization welterweight title (147 pounds) against Marquez, a unified world lightweight champ, who is going up in weight for the title fight at an agreed weight of 144 pounds.

Bob Arum of Top Rank Promotions, Pacquiao’s promoter, shared Roach’s observation about the prospect of seeing a more aggressive Pacquiao in the big-money fight to be held at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Settling the score
Arum observed that Pacquiao usually waits until the last minute to start his eight weeks of training.
Pacquiao, 32, indicated on Wednesday that he had been unhappy with Marquez’ gesture.

”Everybody knows Marquez has been talking too much,” he said at the Los Angeles stop of their international promotional tour at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

“If my opponent is no good, I will be no good in the ring. You know what I mean? My opponent is not a good boy…..What I think about is, ‘How can I shut [his] mouth?’”, Pacquiao added.

In their first fight in 2004 at featherweight, Pacquiao knocked Marquez down three times in the first round but Marquez came back to salvage a draw. Four years later, Pacquiao won the junior lightweight title by split decision — the victory swayed by a left hook to the chin in the third that sent Marquez to the canvas.

At the post-fight press conference in 2008, Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain, Marquez’ trainer, complained lengthily about what he thought was a bum decision, prompting Arum to grab a microphone and unloading epithets at the trainer.

But what seemed to get the ire of the kind-hearted Pacquiao was Marquez confronting him during a boxing card in the Philippines demanding a quick rematch. Marquez wore a T-shirt reading “We were robbed.”

Now a first-term congressman in Sarangani province, Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 by knockouts) has been observed to take it easy against opponents in recent fights.

He took it easy in the final rounds against badly beaten foe Margarito last year. He also failed to put away Mosley in a lopsided fight in May this year, PacMan’s third consecutive unanimous decision after several consecutive knockout victories.

The 38-year-old Marquez (53-5-1, 39 KOs) said that he is going for a knockout of his own to counter Pacquiao’s speed and explosive power.

”I know I will see the best Manny Pacquiao, but I’m ready,” the Mexican said, adding that he would not allow the judges to decide the outcome of the fight this time around.

Source: manilatimes.net

PHOTOS: 30,000 FANS SHOW UP FOR PACQUIAO, MARQUEZ IN MEXICO

2011-09-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

Sept. 8, 2011, Mexico City, Mexico -- Superstar Manny Pacquiao waves to the reported 30,000 plus fans during his public press conference in Mexico City Thursday during the world tour to announce the third world Welterweight title mega-fight of the Pacquiao-Marquez trilogy against three-division world champion Juan Manuel Marquez. Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions, Marquez Boxing, Tecate and MGM Grand, Pacquiao vs Marquez III will take place, Saturday, Nov. 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and be produced and distributed by HBO Pay Per View. -- Photo Credit: Chris Farina - Top Rank.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Thirty Thousand Mexicans can't be wrong showing public love for Manny Pacquiao

2011-09-08T19:21:00.000-07:00

MEXICO CITY--Some of those windbags and layabouts who "serve" the American people in Washington like to prattle on and on about "reaching across the aisle" seeking viable compromises with the opposing party.

From what I saw and heard today, the Congressman from Sarangani named Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao could teach Democrats, Republicans and maybe even staunch Tea Party types how to effectively work with those with a different perspective.

Pacman, you see, had most of the guesstimated 30,000 Mexcian fight fans--young and old, male and female--who combined for a massive wall of people across and around historic Revolution Square eating out of his Filipino hands.

Fresh from a morning visit to the Mexican Congress, where he was hailed and mobbed by fellow legislators, Pacquiao said just the right thing in front of his Nov. 12 "Chapter Three" PPV TV fight opponent Juan Manuel Marquez and all his countrymen.

Pacquiao did not avoid a reference to his old unofficial nickname as "the Mexican Assassin" (earned by beating legends Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera and others and including his points victory and draw against Juan Ma). Instead, he handled it diplomatically.

Resplendent in a gray suit, blue shirt, red tie and wearing a flashy diamond in his left ear, Pacquiao said in Spanish, "I didn't want to fight another Mexican boxer, it just happened and I am just and only doing my job."

Pacman laughed and the crowd inside a tent where a post-rally press conference was held did as well.

Later, in the semi-privacy of the third floor lounge at the swanky St. Regis Hotel, just before a helicopter took the Pinoy Idol and his entrourage to Azteca TV network studios so he could sing a song for the company which has the Mexican broadcast rights to the big fight, Pacquiao said he was overhwelmed by the positive reception he got here.

"I am very surprised and very happy about this reception," Pacquiao said as the four city (Manila, New York and Beverly Hills came first) media tour was winding down.

An enthusiastic but exhausted Bob Arum said the big turnout here gave the promotion huge momentum.

He even told Pacquiao that he's getting recieved on foreign visits like Muhammad Ali did.

"It's like Muhammad Ali for Manny now," Arum said. "It's the same thing I saw happen when Ali left America. "I mean, we expected 8,000 people or so. We could have gotten 3,000 but we got 30,000.

"It's like when we took Ali to Ireland, Malaysia, to Indonesia and to the Philippines. I remember once we brought Ali here to Mexico, when he wasn't fighting, and we almost had a riot. I think this fight will do huge numbers on pay per view."

It reminded me of when I stood with Don King in the parking lot of Estadio Azteca as "El Gran Campeon" Julio Cesar Chavez prepped for a free public workout. Many thousands of people came from all over this massive metropolis to see their greatest sports hero and legend.

Suddenly, a helicopter came out of the sky, armed police and security forces jumped to combat readiness and the then president of Mexico emerged.

He had come, the president explained, to check on Chavez's vaunted left hook. If you recall, Chavez then drew boxing's alltime biggest crowd, 136,000 people to the stadium to see him pummel gamester Greg Haugen.

I spoke to Hall Of Famer Barrera, now a manager-promoted now celebrating his first world champion (WBO 105 pound champ Moises Fuentes, a Chilango from this city) about how wildly Pacquiao was recieved.

"Yes," Barrera said, "I was surprised. I was very surprised at how the Mexican people treated Manny but he is very charismatic and very humble and they like that."

WBO President Francisco "Paco" Valcarcel, extremely happy to have Pacman as one of its reigning and defending beltholders, reached way back for a comparison.

"For me, I see Pacquiao as being as charismatic as Sugar Ray Robinson," the Puerto Rican attorney said. "I think Manny wins people over when they see him fighting and beating such tough guys, such good punchers, as Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito. Those two guys hit so hard, Manny took some hard shots from both and yet he beat them both."

Top Rank's Tijuana-based collaborator Fernando Beltran said he had a crew of 300 people setting up the event. Beltran handles Marquez.

"We had all 300 working to set up the stage, the boxing ring, the confetti and the music and dancing girls, all of that," Beltran said. "It was so much worth it. I was glad because Pacquiao and his team were such great hosts to us in the Phillipines so we wanted to do the same for them."

Another Mexican ring legend and Hall Of Famer, the brilliant Rubin Olivares, was also on hand for the event.

"In my heart, I want Juan Ma to win this fight but, in my head, I will go with Pacman. Pacman has the punching power and Marquez does not."

(Thanks to old friend, longtime Reuters reporter and British expatriate James Blears, now based in this capital city for 20 years, for passing on the Olivares quote.)

On this afternoon, in the Mexican sunshine, the winner was boxing.

The greatest boxing country in history--past, present and future--gave a proper tribute to the world's pound for pound best fighter.

Sympatico, that's what the Mexican public has become when it comes to Pacquiao, sympatico.

Source: Examiner.com

Pacquiao vs Marquez - NY Presser

2011-09-06T11:10:00.000-07:00

Sept. 6, 2011, New York, N.Y. --- (L-R) Superstar Manny Pacquiao and three-division world champion Juan Manuel Marquez poses during at a press conference at Chelsea Piers in New York Tuesday to kick off their North American world tour to announce the third world Welterweight title mega-fight of the Pacquiao-Marquez trilogy. Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions,Marquez Boxing,Tecate and MGM Grand, Pacquiao vs Marquez III will take place, Saturday, Nov. 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and be produced and distributed by HBO Pay Per View. --- Photo Credit : Chris Farina - Top Rank (no other credit allowed) copyright 2011 © Chris Farina 2011

MARQUEZ ARRIVES IN MANILA TODAY; MEETS PRESS WITH PACQUIAO ON SATURDAY

2011-08-31T17:54:00.000-07:00

Three years after leaving the country disappointed for failure to get a third crack at local idol Manny Pacquiao, Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez returns to Manila today to attend the opening leg of a 25,000-mile four-city press tour promoting the final chapter of a historic trilogy between them.

The 38-year-old Marquez, a hero in his native land, sets foot anew at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport early this morning on board a Philippine Airlines flight from Los Angeles for a four-day visit that will see him face-to-face anew with the now eight-division world champion, who in 2008 ignored his challenge for a grudge meeting of their previous two encounters four years apart in 2004 and that same year.

Also flying in in the same PAL flight are international Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum and his retinue of Top Rank top brass and members of Marquez party that includes his manager Nacho Beristain and promoter Fernando Beltran. Top Rank publicist Fred Sternburg and Ricardo Jimenez, cornerman Raul de Anda, Dr. Plutarco Gatica and Carlos Torres.

This is the first time that a press tour involving Pacquiao will include a stop in Manila. Arum described the world-wide tour as “global and “historic.”

Highlight of Marquez’s busy stay in the country is press-public preview of his and Pacquiao’s third encounter on Saturday at the historic Quirino Grandstand at the Luneta. The duo face-off on November 12 (Nov. 13 in Manila) in Las Vegas where the Pacman is putting his World Boxing Organization welterweight belt on the line. From the airport, the new arrivals will proceed directly to the landmark Manila Hotel, their home during their stay here.

Tek Ramos Major of Solar Sports, which is handling the press tour, Marquez, the world lightweight titleholder, will have a very busy stay here. His tentative schedule includes several meetings, a call on the Mexican Ambassador to the Philippines and not a few media forum appearances, including a possible guesting at the SCOOP Sa Kamayan weekly session Friday at the Kamayan Restaurant-Padre Faura.

More than 100,000 people, including members of the international media, are expected to witness Saturday’s extravaganza complete with music starring Pacquiao himself, who when not fighting atop the ring sings on the stage.

The Pacman has hit a single of Hill’s original “Sometimes When We Touch” that has climbed to No. 7 in the Billboard Music Chart. The song was originally sung by Hill in 1977 and after only a year rose to no. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Top 100. Pacquiao and Hill will be singing the tune in the New York leg of the tour September 7. From New York, the media conference proceeds to Los Angeles for the third stop, which, if plans materialize, will be a closed door affair.

The final stop will be In Mexico City Sept. 9 after which, Pacquiao and his team will fly back to Los Angeles to catch PAL flight back to Manila to finalize plans of the first phase of his training in Baguio.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Pacquiao's problems and distractions may give Marquez an edge

2011-08-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

Manny Pacquiao is no stranger to distractions. He's had many training camps in his past that have been littered with various distractions. Recently Pacquiao made more news when his trainer Freddie Roach went on the record and said that the 8 division world champ is "broke" and that he needed to "keep fighting."

Pacquiao recently hired then fired VisionQwest, a company headed up by CEO Michael Lodge. The purpose of VisionQwest was to dig around and fix and find Manny's money issues. VisionQwest did exactly what they were hired for, and just a day or so before they planned on presenting their findings, they were fired. Why? That's the MILLION dollar question. Why would Pacquiao fire the very company that he brought in to help him straighten out his financial matters?

Top Rank and Michael Koncz deny that they had anything to do with that. I believe that about as much as I believe in Santa or the Tooth Fairy. Pacquiao had a reason to fire VisionQwest, and I am guessing that he had outside sources to advise him to do so, and that those sources have their own agenda as to why.

If what Roach is saying is true, that Manny is broke, it will be another story of someone blowing their fortune and making stupid decisions that came back to haunt them. For whatever reason, Pacquiao keeps certain snakes within his camp that have no other agenda other than to get their hooks into Manny's wallet. Pacquiao continues to turn a blind eye to some shady people that do not have his better interest at heart.

With all of the mystery surrounding Manny's true financial status, and the firing of VisionQwest, he still has a fight to tend to. He has to face Juan Manuel Marquez, the guy that gave him by the far his toughest challenges thus far. Marquez will come to fight, and if Pacquiao isn't completely focused it could end up a very interesting fight.

Check out what Emannuel Steward said about Pacquiao Vs. Marquez HERE

Pacquiao didn't look as good as he has in the past when he fought Shane Mosley. Sure, he beat Mosley soundly but he still didn't look quite as crisp and sharp as he has in the past. Is that the 1st signs of Father Time creeping in?

With the mess on his hands IE VisionQwest and possibly financial issues, he opens himself up to a Marquez upset. JMM is a focused guy with no distractions. He's a guy that is a smart fighter, and one that can and will capitalize on mistakes.

Pacquiao better get focused and he better not take JMM lightly. He also needs to get his house in order and rid those folks that lurk in pockets.

Source: Examiner.com

Marquez Follows Pacquiao to the Heart of the Philippines

2011-08-26T16:42:00.000-07:00

It’s no secret how badly Juan Manuel Marquez was pining for a matchup with Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao ever since they last met inside the squared circle nearly 3 years ago. When Pacquiao escaped with a narrow split decision victory in their 2nd fight, team Marquez were instigators of an immediate rematch and despite the fight being razor thin close, were never able to get Pacquiao to agree. Pacquiao would then move on to greater things after that fight, regardless of the manner they were able to secure a victory against their Mexican adversary.

At the time, and no matter what anybody else says, and I hate to say this but it’s somewhat true, Pacquiao may have unintentionally ‘ducked’ a rubbermatch with Juan Manuel Marquez. Now I don’t believe it had much to do with Pacquiao himself as much as it had to do with his promoter Bob Arum who at that particular moment in the Pacman’s young career did everything humanly possible to protect his cash cow. Turned out to be a great move on their part business-wise both for Top Rank and for Pacquiao’s career as we probably wouldn’t be where we are at now had the two met for a third stanza immediately after their second.

Marquez had a reason he wanted a third fight, his claim that the decision went to the wrong man in their rematch was an extremely strong argument. In fact, Marquez believed so much that he could finally beat Pacquiao should they ever meet again that he literally followed Pacquiao to the Philippines and with all intents and purposes demanded Pacquiao for a rematch.

He basically came onto Philippine soil, with all its world-famous hospitality, into hostile territory to personally ask Pacquiao to consider another fight. Pacquiao had none of it. He dismissed the idea of a third fight and claimed that he had proven what he needed to prove against Marquez and that their business was done and finished with. Marquez obviously didn’t share his sentiments and local media outlets here in the Philippines had a field day. Marquez would even go so far as guesting on popular local Philippine television afternoon talk shows. To this day it’s something that I just can’t quite get a grasp on, Marquez was basically on his knees begging for a rematch but was never granted one.

Fast forward to present day, we find ourselves in a familiar place yet in a different situation. Marquez is 3 years older though in Boxing-years it could be closer to 6, and Pacquiao is 3 years wiser. On Saturday, September 3rd, 2011 at the Quirino Grandstand the first leg of the Pacquiao-Marquez 3 World Tour will kick off deep in the heart of the Philippines. Juan Manuel Marquez makes his return to the land of the far east, and this time people actually know who he is. An estimated 50,000-60,000 spectators are expected to attend the festivities which feature cultural activities surrounding a hyped up meeting between the two.

After three long years of waiting Marquez finally gets his wish. Now it’s time for him to prove that all those wars he’s been in since then with Juan Diaz, Michael Katsidis and Joel Casamayor has given him what he needs to beat Pacquiao once and for all. No more gossip show appearances, no more dramas. And though it’s dressed in elaborate representations of what will take place on November 12th, Marquez knows in the back of his mind that it’s time to dance with the Pacquiao once again, a dance he’s rehearsed so many times in his head for the past few years.

For Marquez it’s all very simple. It’s time to put up, or shut up. The Pacman awaits.

The Pacquiao-Marquez 3 World Tour Philippine Leg is brought to you by Solar Sports and is free and open to the general public. See you all at Quirino Grandstand.

Source: fightcardboxing.net

* MANNY PACQUIAO LET THE TRAINING BEGIN *

2011-08-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

On September 19th, 2011 Alex Ariza and Freddie Roach will be heading to the Los Angeles Airport. They will be starting the routine that has become all too familiar.

On September 19th they will take a one way flight, via Philippine Airlines in route to Manila. Upon touch down they will board and nest at a five star hotel in the mecca of the Philippines. Contact will be brief with the Pacman, as this trip, this regime has been done before and everyone is now comfortable with the process.

Comfortable that is until they have to take that long drive up the winding twisting roads that seem to go on for ever. Their destination; Baguio.

A few days after their arrival into Manila Freddie Roach and Alex Ariza will be boarding a small caravan that takes them up the windy hills for a seven hour drive to Baguio.

Baguio has an altitude of 1,500 meters (5100ft) in the Luzon tropical pine forrest. Baguio a city once known for being the center of education in the entire Northern Luzon is now known around the world as the training center for the pound for pound best fighter in the world Manny Pacquiao.

These days and the training ahead are now within minds reach.

In 24 days this scenario will be taking place.

The gloves will be put on, the laces laced up, the head gear strapped on.

The battles before the war will begin.

Stay tuned as MP8.ph will be bringing you the only exclusive up to the minute training and behind the scenes footage for the “Road To Marquez.”

This training series will be like no other. We start the count down today.

Click this Video as a reminder of what is to come.

Source: mp8.ph

PACQUIAO vs. MARQUEZ INTERNATIONAL MEDIA TOUR

2011-08-26T16:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes When We Tour…

MANNY PACQUIAO and JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ
EMBARK ON 25,000-MILE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA TOUR
FOR THEIR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT IN LAS VEGAS

Manila*, New York*, Beverly Hills and México City*
(*Open to the Public)

LAS VEGAS, NEV (August 26, 2011) – Congressman MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO and JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ will embark on a 25,000-mile four-city international media tour, beginning in Manila, Next Friday! September 2 (Saturday, September 3 in Manila), to announce and celebrate Pacquiao-Marquez III -- Act Three of their exciting world championship trilogy. Pacquiao and Marquez, who have won world titles in 11 weight divisions between them, will go toe-to-toe for Pacquiao’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight championship on Saturday, November 12, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. Joining Pacquiao and Marquez on the tour will be their respective trainers, Freddie Roach and Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain, and Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions, Marquez Boxing, Tecate and MGM Grand, Pacquiao-Marquez III will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®.

The two top pound for pound fighters and world champions will begin the media tour in Manila with a public press conference at the Quirino Grandstand where a crowd of 100,000 fans and dignitaries is expected. Named after former Philippine President Elpidio Quirino, this is where Presidents of the Philippines traditionally take their oath of office and deliver their first address to the nation.

If it’s Tuesday (September 6), it must be New York! The Big Apple will serve as the launch site for the North American portion of the Pacquiao-Marquez III media tour. Chelsea Piers at Pier 60 will be the scene where Pacquiao and musical collaborator DAN HILL will begin the public press conference singing their Top-10 hit single “Sometimes When We Touch.”

The Pacquiao-Marquez III media tour will then wing its way to the West Coast for a news conference in Los Angeles, at The Beverly Hills Hotel, on Wednesday, September 7. This will be the only tour stop news conference closed to the public.

The media tour will conclude on Thursday, September 8, in México City, where Marquez and an estimated 50,000 fans will host an afternoon final press conference at Monumento a la Revolución, a landmark and monument commemorating the Méxican Revolution. It is located in Republic Square in downtown México City.

PACQUIAO vs. MARQUEZ INTERNATIONAL MEDIA TOUR

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 (September 3 in Manila) – Open to the Public
Quirino Grandstand
Manila, Philippines
2:30 p.m. – News Conference

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 – Open to the Public!
Chelsea Piers at Pier 60 – Barnegat/Montauk/Nave Rooms
23rd Street and the Hudson River

New York, NY 10011
10:00 a.m. ET – News Conference

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
The Beverly Hills Hotel – Crystal Ballroom
9641 Sunset Boulevard
Beverly Hills, Calif. 90210
Noon PT - News Conference

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 – Open to the Public!
Monumento a la Revolución
México City, México
1:00 p.m. – News Conference

Source: Pacquiao FB Fan Page

Pacquiao Vs Marquez is great but still no contract and no network?

2011-08-04T02:46:00.000-07:00

Manny Pacquiao to my knowledge still has not signed a contract to fight Juan Manuel Marquez. Additionally, there is still no network signed to broadcast the fight. Will it be HBO? Will it be Showtime? Why hasn't Manny signed the contract to fight yet? All questions that make you say, hmmmmmmmm.

Koncz was fired. Then he was hired. Koncz was sort of fired, but not really. Koncz was "clipped" of his power. Koncz is this, Koncz is that, blah blah blah. VisionQwest was brought in to find out where Manny's money went to. Why? What tipped Manny off to make such dynamic changes? If everything is wonderful in the land of Pacquiao, why bring in a company like VisionQwest to rip into years of financial records?

Why has Manny brought in Castillo? Why has he hired Domingo? Everything is fine though, right? Wrong. As I write this, to my knowledge Manny has not signed a contract to fight Juan Manuel Marquez. There is still no network locked in to broadcast the fight. It doesn't seem like things are as nicey nice as some folks are trying to make it out to be on the surface.

So if Manny still has not signed a contract and the ticket sales for this fight are already on sale, doesn't that seem a bit strange?

Has VisionQwest advised Manny Pacquiao not to sign the contract? Why else would the contract not be signed, this being after the tickets are already on sale? So as this article is being written, we have no contract signed, and no network signed to broadcast, and all of this with the tickets already on sale. Strange? I think just a little bit, no?

Mississippians who follow Manny Pacquiao are asking questions as well. I spoke with a few Pacquiao fans yesterday at a local sports bar/restaurant in Jackson, MS. I spoke with Darnell James, who has followed Pacquiao for many years. I asked James for his thoughts on the VisionQwest story, "Man something is up. Why bring in a team to look at financial records if there ain't something wrong?" The same point was brought up when I spoke to Jacob Marshall of Canton, MS, "Pacquiao had a reason to bring in new blood. Now we will just wait and see where the chips all fall."

There are many questions that have yet to be answered. Jacob is right, we just need to wait and see where the chips all fall.

Source: Examiner.com

Is Marquez ready for Pacquiao?

2011-07-20T05:44:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, July 16, 2011, Juan Manuel Marquez (53-5-1) knocked out Likar Ramos (24-4-0) in the first round of their bout in Cancun, Mexico. After Marquez’s victory, many articles and forums were buzzing about his victory, proposing that Marquez is ready for Pacquiao.

While many fans may see a victory over Ramos as a statement that Marquez is serious about giving team Pacquiao a run for their money, I am standing on the other side of the fence when regarding this topic. The fight and the result, show nothing of substance about Marquez’s improvement or intention.

Ramos was never supposed to be a statement making opponent. Sure his record is decent when looking exclusively at the numbers, but when it comes to competition, he is a blank canvas for such a tremendous name as Marquez. A first round knockout makes this fight even less demonstrative for Marquez, as his stamina and ability to be further challenged along the fight is left absent.

At 144lbs, Marquez should feel pretty comfortable, with minimal if any at all loss of speed or power. Same goes for Pacquiao, despite the fact that he will have to drop a few pounds for this bout.

Is Marquez ready for Pacquiao? I am hoping that he is not only ready, but is mentally prepared for a loss. Since their earlier fights, Pacquiao has improved in all aspect of his performance, and Freddie Roach, being a master strategist, has probably uncovered all there is to uncover in Marquez. Maybe I am being a bit pessimistic, but pessimism and realism sometimes go hand in hand.

I am a huge “Dinamita” fan, and will be cheering for him come November 12, 2011, when he steps inside the ring to face Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2) for the third time in Las Vegas, NV. Having said that, I try to be rational when it comes to discussing matter as such, as there is only one person you can fool when being one sided; yourself.

Source: diamondboxing.com

Team Marquez discusses sparring partners for Pacquiao fight

2011-07-20T05:41:00.000-07:00

Four months away from their third fight with Manny Pacquiao, and Team Juan Manuel Marquez is looking to put together their sparring partners for the lightweight champion.

From his Romanza Gym in Mexico City, Hall of Fame trainer Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain discussed Marquez's preparations for the November showdown.

A key member of the sparring team could be Antonio Fernandez, a featherweight from Panaman.

"We are going to try and bring over Fernandez," said Beristain. "I hope he is in good conditions, because he likes to drink at times. The truth is he helped us a lot in preparing for the previous two fights with Manny Pacquiao."
Though earlier comments from Beristain pointed to a belief that this fight might be easier than the other two for Marquez, the legendary trainer has changed his thoughts.

"He has to improve much, much more," said Beristain. "More than anything Juan needs to get back the speed he had a few years back, and be flexible enough to dodge Pacquiao's punches."

As for Marquez, he is enjoying a vacation with his family before returning to Mexico City to being the hard road to Manny Pacquiao.

Source: Examiner.com

Pacquiao Watch: Marquez fooling himself

2011-07-18T05:29:00.000-07:00

If Juan Manuel Marquez thinks his one-round demolition of unknown Likar Ramos will boost his stock and confidence when he fights nemesis Manny Pacquiao in November, he is dead wrong.

If it was a tune-up fight for the aging Mexican warrior, Marquez got shortchanged. Or, maybe the other way around. The people who watched him were certainly at the shorter end of the bargain.

Marquez, in his prime, was one of the best pure boxing technicians ever, combining hand speed and power to compensate for his lack of lateral movements.

He is one of the puzzles that Pacquiao had difficulties piecing together. They have fought twice before – both ending in close if not controversial fashion. Otherwise this third and, heavens forbid, last meeting would not be necessary at all.

They last fought in 2008 for Marquez’s WBC super featherweight title which was won by Pacquiao via split decision. Thirteen fights between them later; they still are a hot commodity. Not because they really needed this trilogy but rather because Pacquiao has ran out of marquee challengers. Oh, there is one out there but he walks like a duck and quacks like a duck in ducking the Filipino boxing idol who is now a legend even before his time.

While Marquez continues to be a force in the lightweight division, father time is catching up with him. It will only be a matter of time until the likes of Brandon Rios and Robert Guerrero get his number. Even Jorge Linares could give him fits. Losing big time to any one of them before he gets a third fight with Pacquiao is not an option. He’d rather lose one last time against Pacquiao and collect his retirement pay than suffer the ignominy of losing to some upstarts.

Anybody who went down four times against an opponent will have that baggage deep inside him especially when those came when Pacquiao was mightily waging his own war against the scales. Just review the weigh-in photos in the two previous fights and you can see who looks more emaciated than a zombie. Juxtapose them when Pacquiao fought the likes of Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley.

As coach Freddie Roach often says, he likes it when Manny is smiling at the scales.

Not only has Manny grown big and is comfortably settled with his current weight, he has morphed into a complete boxer. All the while, he has not missed his speed a bit. Nobody in the welterweight division can match his speed and agility at present, throw in Floyd Mayweather Jr if you want.

Marquez likes to think this third Pacquiao fight is his one last shot at glory.

Many think this is one for the sunset.

Marquez is fooling himself if he thinks he can still connect with those rapid counters on a consistent basis. If a severely dehydrated lightweight Pacquiao can knock him down four times, there is no question a comfortable welterweight can finally put him to sleep for good the next time around.

Marquez can fool himself no end.

He cannot fool us.

Source: asiancorrespondent.com

Juan Manuel Marquez scores quick KO, keeps November date with Manny Pacquiao

2011-07-18T05:27:00.000-07:00

Live from the Plaza De Toros in Cancun, Mexico this past Saturday night, as well as courtesy of Top Rank TV’s live stream web cast, it was with the assistance of Likar Ramos 24-4 (18 KO’s) of Barranquilla, Colombia who would hang his chin in the air for the precision prone Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez 53-5-1 (39 KO’s) of Mexico City, Mexico that allowed Marquez to zero in with an all powerful 1-2 combination, as the bout would end abruptly at 1:47 of the very first round with Ramos hitting the canvass out cold. Laying flat on his back for perhaps over 5 minutes while medical personnel would attend to him, Ramos would later recover to ponder the devastation inflicted upon him by the future Hall of Famer Marquez.

In a bout where the possibility existed that Marquez could have came out on the losing end, putting his November 12th meeting with pound-for pound king Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao in jeopardy, and along with it a $5 million dollar payday, everything went as well as could be expected, as Marquez took no chances and made quick work of his opponent, who’s only two fights outside of his native Colombia both resulted in knockout losses courtesy of Mexican pugilists. Once at the hands of Jorje Solis for the WBA interim super featherweight title, and now once more against multi division champion and current Ring Magazine lightweight kingpin “Dinamita” Marquez.

In looking to stay sharp as well as get in some rounds against a southpaw in preparation for his third meeting with Pacquiao, it is questionable whether team Marquez got what they wanted from this fight in terms of rounds or strategical execution in facing a left hander, as Juan Manuel would barley break a sweat. No doubt Marquez will end up putting in much more work against lefties at the Romanza gym in Mexico City where he trains under the watchful eye of recently inducted Hall of Fame trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain, as “Dinamita” continue’s on in preparation for his upcoming bout against the Filipino superstar. Regarding his fight with Pacquiao, Marquez would draw comparisons to his facing Floyd Mayweather with that of his showdown with Manny by saying, “Mayweather is a great defensive fighter, and 1 or 2 punches wins him the round. With me and Manny Pacquiao, it’s going to be a war.”

Some may consider this fight something to build on and somewhat of a confidence booster for Marquez, but the reality seems to be that this was a play it safe type of fight in the selection of Ramos. And very well it should have been, as with the date already set to meet Manny in November for the WBO welterweight title, who would want anything to go wrong. After an impressive performance against Michael Katsidis in November of last year, and after giving Pacquiao all he could handle in their two previous bouts, the first of which resulted in a draw that many observers, including myself, would have Marquez coming back to pull out the victory, and the second a close split decision loss to Pacquiao, “Dinamita” has earned the right to fight Manny one more time as he nears the end of a brilliant career. Perhaps a mentally satisfying win against Ramos, but to get it done against Manny Pacquiao, who has improved markedly since his last meeting with Marquez in March of 2008, he is going to have to put in some real work, as this most recent fight in no way has physically furthered Marquez cause toward scoring that seemingly elusive victory against the “Pacman.” In a message to Manny after the fight, Marquez would say, “I just want him to prepare well because I’m going to be prepared so we can give the fans a great fight.” And fight fans should expect no less as Manny’s last real test was against Marquez, after Pacquiao has seemingly fought several opponents who’s flaws have contributed in one way or another to the Filipino’s recent string of victories.

Rafael Marquez outclasses set up opponent

On the undercard of the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Likar Ramos fight, Juan Manuel’younger brother Rafel Marquez 40-6 (36 KO’s), would gain the stoppage over light hitting Eduardo Becerril 12-8-2 (4 KO’s), who’s corner wouldn’t allow Becerril to come out for round 6 after being knocked down in round 4, and then subsequently overwhelmed with hard accurate shots from Rafael in the fifth round. Marquez simply had the upper hand over his outclassed opponent who possessed no deterrent force on his punches to keep the highly skilled Rafael off of him.

After losing a fight to Juan Manuel Lopez for the WBO featherweight title in November of last year, a fight where he had Lopez out on his feet for a time, a shoulder injury would perhaps prevent him from becoming a champion once more in a bout where he wasn’t nearly 100%. With this tune up type fight, Marquez looks to get back on track in hopes of attaining a title shot at perhaps Akifumi Shimoda, or Toshiaki Nishioka at junior featherweight, or even a previously rumored fight with featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa. As in the case of his brother Juan Manuel, his recent victory over Becerril doesn’t begin to approach the level of preparation necessary to take on the likes of the previously mentioned fighters. With that said, Rafael has his work cut out for him.

Source: diamondboxing.com

Marquez: Pacquiao, you're next

2011-07-18T05:25:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines - Juan Manuel Marquez yesterday called on Manny Pacquiao to train hard for their Nov. 12 showdown in Las Vegas.

“I just wanted to tell him to prepare himself,” said Marquez after knocking out Likar Ramos right in the first round yesterday.

The non-title fight that took place in Cancun was supposed to serve as a tuneup for Marquez in preparation for Pacquiao.

But it hardly served its purpose because Ramos, a southpaw from Colombia, was knocked out cold after taking a big right from Marquez.

Ramos stayed longer down on the canvas than the one minute and 47 seconds that he was up on his feet.

They should have lined up two opponents for Marquez if only they knew that Ramos would go down that easy.

Still, Marquez said the early knockout was a result of a very good punch.

“I was hoping it would have lasted longer but sometimes that’s how it goes,” Marquez told www.philboxing.com .

“I happened to get a great punch on him and he couldn’t take it, sometimes that is the way fights go,” Michael Marley of The Examiner wrote.

“I will prepare well for Pacquiao and I want him to do that also. We can give the fans a war. (Floyd) Mayweather is so defensive a fighter...but with Pacquiao, it’s going to be a war.”

Marquez weighed in 138 pounds against Ramos, but will have to put on a little more weight in his third clash with Pacquiao, the reigning WBO weltwerweight champion.

Marquez wanted to send a message to Pacquiao that he’s ready for war. But it was unlikely though that Pacquiao caught his fight live on television.

Pacquiao partied hard the night before, gracing the grand birthday bash of Jake Joson, the boxer’s close friend, at Opus of the Resorts World.

Pacquiao arrived at the party close to midnight and was joined in his corner by former Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson and a few other close friends.

Source: philstar.com

Marquez unloads Mexican dynamite, calls for war with Pacquiao Nov. 12

2011-07-17T05:57:00.001-07:00

One minute, 47 seconds of the first round.

Promoter Bob Arum could not have scripted it better as Juan Manuel Marquez, age 37 but still a dangerous counterpuncher, used one countering right hand to blast out Colombian southpaw Likar Ramos (now 24-4) in the opening round of their scheduled 10 round junior welterweight bout in Cancun.

Now it's on to the big bonanza, the third bout between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Ma, on Nov. 12 in Las Vegas.

This KO 1 certainly lights match to the promotion for the trilogy bout.

"Dinamita" Marquez extended his Hall of Fame pro record to 53-5-1 and notched his 39th knockout.

"I happened to get a great punch on him and he couldn't take it, sometimes that is the way fights go," Marquez said.

"I will prepare well for Pacquiao and I want him to do that also. We can give the fans a war. (Floyd) Mayweather is so defensive a fighter...but with Pacquiao, it's going to be a war," Marquez said.

Marquez weighed 138 pounds for this bout.

Los Hermanos Marquez, Juan Manuel and Rafael, topped a festive boxing show Saturday night at the Plaza de Toros in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Juan Ma fought the main event against Likar Ramos in what was scripted as strictly a tuneup, and hopefully not a tuneout, for the third bout between Juan Ma and Pinoy Idol Manny Pacquiao.

With a guaranteed $5 million payday for the trilogy bout against Pacman, the 37 year old Juan Ma took the calculated risk against southpaw Ramos to prep for lefthanded Manny.
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A treat on the undercard was the showing of the son of former great world champion Ricardo “Finito” Lopez fighting another boxer with the same last name.

Familia Marquez got the fistic evening at the bullring in Cancun off to a good start as Rafael “Raffa” Marquez, still fighting at age 36, had his way from start to finish in a “stay busy” bout against Eduard Becceril.

Becceril, now 12-8-2, was just a glorified sparring partner against Raffa, who improved his pro ring record to 40-6 with 36 knockouts.

Marquez played with Becceril, who had great former world champ Lupe Pintor working his corner, for the first three rounds and then floored him in the fourth with a sweet left hook.

A round later, Becceril landed some decent punches of his own. But he was still taking a bunch of head punches.

But, suddenly, the great Senor Pintor in Becceril’s corner halted the mismatch.

Marquez may never attain another world title but he’s still a viable top echelon featherweight contender. The fact that Raffa is still competing after he split those four ring wars against archrival Israel Vazauez is just short of amazing.

Last November, Raffa was stopped after eight full rounds by Puerto Rico’s wunderkind, Juan Manuel Lopez.

Becceril lost his first two pro bouts and then reeled off 13 successive victories. He was, however, 2-4 in his six prior bouts.

Source: Examiner.com

Juan Manuel Marquez sends violent message to Pacquiao

2011-07-17T05:55:00.000-07:00

With approximately one minute left in his tune-up fight against Likar Ramos, lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez sent a violent message to arch-rival Manny Pacquiao.

Delivering a violent straight right-hand, Marquez disposed of Ramos - sending him to the canvas for a knock-out that kept the Colombian motionless for several minutes.

One punch, that will remind Manny Pacquiao that Marquez, though never having defeated the Filipino in two previous bouts, must be respected. In their first two meetings Marquez survived 24 rounds of hell in route to a split-decision defeat and draw.
Of course, Likar is not to be confused with Pacquiao - the pound for pound king of boxing, but I am sure Marquez's powerful display caught Manny's eye.

Pacquiao and Marquez will lock horns for a third time on November 12, 2011 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Source: Examiner.com

Tune up over for Marquez, now on to Pacquiao

2011-07-17T05:54:00.000-07:00

Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico - In a boxing ring built in a bullring in this resort city of Mexico, Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico City 52-5-1 (38KOs) knocks out Colombian lightweight Likar Ramos 24-3 (18 KOs) in the 1st round of a non title match. A straight right hand from Marquez puts Ramos to sleep just minutes from the opening bell. Ramos went down hard to the canvas after catching the punch and was down on it for a long time. The medical staff at ringside rushed to the fallen Ramos as Marquez and his team celebrated the quick victory. Ramos was conscious a few moments after the knock out and was up on his feet afterwards. The time of the stoppage was 1:47.

This match is acknowledged as a "tune up fight" for Marquez who has a scheduled November 12 fight with former two time opponent and current WBO welterweight champ Manny Pacquiao.Their first fight in 2004 was a split draw and that was followed with a split decision win for Pacquiao in 2008. Marquez has long been vocal of him wanting a third fight with the present pound for pound king in Pacquiao. Pacquiao has since moved on three divisions up from his last fight with Marquez and now holds the WBO welterweight belt. Marquez climbed up one division up to lightweight and is the WBA and WBO belt holder of that division. The fight in November is for Pacquiao's belt. It has a contractual weight of 144 pounds. Hence tonight's fight against a heavier opponent in Ramos who weighed 140 lbs on yesterday's weigh in. The match was held at the Plaza de Toros, a bullfighting arena in this popular tourist destination

After the fight, Marquez verbalized that he is ready for Pacquiao in November and wished that this fight with Ramos would have lasted a little longer." I wanted this fight to prepare for Pacquiao, I was hoping it would have lasted longer but sometimes that's how it goes." said Marquez in the post-fight interview which was streamed live and free by Top Rank Boxing in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. He also told Pacquiao to get ready to face him in November. "I just wanted to tell him (Pacquiao) to prepare himself and I want to give the fans a great fight." he remarked. The fight with Pacquiao is to be held at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

IS J.M. MARQUEZ A MUCH NEEDED CHALLENGE OR MORE OF THE SAME?

2011-07-17T05:52:00.000-07:00

San Mateo, CA—Although the ink has not yet been laid on paper, Manny Pacquiao’s November 12, 2011, opponent is scheduled to be Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao is coming off a dominant, but not as impressive as many expected, victory of Shane Mosley last May. Marquez has not fought since November 27, 2010, when he stopped lightweight challenger, Michael Katsidis, in nine rounds.

In terms of the marketing and the appeal of the fight, this matchup is by far the best matchup for Pacquiao—other than Floyd Mayweather Jr. Pacquiao and Marquez have fought twice in the past (2004 and 2008), and both of those fights were candidates for fight of the year. In fact, it took extraordinary bouts (Erik Morales-Marco Antonio Barrera III in 2004 and Rafael Marquez-Israel Vasquez III) to usurp fight of the year honors from both Pacquiao-Marquez bouts. Both fights were extremely close and boxing fans have still debate who should have won both fights. The first fight in 2004 ended in a draw after Pacquiao scored 3 first round knockdown. The second fight was a one-point win for Pacquiao due to Pacquiao dropping Marquez in the 3rd round.

The fight is very much personal to both Marquez and Pacquiao. Any fan that walks up to Marquez and asks him about Pacquiao will get the same response—that Marquez beat Pacquiao twice. During the post-fight press conference for the second fight, Marquez and team described the decision as another black eye to the sport of boxing, which sent Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, into a verbal tirade where he said “what Nacho (Beristain) says is crap!” That did not go over very well by Team Marquez, who walked out on the press conference immediately after Arum’s comments. (view the confrontation here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSRw_k19q90&feature=youtu.be).

The rivalry continued in the Philippines, where Gerry Penalosa had a fight in 2008, and both Marquez and Pacquiao were in attendance. In Philippine National T.V., Marquez confronted Pacquiao and challenged him to a third fight. Pacquiao was already scheduled to take on David Diaz later that year. At the time, Manny did not appreciate Marquez’s public challenge and felt disrespect not for the challenge, but for Marquez not respecting the decision made by the judges in a close fight. If you ask Pacquiao for a straight answer on his thoughts of Marquez, he’d tell you that Marquez has pissed him off on more than one occasion—maybe more so than Mayweather.

Pacquiao moved on to score historic wins over De La Hoya, Hatton, Cotto, and Margarito. Marquez moved on to dominate the lightweight division—with the exception of a loss to Mayweather at Welterweight in 2009.

Fast forward to today, Marquez is pretty much in the same position he was after he lost to Pacquiao in 2008—the lightweight champion. Pacquiao, on the other hand, is now a full fledge Welterweight and out of opponents. Marquez is the last man standing at this point as an opponent that could challenge Pacquiao. Other possible Pacquiao opponents like Tim Bradley, Amir Kahn, Victor Ortiz, and Robert Guerrero are either already scheduled in fights later this year or is still a couple fights away from becoming possible opponents..

Which brings us to the ultimate question—how dangerous is Marquez going to be coming into this rubber match. Will Marquez be the Marquez of 2008 that gave Pacquiao the toughest fight of his career? Or will Marquez be like Pacquiao’s last three opponents Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, and Shane Mosley—over-matched with no chance to win?

Sportsbooks are of the opinion that Marquez has very little chance. Pacquiao has been listed early as high as an 8-1 favorite over Marquez. This is likely based on Marquez’s horrible performance at 147 pounds against Mayweather. Marquez’s added weight caused him to not only be slow in the ring, but also react slowly and not be as sharp as he was at lightweight. Marquez has not been the most active fighter as well because he has only fought twice since the Mayweather fight. He was unable to stop Juan Diaz in a rematch of a first fight where Marquez knocked out Diaz. In his last fight, Marquez was dropped and hurt badly in a victory over Michael Katsidis, a fringe contender at best.

On the other spectrum, Marquez may just have Manny’s number and knows how to be effective against Pacquiao. Despite the weight, the age, and Pacquiao’s improvement as a fighter, Marquez will always have the style to give Pacquiao hell in the ring. Marquez has proved it in the ring against Pacquiao before where he was one point away from winning both of the fights. Marquez is also a better fighter than Mosley, Clottey, and Margarito. Marquez has a better resume and has accomplished more than those other fighters. Marquez can even argue that he is the best fighter Pacquiao has fought since he fought Pacquiao back in 2008.

At this point either argument may end up being 100% correct by the time November 12, 2011, rolls along. One thing for sure, the bout will draw massive interest and will be generate millions of dollars. Whether that translates to a competitive fight in the ring, no one knows at this point. However, we may get a initial glimpse of what Marquez has left above 135lbs on July 16, 2011, when he makes his 140lbs debut against journeyman fighter, Likar Ramos.

The bout is intended to be a tune-up and it is highly unlikely Marquez will struggle against Ramos. During the weigh-in, Marquez weighed in at 138 pounds. The Pacquiao-Marquez bout is scheduled to be at a catch-weight of 144 pounds. Marquez made the mistake of weighing in at 142 pounds against Mayweather when Marquez jumped from 135lbs to 142lbs. It will be interesting to see how Marquez looks at 138lbs and whether Marquez intends to weigh-in at 138lbs against Pacquiao, who will have no problems making 144lbs.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

A whole bunch of crap

2011-07-17T05:49:00.000-07:00

Fistic sensation.

Adored by millions of boxing fans worldwide.
Pound for pound ultimate superstar.
Manny Pacquiao the fighter.

Money, power, sex---he's got it all---save for the best achievable ring plaudit that's missing in his trophy room--- Floyd Mayweather Junior's scalp.

The Sarangani Idol has done what's needed since getting out of the PH version of the ghetto. Those who try boxing for a living as almost everyone know aren't usually the moneyed class and by that yardstick Manny surely qualifies.

He's been blessed since getting into the rough and tumble world of pro-fighting.

Now his legion of followers want a resolution of the impasse plaguing his awaited fight date with the Money Mayweather that's been in limbo for over two years already.

Latest word emanating from Mayweather's team that the stalled match could happen has surfaced following Floyd's admission that he's ready for Manny anytime a deal is made.

Enter Leonard Ellerbie, chief executive officer of the Mayweather promotions who tells FightHype's Ben Thompson that all roads lead to Floyd if one talks of Manny facing the unbeaten Mayweather possibly in 2012.

"Floyd makes his own decisions whereas Manny I gather makes his after consulting with his dictators," Ellerbie teased.

First thing first though. Mayweather has an unfinished business with Victor Ortiz on September 17 while Pacquiao concludes a third bout with Juan Marquez on November 12 at the MGM Grand Arena where fans will savor once more a classic display of Manny's power punching and JuanMa's smart counter-punching.

Sacrifice and teamwork, key elements in concluding a deal as huge as the Pac/May fistic treat is lacking in Team Pacquiao's camp, charged Ellerbie who is blaming Michael Koncz, an underling who's been imposing himself even without an authority on the re-installed talks.

"Koncz knows nothing when it comes to boxing---he is one whole bunch of crap," adds Ellerbie.

Ouuch! Is a libel charge from the self styled chairman of the bored of the great unwashed of Alberta, Canada being mulled for filing against one named Leonard Ellerbie?

Stay Tuned.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Roach bares training plans for Pacquiao

2011-07-12T12:58:00.000-07:00

If Manny Pacquiao’s chief trainer Freddie Roach will have his way, the World Boxing Organization welterweight champion should start preparing for his for his defense of his 147-pound crown against Juan Manuel Marquez as early as the first week of September.

Roach, in an overseas telephone talk with Malaya Business Insight, said he has drawn a nine week training program in the Philippines and in Los Angeles, California to build Pacquiao up for his third fight with the Mexican legend to complete the their trilogy on Nov. 12 in Las Vegas.

The nine-week preparation is a week longer than what the pound-for-pound king and eight-division world champion has undergone in his previous fights. Another deviation from the usual run up is that, in this fight, only three weeks will be spent in the Philippines, most-likely in Baguio City and six weeks at the Wild Card Gym, which he owns, in downtown Hollywood.
Against Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito and Sugar Shane Mosley, Pacquiao had pitched training camp in an equal four-week ratio each in the Philippines and the U.S.

"Three weeks in The Philippines and six weeks here at Wild Card, “ Roach told this writer. "It's a better split than last time. Here in Wild Card is where the focus comes in.”
The move, obviously, is meant to separate the Pacman from the distractions he experienced in his most recent fights when his duties and responsibilities as an elected Congressman of Sarangani Province, to a certain extent, obstructed his training.

“Manny’s previous two fights against Marquez were both close and this time, I want him to concentrate more to ensure that at the end of the trilogy, Manny will again emerge as winner, convincingly that is,” the four-time “Trainer of the Year” honoree reasoned out.

“Not that I’m worried about Manny losing this time or that he’s missed his training. I can’t see any reason why Marquez can beat Manny. Likewise, Manny has shown so many times how serious he’s been in training, virtually killing himself in the process ” Roach clarified though.

“But, as always, I believe there’s no substitute for a better preparations. I don’t want to see him killing himself again in training. He’s not getting any younger,” he explained “ Boxing is one sport where you cannot say really what would happen. A big upset is not totally discounted in this game where the better prepared fighters always prevail over the complacent ones.”

“The main reason why Manny consented into fighting Marquez for the third time is prove to all and sundry that he really is the better fighter between them and that’s what we will be proving comes fight time,” he stressed.

The first time the two fought in 2004, Pacquiao only managed a draw despite dropping Marques thrice in the opening round. Four years later, the Filipino hero only settled for a split decision win after sending the Mexican to the canvas in the third round.

Since then, Pacquiao won all his fights climbing from lightweight to super-lightweight to welterweight to superwelterweight, while Marquez remained in the 130 to 135-pound limit before meeting and losing to undefeated American Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the only time he climbed into the ring above his normal weights.

Claiming he won in both fights, Marquez kept pursuing Pacquiao to meet him for the third time the next three years even going to Manila once to no avail until Top Rank’s Bob Arum agreed having obtained permission from rival Golden Boy promotions of Oscar DeLa Hoya, which owns Marquez fight rights and only after several attempts to pit Pacquiao and Mayweather in what is believed to be the richest and biggest fight in the history of boxing failed to materialize.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Pacquiao agrees to blood testing - Now what Floyd?

2011-07-12T12:57:00.000-07:00

Honestly? When I wrote my article on 8CountNews.com calling for Manny Pacquiao to take the test, I took a lot of heat from the fans (Pacquiao's) most of which were guilty of knee jerk reactions. The context of my article was merely to force Floyd's hand so that he would have one less card to play with in regards to his decision to avoid Manny Pacquiao. Read that article HERE

A few weeks after I wrote that article, it appears as if Manny has indeed agreed to the random blood testing. With that said, now all attention turns to Floyd, and now we wait. The only other card that Floyd can play IF it's true that he truly does not want to fight Manny, is by pricing himself out of the fight. So, if by chance news breaks saying that Floyd is demanding some ridiculous amount of money like 100 million to fight, then it's quite obvious that he does not want to fight.

Pacquiao at this point has nothing else to do except sign a contract. He's now agreed to everything asked of him by the Mayweather's. It's put up or shut up time for Floyd and the boxing fans are waiting.

In the meantime Floyd is gearing up for Victor Ortiz and Manny is gearing up for Juan Manuel Marquez. Training camp for Manny will fire up sometime in September probably, and according to my sources the first part of camp will again be in the Philippines. Pacquiao should be back in Los Angeles at Wild Card in October.

Mayweather Vs. Ortiz could be a good scrap, but I sincerely believe that Floyd will be a bit too much for the younger Vic. Pacquiao Vs. Marquez will be a decent scrap. Marquez has already proved that he can hang with Manny, it's just a matter of can he STILL hang with Manny? Pacquiao is a completely different monster than what JMM saw last time he fought him.

Mississippians that I have spoken to in recent days believe that since Manny has agreed to blood testing, Mayweather needs to put up or shut up. I spoke with Chuck Priore of Mendenhall, MS a big Pacquiao fan. Chuck pulled no punches with his thoughts, " Floyd, it's time to put your money where your mouth is. You're good at rubbing your money in our faces, so now sign and fight Manny and show you aren't scared to fight." I also spoke to Jill Peyton, a Floyd Mayweather Jr fan from Biloxi, MS. Jill chimed in as well, " Floyd doesn't have anything to prove to anyone. He's undefeated, and he doesn't need Pacquiao. I guarantee he isn't afraid of fighting Manny Pacquiao."

It's crunch time Floyd.

Source: Examiner.com

Pacquiao a Tough Salamabitch - Rios

2011-07-10T17:21:00.001-07:00

HOT POTATO via Home Depot, CARSON, California - Brandon "Bam Bam" Rios did not hesitate to issue challenge Saturday night to prominent fighters in the lightweight division and even bolsters the weight on his promoter Top Rank Robert "Bob'Arum to see to it whoever the latter wants him to fight. This developed during the post-fight press conference for Rios-Antillon boxing event.

HOT INSERT: Gesta Heading for a World Title Fight on Cotto-Margarito Rematch

"If I beat the toughest salamabitch at 140, then, if Arum thinks I can fight Pacquiao since Pacquiao is a tough salamabitch, I'll be ready to fight him." said Rios, 25, who is a good marketing persona to keep boxing alive in the Latino community, at least at this early stage of his career.

Rios remains undefeated of 28 professional fights with one draw.

"Rios is the kind of guy who can match the power and intensity of Manny Pacquiao," said Bob Arum, who promotes both fighters.

Rios also mentioned his choices to fight the tough ones at 140, like Amir Khan, Marcos Maidana and other tough "salamabitches" - all under Golden Boy Promotions. And, "if Golden Boy Promotions finds no issues with Top Rank to make these fights happen, then here I am ... I'm ready," said Rios.

Meanwhile, a potential fight for Rios might just be against whoever wins between Maidana and Robert Guerrero on August 27 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Like Maidana, Guerrero is being promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.

Rios has shown potential to move up anytime. His fight with Antillon was fought at 135. "It's up to Arum to promote me; he is the man right there," Rios asserted.

Source: associatedcontent.com

Pacquiao seeks Lim’s help in promoting fight vs Marquez

2011-07-08T02:17:00.000-07:00

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: journal.com.ph

Pacquiao vs. Mayweather: Sweet Poetic Science

2011-07-08T02:16:00.000-07:00

Boxing

Pacquiao Mayweather

Ultimate Pugilistic Supremacy

Olympic Style Drug Testing

Moronic

* * * * * * *

Good versus evil; Offense versus defense.

Pacquiao rocks his Nikes to rock and scramble his adversaries,

Mayweather dances on his Reeboks to rock his opponents' psyches- like a lullaby to sleep.

You get frustrated, tired of it, sequentially submit.

One is a crowd pleaser, the other more like a teaser,

Except for the connoisseurs- or those who pretend to be such.

A hero of the masses, a people's champion whose plight is to bring honor to his country;

A villain, anti-hero, who patronizes his riches and a master of self promotion.

Pacquiao is every much offensive as Mayweather is defensive.

Mayweather is very much offensive as Pacquiao is unabrasive.

One is reflective and deflects all glory to his faith, while the other battles his demons and wonders further greatness if he was born another race.

The braggart versus the humble warrior.

Humility versus embracing and yearning for celebrity.

So much difference yet in ways the same.

And you can start by recognizing their status as the clear cut cream of the crop simply on top of the game.

As one is being chased by all, the other gives chase. Two egos battling for a bigger piece of the pie, longing to be considered as the one true great.

Boxing has been lingering in mediocrity for quite some time now.

Promoters have done quite a job selling us fights and selling us hype.

This one however needs no selling.

This one is the reason the gods created boxing.

Don't take it from us, we deserve to see greatness.

Just like how our ancestors and aging boxing scribes tell us of Frazier and Ali of Golden times,

This is our chance to have something to tell our children that back in our time, we truly witnessed a spectacle of that special kind.

For once, let it not be about the fighters. Let it not be about the sport and the money to be made by it's promoters.

"Boxing", YOU owe us this much for sticking with you when many have said you've been dead for a long time.

If not now, when? Let this not be a tragedy of greed like Jones and Hopkins.

To put it succinctly, make Pacquiao vs. Mayweather happen.

Source: Examiner.com

Freddie Roach Ain't Too Proud to Beg

2011-07-05T02:27:00.000-07:00

Casual Talk via HOLLYWOOD, California - If recent statement of Freddie Roach, trainer of pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao, were to be taken in the context of building a better marketing concept, then he must have
perceived the wrong notion of his protégé's supreme relevance in the current world of boxing.

According to an article published Monday (Philippines) by ABS-CBN, Roach said, "We want that fight badly. We agreed to everything he asked for the least (sic) time... and nothing happened." He was referring to the purported fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Joy Mayweather, Jr.

But, Pacquiao says, "I am okay even without a Mayweather fight. I have done enough in boxing."

And for Roach, he wants Pacquiao-Mayweather fight "badly". Hm...it sounds like Roach "ain't too proud to beg" at all! Sure, the same adverb serves as a modifier implying that Mayweather, Jr. really has the upperhand in the negotiation, at least that's what surfaces from the subsconscious mind of one of the most well-known boxing trainers in the world who was voted Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America in 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2009, under the grace of Pacquiao's starpower.

Too much begging by Team Pacquiao puts Pacquiao in the position of an underdog.

And did Pacquiao really agreed to what Mayweather, Jr. demanded other than the financial aspect of the fight deal?

Mayweather, Jr. insists, "First and foremost, not only do I want to fight Manny Pacquiao, I want to whip his punk ass."

The final issue of their last negotiation early of last year was drug testing.

Source: associatedcontent.com

LAS VEGAS MUSEUM DEDICATED TO PACQUIAO

2011-07-05T02:26:00.000-07:00

By Bev Llorente, ABS-CBN North America Bureau

LAS VEGAS- A new museum dedicated to boxing was opened at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino showcasing art dedicated to the inspiring career of Manny Pacquiao.

The “Fight Museum” also features memorabilia items that carves into the history of boxing and mix martial arts.

Paintings of Pacquiao and his famous bouts over his career were created by artist Richard Slone.

“What inspires me is trying to capture his greatness like the action of the fight the struggle of the fight all that before the fights, so it’s kind of my vision the upcoming fights, “said Slone.

Slone also said that he will start working on the Pacquiao-Marquez piece.

A glass case containing a pair of Swarovski crystal-studded boxing gloves, bearing Pacman’s name and the Philippine flag, is the main attraction of the fight museum.

its price- $15,000

The Pacquiao-Marquez rematch will take place in November, but the fight museum is already gearing up for another sell-out week for fans who will take home with them a piece of the Pinoy boxing super champ.

Source: balitangamerica.tv

Mendoza: Pacquiao beer mates and date with Marquez

2011-07-02T19:34:00.001-07:00

THOSE five beer drinkers must have felt it was the drinking session of a lifetime.

Why, because they had for a beer mate Manny Pacquiao as all six of them were official guests of San Miguel Beer Brewery president Roberto N. Huang.

Win US $500 cash in Sun.Star’s music video contest

If one drinks beer alone, either that dude is a loner or plain nuts--or wishes to drown away some wounds too difficult perhaps to lick.

Surely, those five drinkers beating over 6,000 hopefuls to be with Pacquiao had the time of their lives at the Executive Dining Room of San Miguel Corp. head office along San Miguel Ave. in Mandaluyong.

They were Reynald Pandan of Sasa in Davao City, Jay Punzalan (Quezon City), Joel Gabo (Puerto Princesa), Art dela Cruz (Manila) and Mark Glodoviza (Navotas), who topped the nationwide “Wala Kang Katulad” SMB promo to be with Pacquiao.

They fired away questions at Pacquiao. The one that stood out was, “What round will you knock Marquez out?”

Pacman replied, also in Tagalog: “If you were me, what round would you pick?”

“Between the fifth and eighth rounds,” was the answer.

Pacquiao just smiled. By tradition, he does not make predictions.

And, speaking of the Pacquiao-Marquez fight on Nov. 13 (Philippine Time) in Las Vegas, the “instant replay” rule will be in effect as approved by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

Meaning, if a fight suddenly ends due to “a foul or a stoppage” arising possibly from either an illegal or accidental blow, the instant TV replay can guide the referee in making a decision.

If the referee sees in the TV replay an illegal blow as intentional, the boxer at fault may lose by disqualification. An accidental blow would decide the fight’s outcome through the scorecards.

This second trilogy for Pacquiao (he beat Erik Morales, 2-1, in 2005-‘06 – 2 successive KOs after a points loss in Fight One) is being seen as a classic this early.

Yes, Pacquiao is favored to defeat Marquez, but he must win convincingly this time after he merely extracted a split decision victory in 2008 following a draw in their first bout in 2004.

Already, the five-month wait is killing both Jon Hernandez and Valentin Dakuykoy.

Source: sunstar.com.ph

LOS ANGELES, MAYWEATHER STRONGHOLD, ACCORDING TO HIS FANS

2011-07-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

Ricardo Lois, who infamously declared, “after Oscar hurts Manny with a left hook to the brain, Pacquiao will be doing the crack head dance” and also fondly referred to by Michael Marley as the journalist Frankenstein he created, is on a Pacquiao bashing spree again.

Even after Pacquiao’s annihilation of the Golden Boy and all his succeeding opponents, Mr. Lois has consistently minimized the pound for pound king’s ring achievements.

Sure, he has written some positive articles about the fighting congressman from the Philippines but those articles were littered with “buts” and qualifying statements. He seems to simply be unable to give credit where credit is due.

He should be writing for Fighthype.com instead.

If I am not mistaken, Michael Marley told me he is a Los Angeles school teacher. I hope he is not sharing his fallacious logic to impressionable school children.

Headline: Los Angeles Likes Mayweather –Ortiz Over Pacquiao-Marquez.

Quote: “During a public press conference for Mayweather - Ortiz last Wednesday night at the L.A. Live complex, I asked approximatley (sic) 100 fans at the event which did they perfer: (sic) Mayweather's move, or Pacquiao third fight with Marquez.
Apparently, Los Angeles is a Mayweather strong hold, with 68 of those polled gave the nod to his fight with Ortiz.”

A grade school tyke with common sense and half a brain would not even conclude to consider extrapolating a Mayweather-Ortiz crowd to represent Los Angeles.

Obviously, it is a no-brainer that other than journalists (or so called ones, like me), everybody in the press conference is either a Mayweather or an Ortiz supporter. What actually is amazing is that, according to Mr. Lois poll, 32 out of the 100 picked Pacquiao-Marquez.

It is like NBC’s Brian Williams polling the crowd at a Democratic Convention who they like, Barack Obama or Sarah Palin and incredibly 32% favored Palin.

Absurd, but even in his own party, Mayweather cannot escape the ghost of Pacquiao.

Ironic that, Mayweather-Ortiz, two Americans fighting in their homeland USA, is sharing the limelight in their own media blitz with Pacquiao-Marquez, two foreigners from far away land,
Another quote: “If you ask Hall of Fame trainer Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain who won the first two battles between Manny Pacquiao and his fighter, Juan Manuel Marquez - the straight shooting Mexican will pull no strings”.

"We fought 24 hard rounds with a man who has been made into a mythical figure," said Beristain. "After both fights, I feel my fighter beat Pacquiao, but the politics of boxing took over”.

If you asked my beautiful and wonderful wife, Maria, a certified Hall of Fame person, who is the better writer between Ricardo Lois and Greg Penilla, the straight shooting Filipina, will pull no strings (or should it be pull no punches?).

“After reading and reviewing articles written the past 24 months by both,” said Maria, “I feel my writer beat Lois, but the politics of sporswriting took over”.

However, if you ask Mr. Lois’ mother, Lois is vastly superior to Penilla.

One simply needs to ask the right person to get the desired answer.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

PPV peddler Mayweather calls out Pacquiao, hyping Ortiz fight at the same time

2011-06-30T12:07:00.000-07:00

An unusually reserved Floyd Mayweather took to the stage on the Los Angeles leg of his press tour ahead of his September bout with Victor Ortiz on Wednesday.

Ortiz at various points attempted to bring the Mayweather we are all used to seeing out into the open.

That being Floyd's brash showman character, insulting his opponents in one breath and complimenting them with the next, bragging about his standing in the sport and as ever referring constantly to his perfect 41-0 unbeaten record.

Floyd though for once was content to let the younger man do much of the talking.

What he did say that sparked immediate interest however was a simple sentence.

In that one sentence he made up for his lack of interest in the rest of the event, got inside Ortiz's head without having to resort to his usual antics and ensured that what was otherwise a fairly pedestrian press conference too similar to his New York appearance to generate much interest, still got attention.

That sentence was this:

"I want to tell Victor Ortiz thank you for stepping up to the plate and taking the tests. We only want to fight the biggest and the best out there, and, Manny Pacquiao, yes, you're next!"

Of course the latter part of that statement is something that Mayweather has said before in some form or another several times in the past. All for one reason or another to no avail.

It should now perhaps come with an asterisk stating:

*Valid only with the following stipulations, that both fighters take any and all pre-fight blood tests administered by the USADA, that the date, weight, venue, purse split and pay per view broadcaster can be agreed upon, and that neither Victor Ortiz nor Juan Manuel Marquez are able to pull off upsets in the next six months.

Source: Examiner.com

Bookmakers rating Victor Ortiz as bigger underdog than Juan Manuel Marquez

2011-06-30T04:23:00.000-07:00

When Floyd Mayweather announced that he will take on Victor Ortiz in September after more than a year out of the ring, the reaction from many was that he had picked a more difficult opponent than his main rival Manny Pacquiao, who fights Juan Manuel Marquez in November.

Indeed Pacquiao's critics have been vocal about the fact that he has fought what they to be consider a series of easy opponents.

Arguably beginning with his March 2009 bout with Joshua Clottey, Pacquiao has taken on foes who at least after the fight looked either well past their best or like they simply didn't belong in the ring with him.

Joshua Clottey covered up more or less the entire bout.

Antonio Margarito fought bravely but took such a beating for a time afterwards his career was in doubt.

Shane Mosley, blistered and bruised as he was, got on his bike in the early rounds and never stopped pedaling.

On the basis of those routs some assume that Pacquiao's old rival Juan Manuel Marquez will be similarly easy prey,
despite plenty of quotes in the press from Marquez, Pacquiao himself and promoter Bob Arum to the contrary.

In many cases though those same critics are heralding Floyd Mayweather's choice of return opponent in recently crowned WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz, who in taking on Mayweather will be fighting at 147lbs for just the second time.

Source: Examiner.com

The contenders to Manny Pacquiao's pound for pound throne

2010-02-12T10:50:00.001-08:00

Pittsburgh Fight Sports Examiner | Scott Heritage

Manny Pacquiao has been the consensus number one pound for pound fighter in the world for the past couple of years now and has few rivals. When he either retires or gets beaten though, there will no doubt be new names vying for the top position in the sport.

In the immediate future, the only real contender there appears to be if Floyd Mayweather Jr. who has been at the top of the rankings before. His only path back to the top would probably be to get through Pacquiao though which could be problematic given the result of the last time the pair tried to put a fight together.

Should they come to terms in the future though, and should Mayweather win, which he was an early favorite to do, then he would once again top the list. Someone like Mosley or even Josh Clottey might beat Pacquiao, but have too many losses on their records for much to be made of it outside the welterweight division. Not to mention they have size and strength advantages against Pacquiao anyway.

Bernie Walker, Pittsburgh PA: "Pacquiao's fans will all be crying when their little roid monster gets picked apart by a real boxer like Floyd Mayweather. He might have balut (aka drug) power but he won't catch Mayweather all night long, if he don't back out of the fight again"

(Scott: Bernie, I would advise you not say any of that stuff out loud if you find yourself in the Philippines anytime soon.)

Fellow Freddie Roach disciple and now latest Golden Boy signing Amir Khan is a fighter tipped for great things by many. Coming from an Olympic silver medal and now boasting a record of 22-1 and the WBA light welterweight title, Khan looks to be going places. Reportedly he even gets the better of Pacquiao sometimes in training when the pair are sparring, although of course this isn't much of an indication of how a real fight would go.

Khan is unquestionably still a work in progress at the moment, and although he has almost every tool he needs for greatness, he has yet to face any top fighters. This might change in May when he fights in America for the first time, as he will look to quickly build up his name with a marquee opponent, and that means a big step up in skill as well.

Amir and Manny are said to be friends, and coming from the same gym are very unlikely to fight each other. By the time Khan is ready for someone of Pacquiao's caliber, not to mention weight class, Manny will probably have retired anyway. Someday though, so long as Khan continues to progress under Freddie Roach as much as he has already, he might make it to the top.

Eric Waters, Pittsburgh PA: "Khan isn't the best out there, but he does have al the makings of a great champion in the future. He works with Freddie Roach, spars with Manny Pacquiao and has a great background from his amateur days"

Edwin Valero is another exciting fighter who many have pegged as an eventual successor to Manny Pacquiao, although the Venezuelan would prefer to fight him instead. Holding a slightly padded record of 27 wins and 27 KO's, Valero nevertheless proved there is some substance to his hype with a one sided crushing of Antonio DeMarco last time out.

So Valero has the desire to keep climbing the divisions and taking belts from whoever he comes across, but does he have the skill?

Not so very long ago I would have said definitely not, but it seems there is a lot more to Valero than meets the eye. In his next few fights when he will again take on bigger, stronger opponents we will see just how good his skills are if his power doesn't do the job for him. But it's a case of so far so good from Valero overall.

Suntok, via email:"Valero’s record is impressive, but I don’t know if he really fought skilled fighters. Also can Valero move to the Welterweight division? If ever Pacquiao wins over Clottey I think the next step of Pacquiao is to fight the winner of the Mosley-Mayweather bout. If Valero will get lucky he would be getting a fight with Pacquiao in 2011. Nevertheless, we really can’t say who will win but it would all defend on skills in the welterweight division. Regards to all."

At the moment then, outside of Floyd Mayweather, all Pacquiao's other challengers look to be a couple of years away from being ready at the least. The chances are pretty good that Pacquiao will retire as the pound for pound champion. But who will take the reigns from him when he's gone is an interesting thought.

Source: Examiner.com

Highest paid international athletes

2010-02-12T10:48:00.000-08:00

International Sports Examiner | Marv Dumon

Within the past 25 years, athletic competition at the highest levels have grown to become immensely lucrative as a profession. Thousands of hours spent in extremely rigorous training yield peak results in games, which in turn yield high dollars.

This modern reality stands in contrast to simpler days of antiquity, when many of the first Greek competitors secured sports performance relying on more natural prowess and ability. They would marvel at the daily, professionalized regimen of today's marketplace athletes.

The modern sports competitor not only exacts superior results on the field, he must maintain a regulated routine: supervised intake of vitamins, oxygen treatment, legal (and sometimes banned) performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), special diets and treatments. On and on. Then you have the product endorsements, interviews, family functions, awards dinners . . .
A Global Entity >

Today's athlete is not merely "just an individual," per se. He has transformed into a monarchical organization, attended to by security personnel, butlers, personal assistants, legal counsel, nutritionists, doctors, trainers, strength coaches, managers, and publicists. Gone are the human generalists. The specialists who "tunes up" the athlete reflect modern society's segmentation of the populace into thousands of categorized vocations. Ever heard of a zoo dentist? That's an actual job.

The peak-performing sports uber man is a brand. For some, he is a god. That is not a statement of sacrilege. In some ways, sports icons have positioned out religious figures for man's share of the mind and heart. Can you name a basketball player or boxer more popular than the Pope? I can. Several of them.

Sports, in a collective sense, has replaced something else. War. The battle is in the tennis and volleyball courts of the world. Not in Waterloo or Pearl Harbor or Gettysburg.

What's your point Dumon?

Nothing.

What made the exponential jump in earnings from the past 25 years is globalization and the awesome emergence of the conglomerate media.

Before, the nexus of power resided in:

1. the Church
2. the State
3. and the Immediate Rulers of your particular kingdom
4. Those who possessed indespensible goods (water, hunting tools, etc.)

Now, the nexus of power resides in:

1. the Media
2. the State
3. the Employer
4. the Spouse - maybe

ESPN, and its multitudes of affiliates and partnerships, as well as, its smaller competitors, have pried open previously localized markets. They have this capability - to just open up entire nations - to the ways of MTV. Imagine Iran's leaders, a generation from now, speaking in this tongue: "Dude, I gotta work today? Screw that." The media brainwashes. It may not intend to all the time, but its grip on the mind took over what was previously held by the Church. (See list.)

Brazil, India, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, these markets (and their best athletes) are thrown into the mix. That hodge podge lies in the center of a digital planetary arena. A virtual bowl where the absolute best from each region compete. The best of the best. The elite of the elite. The world's cream of the crop. Sounds like a stolen thought from Top Gun.

A population of six billion people can now access the top 30 most popular sports virtually 24 hours a day. Television conveys the prioritized coverage. The internet disseminates information from a democratized media web. Sports becomes the conduit from which multi-billion dollar products and services companies extend their offerings in a hyper-competitive marketplace. Back to the purpose of the article.

Source: Examiner.com