In three fights against Manny Pacquiao, Marquez has lost two close
decisions and fought to a draw with the Filipino boxer. He has worked
hard and bulked up for their fourth bout Saturday in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS -- Manny Pacquiao will smile his way to the ring Saturday night. His opponent, Juan Manuel Marquez, will glare.
Pacquiao will try to beat his Mexican rival for the third time in four
fights by again throwing caution to the wind with flurries of punches.
Marquez will again be more
calculating. Convinced he's the smarter of the two in the ring, he has
strengthened his body as never before at age 39, hell-bent to impose his
will and finally have his hand raised in victory against Pacquiao after
suffering two agonizingly close decision losses and a draw.
"This fight is more important than the last three," Marquez said of
Saturday's non-title welterweight bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
"Because it's for my legacy. The honor. The pride.
"For everything," Marquez said.
In this rivalry, those words are as fiercely serious as the hard stare Marquez delivers.
Remember, in 2004, Marquez was knocked down by Pacquiao three times in
the first round, scraped himself up each time and rallied to win nearly
every other round to gain a draw.
Their 2008 battle was incredibly narrow, Pacquiao winning a split
decision because of an early knockdown. And their November 2011 classic
was met by a roar of boos when Pacquiao was declared the winner by
majority decision.
Marquez insisted this week that his career will not be defined by the Pacquiao fights.
Who's he kidding?
Sports history is loaded with greats best remembered for losing to their foil, or falling short of clutching the brass ring.
Joe Frazier lost two of his three fights with Muhammad Ali. The Lakers' Jerry West was a tragic hero when his team lost six NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics' dynasty in the 1960s. Charles Barkley, Dan Marino and Barry Bonds are others who come to mind.
Is the die cast for Marquez? Or can he alter the story?
Marquez undoubtedly has turned over every stone to search for the way to
finally defeat Pacquiao, which explains his controversial union with
strength and conditioning coach Angel "Memo" Heredia.
Earlier in his career, Heredia was a steroid supplier to track stars
Marion Jones, Justin Gatlin and Tim Montgomery, then became a government
informant in the prosecution's case against track coach Trevor Graham.
Marquez and Heredia say that the boxer's new muscular build came about
naturally in training. Heredia called Marquez "Hulk" at Wednesday's news
conference.
"Anyone who wants to test me, I invite him to have spent the last four
months with me, to have got up at 4 a.m. with me every day, do the eight
hours of work, and then tell me whether I'm doing this naturally or
not," Marquez said.
Marquez's weightlifting regimen in Mexico City
and his conditioning in the mountains, at 14,000 feet above sea level,
have brought him to peak shape before his fourth bout against Pacquiao,
said Marquez's veteran trainer, Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain.
Marquez can't wait to unload his mighty left uppercut on Pacquiao, Heredia said.
"Pacquiao is a guy who's as difficult to knock down as a tree trunk,"
Heredia said. "Last fight, Juan hit him so hard he fell back a meter. We
want to hit him again like that and see what happens.
"And Pacquiao hits hard, with those snappy and strong punches. There's solid strength and speed strength, and we have both now."
Beristain added, "My fighter's a lot smarter than Pacquiao, and a superior technical fighter."
The betting public anticipates another close brawl. Last year, Pacquiao
was an 8-to-1 favorite at Las Vegas sports books. On Thursday, MGM
Resorts listed Pacquiao at less than a 3-to-1 favorite.
Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, doesn't expect Marquez to change, not
after 61 pro fights: "He's a counterpuncher through and through. I wish
he'd be more aggressive like he's saying. I don't think it'll happen,"
Roach said.
"We'll remain the aggressor, and aggressors, as we've shown, win close
rounds. I want Manny fighting all three minutes of every round. With
more action, there'll be no question who the better man is."
Fueled by disappointment that has amplified with each Pacquiao fight —
Marquez believes he won all three — the Mexican fighter said he
converted his rage into his preparations for this fight.
"My highest motivation is wanting to have my hand raised," Marquez said.
"I don't want to live with people telling me, 'We thought you won.' I
want to really know I won."
Pacquiao said a major reason he wanted a fourth Marquez fight is to
quiet his adversary, once and for all, to settle how each fighter will
be remembered.
"He doesn't respect the decisions of the judges, so he needs to prove
something Saturday," Pacquiao said. "But we expect to be more aggressive
than ever, and I'm better prepared for the battle when it happens. I'm
faster than him.
"It's not about the size. It's about the speed."
Right now, that's the epitaph. Marquez has one last chance to pound in new words.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Sports on Earth: WE MEET AGAIN
By Chuck Culpepper
LAS VEGAS -- One afternoon in the northern Philippines in March 2011, in the Baguio hotel that contains a boxing ring -- talk about amenities! -- Manny Pacquiao didn't come downstairs to train. Nobody fretted. Nobody blustered. Trainer Freddie Roach waited on a bench by a wall with a pulse rate that did not even hint at quickening. For one thing, he knew that Pacquiao's age begins with a "3" and mandates the occasional unexpected rest. For another, those training weeks qualified as excellent all told, and Pacquiao looked dazzling, far better than needed to dispatch the feckless Shane Mosley.
For another, you just can't expect kings to focus relentlessly, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant being exceptional.
And so a hushed afternoon brought a sportswriter's dream, a chance to bring along two ears and hear Freddie Roach. It gets no better.
Amid this anecdote nirvana, Roach enthused about his "best vacation ever," two weeks off to appear as a witness in a civil case involving Pacquiao and a former promoter. (Roach adored the whole process, the verbal sparring with lawyers.) He told of traveling the world to train the actor Mickey Rourke, and of the lunch the day after the 2009 Academy Awards of Rourke's nomination for "The Wrestler" and Sean Penn's win for "Milk." (Some of Rourke's friends teased him that he could have won if only he had played a gay wrestler.)
He told of following Pacquiao to a cathedral in either London or Paris -- it's hilarious that he couldn't remember which -- and how, while Pacquiao prayed, some Filipino fans spotted Roach off to the side, whereupon they came over to pose for photos, whereupon a priest approached Roach and told him to put away his camera, whereupon Roach replied with a profane adjective that he had not brought any camera, whereupon the priest threw Roach out of the cathedral. (Among the amusements of this motley trans-Pacific arrangement is the combo of a non-religious trainer with a boxer who has the practice gym hush for a minute before training so he can pray.)
You hear so much caution in sports-speak that boxing's bracing breeze of candor can exhilarate.
So Roach told of how Pacquiao once didn't speak to him for two days because Roach wouldn't divulge the snitch when the trainer learned Pacquiao had been out late, how nobody likes to wake Pacquiao from naps for the grumpiness, how Roach does not condone Pacquiao's daily pickup basketball but Pacquiao defiantly plays on until near-midnight of the last possible day, and how he considered the eight-division champion a man of such unusual kindness and generosity that Roach's worries include that eventually Pacquiao will give away everything.
So when you get to Pacquiao's fourth bout with Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday night, after three previous cliffhangers from which the judges gave two wins and one draw to Pacquiao, and when you see that Pacquiao's age is about hit 34, and you know that he's in the Philippine Congress, and you wonder about his last two blasé bouts (including the questionable win over Marquez 13 months ago and the very questionable loss to Timothy Bradley in June), and you vaguely mourn at the slow ebb of one of the most remarkable sports stories ever, Roach reassures.
When Roach reassures, you do listen.
"He's on fire," he said.
"The best Manny Pacquiao I've seen in a long time," he said.
"I think you're going to see the best Manny Pacquiao yet," he said.
"His focus is a lot better," he said.
There have been "four knockdowns in this training camp," a record, he said.
If you ask Roach where we stand on the long Pacquiao story arc, you get this: "This one arc goes way up now, and I think the last couple of fights, he was just going through the motions. This one brought back the fire in Manny Pacquiao. I know he needs that to win this fight and he's given me everything that I've asked for."
Pacquiao: "My focus is to fight hard."
Promoter Bob Arum, turning a sterling 81 on Saturday: "Really tremendously focused, the whole training session."
At the press conference, there's much talk about not going 12 rounds, about neither man leaving it to the judges, whom Marquez thinks have slighted him against Pacquiao and Pacquiao thinks slighted him against Bradley.
Thereby does a match that had the potential for dreariness -- Really? A fourth time? -- amass intrigue by the bucketful.
The poverty in the Philippines can burn its way into memory in a single Saturday stroll. People lie conked-out on Manila sidewalks. Children with grimy shins sell food on boulevard dividers. To think that one of those children grew up in the extreme south on dirt floors under holy roofs … then stowed away on a boat to Manila at 15 … then trained and hung out behind kitchen doors awaiting leftover food from restaurant managers … and went to cinemas with a friend just to look at the movie posters outside while trying to picture the images moving ... and sold food just like these kids now … then showed up at 22 as an Asia flyweight champion with a promoter in Roach's Los Angeles gym one day in June 2001, speaking no English … then had Roach "catch" him to reveal a phenomenal snap on the punches that the trainer found almost bewilderingly peerless … then became Manny Pacquiao, well …
I do get all biased.
I do want that story to keep going.
LAS VEGAS -- One afternoon in the northern Philippines in March 2011, in the Baguio hotel that contains a boxing ring -- talk about amenities! -- Manny Pacquiao didn't come downstairs to train. Nobody fretted. Nobody blustered. Trainer Freddie Roach waited on a bench by a wall with a pulse rate that did not even hint at quickening. For one thing, he knew that Pacquiao's age begins with a "3" and mandates the occasional unexpected rest. For another, those training weeks qualified as excellent all told, and Pacquiao looked dazzling, far better than needed to dispatch the feckless Shane Mosley.
And so a hushed afternoon brought a sportswriter's dream, a chance to bring along two ears and hear Freddie Roach. It gets no better.
Amid this anecdote nirvana, Roach enthused about his "best vacation ever," two weeks off to appear as a witness in a civil case involving Pacquiao and a former promoter. (Roach adored the whole process, the verbal sparring with lawyers.) He told of traveling the world to train the actor Mickey Rourke, and of the lunch the day after the 2009 Academy Awards of Rourke's nomination for "The Wrestler" and Sean Penn's win for "Milk." (Some of Rourke's friends teased him that he could have won if only he had played a gay wrestler.)
He told of following Pacquiao to a cathedral in either London or Paris -- it's hilarious that he couldn't remember which -- and how, while Pacquiao prayed, some Filipino fans spotted Roach off to the side, whereupon they came over to pose for photos, whereupon a priest approached Roach and told him to put away his camera, whereupon Roach replied with a profane adjective that he had not brought any camera, whereupon the priest threw Roach out of the cathedral. (Among the amusements of this motley trans-Pacific arrangement is the combo of a non-religious trainer with a boxer who has the practice gym hush for a minute before training so he can pray.)
You hear so much caution in sports-speak that boxing's bracing breeze of candor can exhilarate.
So Roach told of how Pacquiao once didn't speak to him for two days because Roach wouldn't divulge the snitch when the trainer learned Pacquiao had been out late, how nobody likes to wake Pacquiao from naps for the grumpiness, how Roach does not condone Pacquiao's daily pickup basketball but Pacquiao defiantly plays on until near-midnight of the last possible day, and how he considered the eight-division champion a man of such unusual kindness and generosity that Roach's worries include that eventually Pacquiao will give away everything.
So when you get to Pacquiao's fourth bout with Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday night, after three previous cliffhangers from which the judges gave two wins and one draw to Pacquiao, and when you see that Pacquiao's age is about hit 34, and you know that he's in the Philippine Congress, and you wonder about his last two blasé bouts (including the questionable win over Marquez 13 months ago and the very questionable loss to Timothy Bradley in June), and you vaguely mourn at the slow ebb of one of the most remarkable sports stories ever, Roach reassures.
When Roach reassures, you do listen.
"He's on fire," he said.
"The best Manny Pacquiao I've seen in a long time," he said.
"I think you're going to see the best Manny Pacquiao yet," he said.
"His focus is a lot better," he said.
There have been "four knockdowns in this training camp," a record, he said.
If you ask Roach where we stand on the long Pacquiao story arc, you get this: "This one arc goes way up now, and I think the last couple of fights, he was just going through the motions. This one brought back the fire in Manny Pacquiao. I know he needs that to win this fight and he's given me everything that I've asked for."
Pacquiao: "My focus is to fight hard."
Promoter Bob Arum, turning a sterling 81 on Saturday: "Really tremendously focused, the whole training session."
At the press conference, there's much talk about not going 12 rounds, about neither man leaving it to the judges, whom Marquez thinks have slighted him against Pacquiao and Pacquiao thinks slighted him against Bradley.
Thereby does a match that had the potential for dreariness -- Really? A fourth time? -- amass intrigue by the bucketful.
The poverty in the Philippines can burn its way into memory in a single Saturday stroll. People lie conked-out on Manila sidewalks. Children with grimy shins sell food on boulevard dividers. To think that one of those children grew up in the extreme south on dirt floors under holy roofs … then stowed away on a boat to Manila at 15 … then trained and hung out behind kitchen doors awaiting leftover food from restaurant managers … and went to cinemas with a friend just to look at the movie posters outside while trying to picture the images moving ... and sold food just like these kids now … then showed up at 22 as an Asia flyweight champion with a promoter in Roach's Los Angeles gym one day in June 2001, speaking no English … then had Roach "catch" him to reveal a phenomenal snap on the punches that the trainer found almost bewilderingly peerless … then became Manny Pacquiao, well …
I do get all biased.
I do want that story to keep going.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
"Charles & Reggie: Toe to Toe with Manny Pacquiao" explodes on TNT tonight
We all know that Manny Pacquiao loves basketball and is a big fan of the NBA. It is well-known that on numerous occassions, he would defy his trainer Freddie Roach's order not to play the game during training just so he can play pick-up basketball with his friends.
But if there is any doubt left about the Filipino boxing superstar's passion for the game, we only need to remember his fight with Timothy Bradley last June wherein Top Rank head honcho Bob Arum decided to delay the start of the main event so that Pacquiao could watch Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.
We also know that NBA Legends and Hall of Famers Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller are big boxing aficionados. They are also regular fixtures at big time fights in Las Vegas. And NBA fans have seen Charles Barkley figured in a scuffle with fellow TNT analyst Shaquille O'Neal eons ago during one of their games, but if we are talking about Sir Charles' boxing skills, that's another story.
On numerous occasions, both Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller have been very vocal about their love of prizefighting as well as professing their admiration for Manny Pacquiao during their coverage of NBA games on TNT.
And in last week's Thursday night telecast of the Miami-San Antonio game, Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller spoke about their experience working out with Manny Pacquiao.
Charles Barkley: “We spent a day with Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach, and let me tell you something — one of the great days of my life. “
"I don’t wanna brag, but there’s no doubt in my mind I could knock Manny Pacquiao out."
To which, Reggie Miller disagreed, “No, you can’t. Manny (Pacquiao) call me, let’s set this up.”
Now, there is no doubt that Reggie Miller is one of the best shooters to ever play in the NBA. Yes, there is no doubt that Charles Barkley is one of the best talkers, if not the best bruisers to ever play in the NBA. And there is no doubt that Manny Pacquiao is one of the best boxers to ever display his wares in the ring. Aside from their common love for Boxing and Basketball, all three are funny and hilarious in their own special way.
Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller gave us a hint of what we should expect from the 30-minute TNT special wherein they went toe-to-toe with Manny Pacquiao.
"As a boxing fan, it was one of the coolest things I've ever done," Barkley said.
"As a professional athlete, it's always interesting to hear how other elite athletes prepare themselves for competition. Training with Manny was an experience I'll never forget," added Miller.
It will be interesting to see how Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller and Manny Pacquiao talk shop, interact, and literally and figuratively throw jabs at each other -- a welcome respite from all the monotony and serious talk about the fourth fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, subjective odds, analysis and all, being peddled to every boxing fan by boxing scribes during fight week.
Let us keep our fingers crossed and hope that the well-advertised TNT special will not only be explosive but a knockout; Laugh-wise, that is.
Tonight, TNT will air "Charles & Reggie: Toe to Toe with Manny Pacquiao" after the NBA double-header between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks at 8 p.m. ET, with the Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns following at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Note: This article was previously posted on Detroit Fight Sports Examiner
Las Vegas Sun: Pacquiao knows fourth fight with Marquez could settle past arguments
Manny Pacquiao spent part of Wednesday morning running at the UNLV
track in preparation for his welterweight title fight Saturday at the MGM Grand against Juan Manuel Marquez.
At the end of the workout, Pacquiao challenged the UNLV track coach to a race in the 100 meters. The eight-division world champion lost ... barely.
Some would question why Pacquiao would be up to the strenuous challenge of sprints days before his fight. That didn’t bother his longtime trainer, Freddie Roach.
“He lost, but it was close,” Roach said of the race. “(Some wonder): 'Why do you let him do sprints?' He is having fun, and when Pacquiao is having fun, that shows me he is ready.”
This is the fourth meeting in the heated series between Pacquiao and Marquez with each of the previous bouts being decided by a close decision. Their initial meeting was scored a draw in 2004; Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs) won by split decision in 2008 and by majority decision last November — a result that sent several in the pro-Marquez crowd into a chorus of boos in protest.
But if Pacquiao’s results in training are any indication, the controversy of going to judges’ scorecards could be avoided this time around. Roach said Pacquiao has recorded four knockouts during camp sparring — the first time he’s had a knockout in training since 2009, before his fight with Miguel Cotto.
“He’s on fire right now,” Roach said. “He will hit me, just tap me, and he almost knocked me out yesterday. He is ready to go.”
Pacquiao’s most recent fight also ended in a questionable decision. His seven-year winning streak was snapped last June when judges awarded a split decision to Timothy Bradley in the WBO welterweight title fight despite Pacquiao dominating for most of the night.
This time around, even with the uproar caused from the fluke loss against Bradley, and the close calls previously against Marquez, Pacquiao won’t concern himself with the scoring.
“I never complained about the judges,” Pacquiao said. “The official, that is his job. We are boxers, and our job is to fight in the ring. Whatever the decision, we have to respect that. Even the last fight with Bradley, you never heard from my mouth complaining, and that was a very one-sided fight.”
Part of Pacquiao’s legacy is defined by his series with Marquez, which helps explain why they are fighting for a fourth time. This is an opportunity for Pacquiao to show his superiority to Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs), silencing claims he should have lost the previous fights.
Marquez was so disappointed in the outcome last November, he told reporters after the fight he was retiring. Now, he’s anxious to get redemption — something Pacquiao hopes leads to some good exchanges in the ring.
“I want to give him a chance to see if he can prove something,” Pacquiao said. “If you are claiming you won the fight, the rematch is an opportunity to be aggressive and create action first.”
Pacquiao, especially with what happened in the decision against Bradley, hopes to put on a show with Marquez. That, of course, would require Marquez meeting him halfway, he said.
“We can change by going toe-to-toe and exchange punches,” Pacquiao said. “He needs to do this because he claims to have won the fight. He just backs off and backs off and waits for the punches of (his) opponent.”
At the end of the workout, Pacquiao challenged the UNLV track coach to a race in the 100 meters. The eight-division world champion lost ... barely.
Some would question why Pacquiao would be up to the strenuous challenge of sprints days before his fight. That didn’t bother his longtime trainer, Freddie Roach.
“He lost, but it was close,” Roach said of the race. “(Some wonder): 'Why do you let him do sprints?' He is having fun, and when Pacquiao is having fun, that shows me he is ready.”
This is the fourth meeting in the heated series between Pacquiao and Marquez with each of the previous bouts being decided by a close decision. Their initial meeting was scored a draw in 2004; Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs) won by split decision in 2008 and by majority decision last November — a result that sent several in the pro-Marquez crowd into a chorus of boos in protest.
But if Pacquiao’s results in training are any indication, the controversy of going to judges’ scorecards could be avoided this time around. Roach said Pacquiao has recorded four knockouts during camp sparring — the first time he’s had a knockout in training since 2009, before his fight with Miguel Cotto.
“He’s on fire right now,” Roach said. “He will hit me, just tap me, and he almost knocked me out yesterday. He is ready to go.”
Pacquiao’s most recent fight also ended in a questionable decision. His seven-year winning streak was snapped last June when judges awarded a split decision to Timothy Bradley in the WBO welterweight title fight despite Pacquiao dominating for most of the night.
This time around, even with the uproar caused from the fluke loss against Bradley, and the close calls previously against Marquez, Pacquiao won’t concern himself with the scoring.
“I never complained about the judges,” Pacquiao said. “The official, that is his job. We are boxers, and our job is to fight in the ring. Whatever the decision, we have to respect that. Even the last fight with Bradley, you never heard from my mouth complaining, and that was a very one-sided fight.”
Part of Pacquiao’s legacy is defined by his series with Marquez, which helps explain why they are fighting for a fourth time. This is an opportunity for Pacquiao to show his superiority to Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs), silencing claims he should have lost the previous fights.
Marquez was so disappointed in the outcome last November, he told reporters after the fight he was retiring. Now, he’s anxious to get redemption — something Pacquiao hopes leads to some good exchanges in the ring.
“I want to give him a chance to see if he can prove something,” Pacquiao said. “If you are claiming you won the fight, the rematch is an opportunity to be aggressive and create action first.”
Pacquiao, especially with what happened in the decision against Bradley, hopes to put on a show with Marquez. That, of course, would require Marquez meeting him halfway, he said.
“We can change by going toe-to-toe and exchange punches,” Pacquiao said. “He needs to do this because he claims to have won the fight. He just backs off and backs off and waits for the punches of (his) opponent.”
Promoter says Manny Pacquiao could make more than $25 million from Saturday’s fight
By Kevin Iole
LAS VEGAS -- Manny Pacquiao will make in excess of $25 million for fighting Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden and could reach $30 million if the fight does a brisk business, Top Rank president Todd duBoef said.
Pacquiao's guarantee on the Nevada Athletic Commission contract is $8.595 million, executive director Keith Kizer said Wednesday. Marquez will earn a guarantee of $3 million. But pay-per-view boxers like Pacquiao and Marquez earn much more than their guarantees.
Pacquiao will get a large chunk from his upside on HBO Pay-Per-View sales, which are expected to exceed 1 million and could equal the 1.3 million sales he reached for his Nov. 12, 2011, bout with Marquez.
Adding in foreign television money, that will easily put Pacquiao over $25 million, duBoef said.
DuBoef said closed circuit locations that show the bout are up from the 2011 fight between them, continuing what he said was a trend in Pacquiao fights. He said that despite the controversial result in his June 9 loss to Timothy Bradley, interest in Pacquiao doesn't seem to have waned.
"We're getting more of the bars and restaurants, the chains, the Hooters, the Buffalo Wild Wings, places like that, buying the fight," duBoef said. "If [interest in Pacquiao is decreasing], I am not seeing it."
In a study of the highest-paid athletes from June 2011 through June 2012 done by Forbes, Pacquiao was second on the list with earnings of $62 million. According to Forbes, Pacquiao made $56 million in purses and $6 million in endorsements.
Rival boxer Floyd Mayweather was No. 1 on the list, with $85 million in earnings, all from purses. Golfer Tiger Woods was third with $59.4 million in earnings.
Pacquiao and Mayweather each had two fights in the time period that covers the Forbes' study. Pacquiao fought Marquez on Nov. 12, 2011, and met Bradley on June 9. Mayweather fought Victor Ortiz on Sept. 17, 2011, and Miguel Cotto on May 5, 2012.
A fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao still would be the richest fight in boxing. Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said he thinks it could do close to 3 million on pay-per-view.
Arum said fans are sick of the negotiations, but said if the fight were made, the interest would percolate again.
LAS VEGAS -- Manny Pacquiao will make in excess of $25 million for fighting Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden and could reach $30 million if the fight does a brisk business, Top Rank president Todd duBoef said.
Pacquiao's guarantee on the Nevada Athletic Commission contract is $8.595 million, executive director Keith Kizer said Wednesday. Marquez will earn a guarantee of $3 million. But pay-per-view boxers like Pacquiao and Marquez earn much more than their guarantees.
Pacquiao will get a large chunk from his upside on HBO Pay-Per-View sales, which are expected to exceed 1 million and could equal the 1.3 million sales he reached for his Nov. 12, 2011, bout with Marquez.
Adding in foreign television money, that will easily put Pacquiao over $25 million, duBoef said.
DuBoef said closed circuit locations that show the bout are up from the 2011 fight between them, continuing what he said was a trend in Pacquiao fights. He said that despite the controversial result in his June 9 loss to Timothy Bradley, interest in Pacquiao doesn't seem to have waned.
"We're getting more of the bars and restaurants, the chains, the Hooters, the Buffalo Wild Wings, places like that, buying the fight," duBoef said. "If [interest in Pacquiao is decreasing], I am not seeing it."
In a study of the highest-paid athletes from June 2011 through June 2012 done by Forbes, Pacquiao was second on the list with earnings of $62 million. According to Forbes, Pacquiao made $56 million in purses and $6 million in endorsements.
Rival boxer Floyd Mayweather was No. 1 on the list, with $85 million in earnings, all from purses. Golfer Tiger Woods was third with $59.4 million in earnings.
Pacquiao and Mayweather each had two fights in the time period that covers the Forbes' study. Pacquiao fought Marquez on Nov. 12, 2011, and met Bradley on June 9. Mayweather fought Victor Ortiz on Sept. 17, 2011, and Miguel Cotto on May 5, 2012.
A fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao still would be the richest fight in boxing. Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said he thinks it could do close to 3 million on pay-per-view.
Arum said fans are sick of the negotiations, but said if the fight were made, the interest would percolate again.
Boston Herald: Hope Pacs a punch
But Marquez won’t bite
By Ron BorgesThursday, December 6, 2012
LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao wants something he’s not going to get Saturday night. Even his Hall of Fame trainer, Freddie Roach, conceded that yesterday.
In preparing for his fourth and very likely final fight with his longtime nemesis, Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao said he intends to turn back the clock. He insists that despite turning 34 in a week he will fight likes he’s 24, returning to the hyper-aggressive style of his youth.
Perhaps he will, but after 60 prize fights and nobody knows how many thousands of rounds of sparring, few fighters reinvent themselves in that way. As unlikely as that seems however, Pacquiao is hoping for something even less likely.
“I want to fight him toe-to-toe,” Pacquiao said of the consummate counterpunching Marquez. “Either me or him. Both of us have two hands to use in the fight.
“He claims he won the (first three) fights, but he is always backing off, backing off. He claims he won, but he’s always waiting (for Pacquiao to throw and then counter him). You cannot say ‘I won’ but in the fight you are always backing off. It is contradictory. That’s his style, yes, but he needs to be aggressive and create the action.”
Fat chance.
Even Roach admits that if he were training Marquez he wouldn’t tell him to have an urge to merge. He would not advise him to attack, agreeing that at this stage of his career it is more than unlikely that the 39-year-old Marquez will abandon the style that has made him one of Mexico’s greatest fighters simply to please an annoyed Pacquiao.
“If we win another close decision it will be because we were the aggressor,” said Roach, who saw Pacquiao drop Marquez three times in the first round of their first fight and barely escape with a draw and then win a split-decision and a majority decision in fights many ringside observers and boxing lifers believe should have gone to Marquez.
“Defense doesn’t win fights,” Roach argued. “Offense wins fights. But I agree. People don’t change. That’s a very difficult thing to do. It’s (counterpunching) a smart way to fight Pacquiao, but you have to take the title. You can’t just have it given to you.
“In the second fight he had Manny cut and he had him on the ropes. Manny went there because he wanted to see if he had (guts) enough to finish him. He didn’t.
“If I was training him the one thing I’d say is if you hurt Manny you need to attack and finish him off, but he is what he is. If he wants to exchange more I think it’s in our favor.’’
That is why Marquez, for all his added muscle, will not satisfy Pacquiao’s fondest wish. He believes fervently he won the last two fights being who he is and many agree. The latest decision 13 months ago was boisterously booed by the crowd and it was difficult to find anyone outside of Manila who agreed with the decision going to a lackluster and often countered Pacquiao.
So why would Marquez change his style now? He has become one of the best fighters in the world as well as a man who will earn a minimum $6 million Saturday night because he is as adept a counterpuncher as there is in boxing.
That approach has baffled, boggled and beat upon Pacquiao for 34 of the 36 rounds they’ve fought (in the other two Marquez was knocked down a total of four times). By waiting for Pacquiao to throw and then countering him before he can escape, Marquez has controlled the tempo and angles of their fights most of the time, at times forcing Pacquaio to grow hesitant himself.
He will often lead with a sneaky right hand that is the bane of a southpaw like Pacquiao and has caught him with it repeatedly over those 36 rounds, driving him back time and again with counter shots and perfectly placed lead rights for which Pacquiao has had no answer.
Knowing that, the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world (behind Floyd Mayweather Jr.) has begun a final week of psychological warfare. Pacquiao’s hope is that somehow he can convince the consummate professional to act unprofessionally.
Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez set to fight again in Las Vegas
Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs) has won two of the three meetings. Marquez is hoping the outcome will be different this time. The first fight, in 2004, ended in a draw after Marquez fought back from three first-round knockdowns.
By Tim Smith/ NY Daily News
LAS VEGAS — Jake LaMotta always jokes that he fought Sugar Ray Robinson
so many times that the steady diet of “Sugar" gave him diabetes. The two
men fought six times and LaMotta won just once.
The two men will meet for the fourth time in eight years when they clash in a 12-round welterweight match Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on HBO.
There are no hidden secrets or surprise strategies that either man can spring on the other. Familiarity has sparked contempt on the part of Marquez, who said he doesn’t think that he can be friends with Pacquiao once they retire.
“If that’s how he feels... ” said Pacquiao, who harbors no ill feelings toward Marquez.
That might be because Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs) has won two of the three meetings. Marquez is hoping the outcome will be different this time. The first fight, in 2004, ended in a draw after Marquez fought back from three first-round knockdowns.
Then Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs) went on to lose a narrow split decision in 2008 and drop a majority decision last year.
“I know a lot of people think I won the other fights and I think I won those fights, but I want my hand raised in the ring,” Marquez said when asked what his motivation was for a fourth fight, other than money.
Promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank has been beating the drums for this fourth matchup, hoping that it can generate good PPV buys on a fight series that has been entertaining, but unsatisfying for Marquez and his loyal fans.
“There are people who say, ‘Who needs a fourth fight?’” Arum said. “I know that Marquez believes that he won the last two fights and he doesn’t want to leave it in the hands of the judges this time. Is it going to be as great as Hagler-Hearns? Maybe. But I think you’re going to see a different fight, a good fight, as good as the three that have gone before it.”
Arum is running out of viable opponents for the 33-year-old Pacquiao. There is little chance that we’ll ever see Pacquiao against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Pacquiao didn’t want to fight Timothy Bradley in a rematch. Bradley defeated Pacquiao in a very controversial split decision for the WBO welterweight title in June. He didn’t think that he could make as much money fighting Bradley again as he would fighting Marquez for a fourth time. After Marquez, the pickings are slim for a potential PPV foil for Pacquiao.
Marquez, 39, had even fewer options. After his last fight against Pacquiao, Marquez said he was angry and had vowed that he was never going to fight Pacquiao again. But after talking with his manager and his family, Marquez reconsidered and asked his promoter, Fernando Beltran, to contact Arum about making the fourth fight.
Marquez has assembled the same team he had before the last match to help him prepare for Pacquiao again, including Angel (Heredia) Hernandez, the controversial strength and conditioning trainer who was involved in the steroids scandal that sent track star Marion Jones to prison. Heredia supplied various track athletes with steroids and then ratted them out to federal prosecutors.
Hernandez and Marquez said they are doing everything above board in preparation to meet Pacquiao. Marquez has put on extra muscle in moving up from 140 to 147 pounds.
“Some of the guys who are into the sciences know what hard work and dedication in training will get you," Hernandez said.
Since the last time they met, Pacquiao has had his own bitter disappointment with the judges following a fight that he thought he won. He said he was not angry, and merely accepted the decision of the judges without complaint. However that experience has made him determined to keep it out of the judges’ hands this time around. Pacquiao wants a knockout this time.
“That would be the best (thing) if he gives me that chance and that opportunity," Pacquiao said.
Marquez does not see his series of fights with Pacquiao as a rich legacy in the history of boxing. But Pacquiao has a different view.
“It’s like Bob Arum was saying, when you think about Muhammad Ali, you think about (Joe) Frazier and when you think about Frazier you think about Muhammad Ali," Pacquiao said. “Now when you say Manny Pacquiao you think of Marquez and when you say Juan Manuel Marquez you think of Manny Pacquiao.”
Wall Street Journal: Back and Fourth They Go
By Gordon Marino
For much of boxing history, multiple meetings between contenders were common fare. Jake La Motta and Sugar Ray Robinson fought each other six times, enough for La Motta to crack, "I fought Sugar so often he almost gave me diabetes." Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez, Joey Giardello and Dick Tiger, Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott, among others, fought four times.
Today major fights are less frequent and the promotional lead-ins much longer, so fistic trilogies and tetralogies are very rare. Nonetheless, as HBO analyst Larry Merchant observed, "Sometimes too much of a good thing is a good thing."
Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, two of the best boxers of their generation, will exchange punches again Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. They've already had three grueling bouts. This will be their fourth.
The Pacquiao vs. Marquez saga has been a good thing both for boxing fans and the box office. According to Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank Promotions, the last battle between these two diminutive giants garnered 1.3 million pay-per-view buys.
In their 2004 fight, Marquez (54-6-1, 39 knockouts) visited the canvas three times in the first round but the ever-resilient "El Dinamita" regrouped and managed a draw. Pacquiao 54-4-2, 38 knockouts) eeked out controversial split decisions in their 2008, and 2011 meetings. Marquez vehemently insists, "I won all three fights."
Marquez's resolve to beat Pacquiao verges on an obsession. Recently, the Mexican icon emphasized that getting a win over his rival is "very, very important. I have this opportunity and the victory will be mine on Dec. 8 and I will be able to retire with a victory over Manny Pacquiao."
When they met in 2004 it was at 126 pounds, but this collision will be take place at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds. At bottom, the principals in this bout are Pacquiao's uniquely concussive left hand and Marquez's counter-right. At various times, Pacquiao has come close to turning Marquez's lights out with his bullet of a left. Neverthless, Marquez has always had more success than anyone in answering Pacquiao's power shot with own punishing straight right, which he sometimes manages to chase with a left hook or uppercut.
When pressed as to how he will avoid the counter right this Saturday, Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach responds, "By being aggressive and keeping Marquez backing up." Roach continued, "When we go back and look at the tape at what worked and what didn't, it is clear that Manny did his best when he was dictating the pace and keeping busy, using his speed."
Longtime pound-for-pound stalwart, Roy Jones Jr. concurs: "Manny has to attack, get Marquez to counter and then counter his counter." But with a sharp shooter like Marquez "aggressive and busy" are easier to talk about in press conferences than to execute in the squared circle.
For all the aggression that these two talk of conjouring, both are gun-shy of boxing judges. Pacquiao and his team were appalled by a split-decision loss to Timothy Bradley in June, in which Pacquiao landed more blows and did more damage despite looking noticeably slower. Moreover, there is a perception that the Pacman got a gift in his last fight with Marquez, so Freddie Roach is plain: "Manny needs a knockout to win this one."
True to Roach's prescription, Pacquiao is bringing the heavy leather in training. Roach said, "Manny has knocked his sparring partners down three or four times already. He hasn't done that since the Cotto camp." Ray Beltran, Pacquiao's sparring mate for almost a decade, remarked, "Manny always hits hard but this time around when we are sparring, he doesn't take any breaks. There is no laying on the ropes."
Convinced that he has been thrice robbed in his bouts with Pacquiao, Marquez believes that his victory would have to be decisive. He, no less than Pacquiao, is promising an uptake in fury. "I am going to be aggressive in this fight," said Marquez. "I won't go for the knockout right away, but if I get the opportunity for the knockout I will go for one."
For much of boxing history, multiple meetings between contenders were common fare. Jake La Motta and Sugar Ray Robinson fought each other six times, enough for La Motta to crack, "I fought Sugar so often he almost gave me diabetes." Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez, Joey Giardello and Dick Tiger, Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott, among others, fought four times.
Today major fights are less frequent and the promotional lead-ins much longer, so fistic trilogies and tetralogies are very rare. Nonetheless, as HBO analyst Larry Merchant observed, "Sometimes too much of a good thing is a good thing."
Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, two of the best boxers of their generation, will exchange punches again Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. They've already had three grueling bouts. This will be their fourth.
The Pacquiao vs. Marquez saga has been a good thing both for boxing fans and the box office. According to Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank Promotions, the last battle between these two diminutive giants garnered 1.3 million pay-per-view buys.
In their 2004 fight, Marquez (54-6-1, 39 knockouts) visited the canvas three times in the first round but the ever-resilient "El Dinamita" regrouped and managed a draw. Pacquiao 54-4-2, 38 knockouts) eeked out controversial split decisions in their 2008, and 2011 meetings. Marquez vehemently insists, "I won all three fights."
Marquez's resolve to beat Pacquiao verges on an obsession. Recently, the Mexican icon emphasized that getting a win over his rival is "very, very important. I have this opportunity and the victory will be mine on Dec. 8 and I will be able to retire with a victory over Manny Pacquiao."
When they met in 2004 it was at 126 pounds, but this collision will be take place at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds. At bottom, the principals in this bout are Pacquiao's uniquely concussive left hand and Marquez's counter-right. At various times, Pacquiao has come close to turning Marquez's lights out with his bullet of a left. Neverthless, Marquez has always had more success than anyone in answering Pacquiao's power shot with own punishing straight right, which he sometimes manages to chase with a left hook or uppercut.
When pressed as to how he will avoid the counter right this Saturday, Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach responds, "By being aggressive and keeping Marquez backing up." Roach continued, "When we go back and look at the tape at what worked and what didn't, it is clear that Manny did his best when he was dictating the pace and keeping busy, using his speed."
Longtime pound-for-pound stalwart, Roy Jones Jr. concurs: "Manny has to attack, get Marquez to counter and then counter his counter." But with a sharp shooter like Marquez "aggressive and busy" are easier to talk about in press conferences than to execute in the squared circle.
For all the aggression that these two talk of conjouring, both are gun-shy of boxing judges. Pacquiao and his team were appalled by a split-decision loss to Timothy Bradley in June, in which Pacquiao landed more blows and did more damage despite looking noticeably slower. Moreover, there is a perception that the Pacman got a gift in his last fight with Marquez, so Freddie Roach is plain: "Manny needs a knockout to win this one."
True to Roach's prescription, Pacquiao is bringing the heavy leather in training. Roach said, "Manny has knocked his sparring partners down three or four times already. He hasn't done that since the Cotto camp." Ray Beltran, Pacquiao's sparring mate for almost a decade, remarked, "Manny always hits hard but this time around when we are sparring, he doesn't take any breaks. There is no laying on the ropes."
Convinced that he has been thrice robbed in his bouts with Pacquiao, Marquez believes that his victory would have to be decisive. He, no less than Pacquiao, is promising an uptake in fury. "I am going to be aggressive in this fight," said Marquez. "I won't go for the knockout right away, but if I get the opportunity for the knockout I will go for one."
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
ESPN: What if Pacquiao had KO'd Marquez?
How might the fighters' storied rivalry, and their careers, have been different?
By Kieran Mulvaney | ESPN.com
LAS VEGAS -- If Saturday night's main event at the MGM Grand lasts the distance, Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will have swapped punches for 48 rounds. And if the final 12 are anything like the first 36, they are likely to be closely fought and to culminate in a close and controversial decision.
It has been the defining rivalry of both men's careers, and yet, by the end of the first round of their first contest in May 2004, it seemed unlikely that it would last another three minutes, let alone extend into three more fights. Pacquiao, fresh off overwhelming Marco Antonio Barrera, tore into Marquez, dropping him three times in the opening frame and leaving at least one observer convinced that the evening's work was done.
"After the first knockdown I thought it was over, after the second one I thought it was over, and after the third one I definitely thought it was over," said Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach. "It didn't come true of course. Marquez showed he was very resilient. He's a very tough guy. He got up from three knockdowns, and the third one was a hard shot."
Importantly, however, the third man in the ring wasn't ready to go home just yet.
"I was looking at [Marquez] close," said Joe Cortez, who was the referee that night. "He was begging me, 'Please don't stop it,' and of course I took that into consideration and I let it continue. Given that it was two flash knockdowns and his eyes looked pretty good to me, I let it go."
But what if Cortez had stopped it? Or what if there had been a three-knockdown rule that mandated he do so? What would have happened then? How might the career paths of both boxers have been different?
For Pacquiao, it's possible that little would have changed. Perhaps he might have defended the 126-pound title he would have taken from Marquez before going on to do what he did anyway -- stepping up to 130 pounds to take on Erik Morales.
The loss in that bout with Morales forced Roach to double down on turning the southpaw Pacquiao into less of a left-hand-happy brawler -- it's stunning to watch the first Marquez fight anew and see how unvaried the Filipino's arsenal was, especially in comparison to his later peak years -- and into a more complete fighter. That led to Pacquiao defeating Morales in a rematch and crushing him in their third contest, and created a springboard from which he launched himself through multiple weight divisions, annihilating Hall of Fame-caliber opponents along the way.
All of that probably would have been as likely to happen if his fight with Marquez had been called after three knockdowns.
The big question is how different things might have been for Marquez. After all, even after his comeback and the disputed draw in the first Pacquiao bout, almost another four years passed before the fighters met again.
"He complains a lot about why we waited so long for the second fight," Roach said, "but he's the one who turned down $750,000 and chose to go to Indonesia and get beat."
After the Pacquiao fight, Marquez made two defenses of his featherweight title, one at the MGM and one at the Mandalay Bay. Needless to say, had he lost that title in a one-round blowout, he probably wouldn't have been making back-to-back appearances on Las Vegas Boulevard in his subsequent outings.
Would he have worked his way back into contention? Would he still have traveled to Indonesia to face Chris John, as he did in March 2006? If so, and if he had lost a points decision in that alternate universe much the same way he did in this reality, what then? It's hard to imagine that a fighter as talented as Marquez wouldn't have resurfaced at some point, but with a one-round stoppage to Pacquiao and a defeat to John in close proximity, would he have been given the same opportunities to defeat Barrera or win epic battles against Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis? Would the call ever have arrived to face Floyd Mayweather Jr.?
And how much demand would there have been to face Pacquiao again?
"If we didn't have an experienced referee in the first fight," Roach said, "there would have never been a second fight."
But there was an experienced referee on hand, and there was no three-knockdown rule. And so Marquez survived the first round, and the second. Then he turned the tide and completed the first episode of a saga that will reach its fourth, and presumably ultimate, installment Saturday.
"Little did I know that it would turn out to be a helluva fight and I made the right move," said Cortez of his decision to allow the first fight to continue. "It was probably one of the best moves I made in my career."
Yahoo Sports: Manny Pacquiao's rise to stardom made possible by longtime trainer, confidant Freddie Roach
By Kevin Iole
LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao was hardly a helpless waif in 2005, but neither was he the superstar boxer, influential politician and global icon that he would become.
It'd take a special relationship with a special trainer for Pacquiao to ascend to the level he's at today.
He fights Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday in a pay-per-view bout at the MGM Grand Garden that, once again, is expected to sell in excess of a million units and should ultimately earn him more than $25 million.
Pacquiao's status now is unquestioned, but in 2005, he was just an above average boxer coming off a loss to Erik Morales. And losing was the least of his worries.
He owed millions to the Internal Revenue Service – the result, he said, of an illegal scheme between his managers at the time and his promoter. The fact is, he was earning far less than he was worth under an oppressive promotional agreement that made it unlikely he ever would become a major attraction.
At the urging of his managers, Shelly Finkel, Nick Khan and Keith Davidson, Pacquiao filed a lawsuit against his promoter, Murad Muhammad, and Muhammad's company, M&M Sports, alleging significant violations in the Muhammad Ali Act.
His career literally hinged on the outcome of the case. If he got free of Muhammad, he would be able to sign with a promoter who could help him generate the kind of money he'd need, not only to pay his massive tax debt but also to set his family up financially for life.
Pacquiao's trial attorney, Judd Burstein, told him he had a very strong case but that there are no sure things.
"Going through a trial is a very intense experience," Burstein said. "It's warfare. It really is."
Pacquiao had to be prepared to go to war in a country that was not his own and in a language in which he was not fluent. He had been betrayed by people he had trusted and didn't know whom he could believe or count upon.
One of the perks for a main event fighter in a Las Vegas match is a large suite. Pacquiao, though, didn't benefit from that. Muhammad took the massive multi-room suite for himself without telling Pacquiao it was his. He put Pacquiao into a small hotel room that was quickly overrun with dozens of friends, family and acquaintances who stayed with him.
Pacquiao's future in the spring of 2005 depended largely on his trainer, Freddie Roach. It was Roach who recognized Pacquiao's brilliance on a January day in 2001 that Pacquiao, on a lark, walked into Roach's Wild Card Gym while on vacation in Hollywood, Calif., in search of a workout.
Roach's wizardry helped turn Pacquiao from a physically talented but flawed boxer into a ferocious fighting machine, though he was far from a finished product after the loss to Morales.
Pacquiao and Roach were friendly at the time, but truth be told, Pacquiao wasn't sure who his friends were.
"Manny had been burned so badly by so many people," said Khan, who served briefly as Pacquiao's co-manager and is now Roach's agent. "He didn't understand the business and he didn't speak much English. He'd developed a relationship with Freddie and he started to feel like Freddie was the one guy he could trust."
Burstein said as he was preparing for trial, he "had a sense that Manny felt naked in America. I didn't know them before that point, but I got the sense at that point that here at least, Freddie was the center of Manny's universe."
Roach saw what he felt were abuses happening. He knew that television networks were paying Muhammad large sums of money to secure Pacquiao's services, but that Muhammad was paying Pacquiao only a small amount of it. The Ali Act requires promoters to disclose all revenue streams to the fighter, but Pacquiao wasn't getting it.
Roach brought it to the attention of Khan.
"At the time, I was concerned for Manny personally, not as a fighter, and so I decided to tell Nick Khan, even though some people thought I overstepped my bounds by doing that," Roach said. "My job was to train him to fight and not be involved in his business. But I just couldn't stand by and not say anything when I knew something bad was happening."
After Pacquiao's one-sided upset victory over Marco Antonio Barrera on Nov. 15, 2003, he asked Roach for advice. He had been in the U.S. for just shy of three years, but was beginning to get the sense that things weren't right in his dealings with Muhammad and business manager Rod Nazario so he decided to take them to court.
Much of Pacquiao's success at trial would depend upon Roach. He was the boxing expert who would have to convince the jury that Muhammad's treatment of Pacquiao was not typical.
Roach hit a home run with his testimony. The jury fell in love with him and the only question after Roach got off the stand seemed to be how much Pacquiao would win.
Marianna Morano-Amato was Juror No. 4. She has since become friends with Roach and Pacquiao and has flown to several of Pacquiao's fights as the fighter's guest. At the time, she knew nothing of boxing, but was taken by Roach and the special relationship she sensed between Roach and Pacquiao.
"Manny was sitting there at the table and he was just this very humble, very quiet, very sweet guy," she said. "Watching the trial unfold, this guy Murad Muhammad was really a creep. As the days went on and the trial progressed, there was no doubt in anybody's mind, especially mine, that Manny was being taken advantage of.
"As Freddie Roach got on the stand and I began to learn about him, the first thing that was obvious was the tremendous loyalty he felt toward Manny. It was so clear how much he cared about Manny and he wanted to guide him. It was obvious that he wanted what was best for Manny, whereas Murad Muhammad was this creep and a liar who took advantage of him."
Muhammad settled the case with Pacquiao as the jury was deliberating and has not been involved in boxing since. He was unable to be reached for comment.
In a strange way, though, Muhammad's actions helped Pacquiao in that they tightened the bond between Pacquiao and Roach. That led to Pacquiao signing with Top Rank and embarking on a career that would earn him well more than $100 million.
Roach was the unquestioned boss in those early years. He guided Pacquiao to a 7-1-2 record in the 10 fights from the time they began working together until the Morales fight just before the trial.
It was obvious Pacquiao was going to be a star if he was promoted the right way, which is why Golden Boy and Top Rank got into a heated battle for his services that led to them suing each other.
Not so obvious, though, was how good Pacquiao would actually become. Pacquiao and Roach worked together feverishly to improve, with no detail too minute to fix. By early 2008, Roach was convinced Pacquiao was as good as any fighter in the world.
"He worked so hard and he wanted so badly to be good," Roach said. "He was a great, great student. As a coach, you dream of getting guys with his talent who are willing to do whatever it takes to win."
Prior to Roach, Pacquiao was extraordinarily fast and had a deadly left hand, but he had poor balance, no right hand and was vulnerable to good boxers.
As Roach remade him, those flaws went away. All the time they spent together working on his boxing game and fighting for Pacquiao's promotional freedom brought them extraordinarily close.
At one time, the relationship was more like a father and son. Now, Pacquiao says it's evolved to more like they're brothers.
"Freddie had absolute power in those early days together with Manny," Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. "As the years wore on, it became more of a two-way street. Manny matured as a person and became more worldly and he wasn't afraid to share his own ideas."
During the trial, the tension was overwhelming. Looking for something to do to relax, Pacquiao, Roach and Khan came up with a scheme. They decided to see who could have the smallest hotel bill.
To win, that meant no charging food or drinks to the room and no raiding of the in-room refrigerator.
"I said, 'Well, that's easy, I'll win hands down, because I don't drink,' " Roach said. "And I didn't charge anything, so I knew I had won."
But when he checked out, his bill was far higher than he expected. Not only did Roach not have the smallest bill, he had the largest.
It turns out, Pacquiao had charged things to Roach's room: Dinners, drinks, services.
"They all thought it was so funny that they got me," Roach said.
Their relationship will go down as one of the best trainer-fighter combinations in the sport's history. Arum compared it to the bond between Angelo Dundee and Muhammad Ali, as well as between the Petronelli brothers and Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
Morano-Amato said she's seen the humility of both men up close and thinks that ultimately, it's the reason why they are so close and have been so successful.
"After his last Morales fight, it was a very rough fight you might remember, and Manny asked for me to come to his suite," she said. "He wanted to thank my husband [Gerald] and I for coming to the fight and being supportive. What boxer does that? My first impression of him was of a sweet, humble guy, but the funny thing is, that's the guy he is in real life.
"And that's exactly how Freddie is, too. Neither of them wants anything from the other, but they care for each other so much. I'm not surprised they do well together because it's like they're on the same track all the time."
ESPN: Roach: Expect no Pacquiao-Marquez V
By Kieran Mulvaney | ESPN.com
LAS VEGAS -- Not everybody is completely enamored with the idea of Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez meeting in the ring for a fourth time. Among them, it seems, is Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach.
"I thought Manny won all three fights. I don't need a fourth fight to convince me," he told ESPN.com recently. "But after the last fight, where we got booed so loudly, I think he deserves the rematch and that's why we're here right now."
The reception that greeted Pacquiao's majority decision win last year clearly rankles. Roach mentioned it again Tuesday while talking to a small group of writers at the MGM Grand.
"I thought Manny won the fight," he said. "But the booing was very loud and very vocal. Someone said, 'Why aren't you smiling? You won the fight.' And I said, 'It's very hard to smile when you're being booed that bad.'"
Whatever the outcome may be Saturday night, don't expect a fifth installment of this rivalry.
"It's the last time," Roach said. "We're going to knock him out, end of story."
On that, at least, he and his fighter's opponent agree.
"This is the last fight with Manny," Marquez said Tuesday. "I don't know what will happen in the ring, but this is the last time."
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
LA Times: Manny Pacquiao is a man of the people
By Lance Pugmire
He is surrounded most of the time by admirers and hangers-on, but Pacquiao says he has avoided distractions while training for Saturday's fight against Juan Manuel Marquez.
The crowd walked down the concrete steps of Hollywood's Wild Card Boxing Club in front of, and behind, Manny Pacquiao
.
More, dressed in emerald green and royal blue sweatsuits emblazoned
with the "MP" logo, waited below in the parking lot, some holding a
table for the star at a cozy Thai restaurant.
Others had already eaten, ready to drive and pack into a large bus,
vans and sedans — 30 vehicles in all —- that transported the
world-famous boxer and his entourage of about 150 people across the
Mojave Desert on Monday to Las Vegas for his fourth fight against Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday at the MGM Grand.
"They're not all with us every day," Pacquiao advisor Michael Koncz said. "But they have a way of all showing up fight week.
This exit scene defines Pacquiao, the brilliant fighter navigating
the fray of being constantly surrounded by hangers-on — some who earn
their keep by tending to his chores like laundry, cooking and driving,
and others whose roles are dubious.
"I know there's a lot of people who want to be close to me," Pacquiao
said. "That's a part of being famous. I like having a lot of people
around me. If you don't like that, don't be famous."
With so many tugging on Pacquiao, however, tumult is typically the order of the day.
A few weeks ago, Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach, who doesn't
believe in a higher power, learned one of the four pastors trying to
attach himself to Pacquiao had preached to the boxing great and his
friends until 2 a.m. before a training day. There was hell to pay from
Roach, an unfiltered scolding of the man of God who kept Pacquiao up
late.
One sparring session was delayed because Pacquiao's wife, Jinkee,
brought a group of about 20 friends who each wanted to exchange
pleasantries and take cellphone pictures.
Yet, Pacquiao's willingness to listen to almost anyone within earshot
is one reason why he is so popular with millions of Filipinos and fight
fans. At a Monday photo op at the gym, U.S. Rep.-elect Tulsi Gabbard
(D-Hawaii) said Pacquiao's genuine interest in his fellow man "puts
Manny above the rest."
Pacquiao, 32, said he acts this way because, "I know the life of
nothing. I know what those who ask me for money are feeling. Boxing is
my passion. Public service is my calling."
Still, many close to Pacquiao have urged him to step away from those looking for handouts.
"He lets people hang around because it's in his blood to help —
spiritually, financially," Koncz said. "But I think he's gotten real
good at knowing the [phonies]. The traffic around here is much less than
what it was."
Pacquiao said he has learned it's not wise to simply hand out money,
as he has done outside his home in the Philippines and to the flocks who
wait for him in the Wild Card parking lot, steps away from a liquor
store. It's why he created what he calls a "sustainable livelihood"
program in his Filipino congressional district to lead those in need to
education and jobs.
Pacquiao also made some changes in training camp. He installed a set
of rules for his entourage — "No drinking, no women" —- after
philandering threatened to end his marriage before his last fight
against Marquez in November 2011. Anyone who disobeys is booted by a
Pacquiao subordinate.
Pacquiao and his wife credit a Christian pastor for saving their
marriage. Although the boxer's friends say that pastor is kept at arm's
length after asking for 44 tickets, and multiple hotel rooms, for
Pacquiao's fight against Tim Bradley in June, a split-decision win for
Bradley.
While that pastor languishes, Father Marlon Beof, a Catholic priest
from Oxnard who has delivered more than a dozen of Pacquiao's pre- and
post-fight Masses, said he has been invited to preside over the services
again this weekend in Las Vegas.
"St. Augustine had a restless heart too," Beof said. "But he
ultimately found the truth in the religion he belonged. I see that in
Manny. That's my hope."
Pacquiao's increased independence also applies to his training. He
didn't follow all the advice from his conditioning coach, Alex Ariza,
even as Marquez bulked up in his training.
Pacquiao, who has two close decision wins and a draw in his fights
with Marquez, devoted more time to training inside the ring, rather than
beefing up with strengthening exercises.
Meanwhile, Roach said the judges Saturday will favor Marquez after
three close fights. So Roach thinks it's crucial that Pacquiao scores a
knockout, or at least floors Marquez in the non-title bout.
Despite all the extracurricular activity, "We've had the best camp in
three years," Roach said. "Manny's knocked four guys down in sparring.
He's well-rested, ready to go after this guy."
In his final Hollywood sparring session, Pacquiao threw punches in
flurries and dazed his sparring partner. As the bell rang, the crowd
erupted in applause, and he smiled at the throng.
"Just a little sample of what's coming," Pacquiao said. "If I have a chance to finish him, why not?"
One of Pacquiao's friends said that no one can compartmentalize life better than this guy.
"This camp has been really good," Pacquiao said to assembled reporters. "No distractions."
ESPN: In Their Words: Pacquiao-Marquez IV
Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez preview their fourth meeting on Dec. 8
After three fights as critically acclaimed and hotly contested as the first three between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez were, the idea of a fourth bout almost needs no introduction or marketing strategy as fans of this rivalry have certainly received their money's worth and know what to expect.
But if there is one thing lacking in this series between two future Hall of Fame fighters, it has been any form of closure after three of the most debated decisions in the history of the sport. The two fighters are so evenly matched and have performed on such an even plane that despite Marquez's owning a record of 0-2-1 against Pacquiao, there are some who believe the 39-year-old Marquez easily could have been awarded victories in all three bouts.
The series between Pacquiao and Marquez will long be remembered for far more than simply controversial decisions on the scorecards, especially considering the first three bouts -- all title fights -- were contested at three different weight classes over a seven-year period throughout different chapters of their respective careers.
ESPN.com recently enlisted HBO to gather the fighters' thoughts ahead of fight No. 4, set for Dec. 8 (HBO PPV, 9 p.m. ET) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. In this segment, Pacquiao and Marquez discuss their controversial third meeting.
Juan Manuel Marquez
There is something special about fighting the same opponent four times. It tells me that the first three fights have been good and competitive enough to merit one more fight, and when it is against an elite opponent such as Manny Pacquiao, then it's even more special and more meaningful.
Over the last eight years, Pacquiao and I have fought three times and all the fights have gone the distance. And while people say Pacquiao has knocked me down four times over those 36 rounds, they should say three were in the first round of our first fight, and that he has only scored one knockdown in the next 35 rounds, and none in the last 20 rounds while winning at least 26 of the 36 rounds we have fought over those three fights.
So the question for this fourth fight is: "Do I need to knockout Pacquiao to get the win?"
Well, I will certainly try. I also know that while knocking out a fighter like Pacquiao won't be easy, it's not impossible either.
I know that I have to be intelligent, fast and strong to beat him. But as we have seen in the first three fights, it is not just up to me to win the fights. It is up to three judges who score the fights. There is no doubt in my mind that I won all three previous fights with my skills and smarts in the ring, but the judges have denied me that victory.
There is not much I can do about the judges. I don't pick them and I sure don't know them. I know most have never trained for three months for a fight, and most have never gotten in a ring for 12 rounds with the best fighter in the world, and most have no idea what sacrifices we must make to get in the ring and put on the best fight that we can.
I feel that most people believe that I won our last fight very clearly, but the judges did not see it that way. And by the way, I am not only talking about the judges in my fights. Look at what happened to Pacquiao against Timothy Bradley. I was ringside for that fight and I felt that Pacquiao won it, but the judges took it away from him and that also is not right.
I just want the judges to score the fight in the ring and not what they think is happening in the ring. I don't care about the three previous fights and how they were scored anymore. All I ask is for a fair judgment, and if I lose, I lose. But if I win, I want my hand raised that night in the ring.
Pacquiao continues to be the best in the world and to finally get a win over him will make me very happy. But don't judge my career by these four fights. Take a look at all my 61 fights and then decide where I belong in the history of boxing.
Manny Pacquiao
If you would have told me in 2004 that I would be fighting Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012 -- and for the fourth time -- well, I would not have believed it.
But here we are and for a good reason: Our previous three fights have been great -- great for us and great for our fans.
Unlike my three fights against Erik Morales, which were fought closer together and at the same weight, Juan Manuel and I have battled each other at three different weight classes and always at important points in our careers. There is a certain feeling of destiny in our rivalry. It was meant to be that we fight each other four times.
All of my fights with Marquez are important. He is a legend. Perhaps the best fighter Mexico has ever produced next to Julio Cesar Chavez. But Marquez does not define my career. My career is defined by many significant victories. World titles in eight different weight divisions and knockouts of Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Ricky Hatton mean as much to my career as my victories over Marquez.
Champions are competitors first and foremost. They want to win. They need to win. I have put everything into this training camp. I know I haven't fought perfect fights against Marquez in the past and my incentive in this one is to fight the fight I should fight this time. If I do that I will not only win again but put away all doubts in the minds of the fans and Marquez on who is the better fighter. I want everyone to know the old Manny Pacquiao is still alive in the ring. Speed and aggression will be my main weapons and if the knockout presents itself to me, I will go for it as many times as it takes.
What does this fourth fight with Marquez mean to me? It means the chance to author the final chapter of a marvelous story and to look forward to writing a new chapter in my ring life.
After three fights as critically acclaimed and hotly contested as the first three between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez were, the idea of a fourth bout almost needs no introduction or marketing strategy as fans of this rivalry have certainly received their money's worth and know what to expect.
But if there is one thing lacking in this series between two future Hall of Fame fighters, it has been any form of closure after three of the most debated decisions in the history of the sport. The two fighters are so evenly matched and have performed on such an even plane that despite Marquez's owning a record of 0-2-1 against Pacquiao, there are some who believe the 39-year-old Marquez easily could have been awarded victories in all three bouts.
The series between Pacquiao and Marquez will long be remembered for far more than simply controversial decisions on the scorecards, especially considering the first three bouts -- all title fights -- were contested at three different weight classes over a seven-year period throughout different chapters of their respective careers.
ESPN.com recently enlisted HBO to gather the fighters' thoughts ahead of fight No. 4, set for Dec. 8 (HBO PPV, 9 p.m. ET) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. In this segment, Pacquiao and Marquez discuss their controversial third meeting.
Juan Manuel Marquez
There is something special about fighting the same opponent four times. It tells me that the first three fights have been good and competitive enough to merit one more fight, and when it is against an elite opponent such as Manny Pacquiao, then it's even more special and more meaningful.
Over the last eight years, Pacquiao and I have fought three times and all the fights have gone the distance. And while people say Pacquiao has knocked me down four times over those 36 rounds, they should say three were in the first round of our first fight, and that he has only scored one knockdown in the next 35 rounds, and none in the last 20 rounds while winning at least 26 of the 36 rounds we have fought over those three fights.
So the question for this fourth fight is: "Do I need to knockout Pacquiao to get the win?"
Well, I will certainly try. I also know that while knocking out a fighter like Pacquiao won't be easy, it's not impossible either.
I know that I have to be intelligent, fast and strong to beat him. But as we have seen in the first three fights, it is not just up to me to win the fights. It is up to three judges who score the fights. There is no doubt in my mind that I won all three previous fights with my skills and smarts in the ring, but the judges have denied me that victory.
There is not much I can do about the judges. I don't pick them and I sure don't know them. I know most have never trained for three months for a fight, and most have never gotten in a ring for 12 rounds with the best fighter in the world, and most have no idea what sacrifices we must make to get in the ring and put on the best fight that we can.
I feel that most people believe that I won our last fight very clearly, but the judges did not see it that way. And by the way, I am not only talking about the judges in my fights. Look at what happened to Pacquiao against Timothy Bradley. I was ringside for that fight and I felt that Pacquiao won it, but the judges took it away from him and that also is not right.
I just want the judges to score the fight in the ring and not what they think is happening in the ring. I don't care about the three previous fights and how they were scored anymore. All I ask is for a fair judgment, and if I lose, I lose. But if I win, I want my hand raised that night in the ring.
Pacquiao continues to be the best in the world and to finally get a win over him will make me very happy. But don't judge my career by these four fights. Take a look at all my 61 fights and then decide where I belong in the history of boxing.
Manny Pacquiao
If you would have told me in 2004 that I would be fighting Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012 -- and for the fourth time -- well, I would not have believed it.
But here we are and for a good reason: Our previous three fights have been great -- great for us and great for our fans.
Unlike my three fights against Erik Morales, which were fought closer together and at the same weight, Juan Manuel and I have battled each other at three different weight classes and always at important points in our careers. There is a certain feeling of destiny in our rivalry. It was meant to be that we fight each other four times.
All of my fights with Marquez are important. He is a legend. Perhaps the best fighter Mexico has ever produced next to Julio Cesar Chavez. But Marquez does not define my career. My career is defined by many significant victories. World titles in eight different weight divisions and knockouts of Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Ricky Hatton mean as much to my career as my victories over Marquez.
Champions are competitors first and foremost. They want to win. They need to win. I have put everything into this training camp. I know I haven't fought perfect fights against Marquez in the past and my incentive in this one is to fight the fight I should fight this time. If I do that I will not only win again but put away all doubts in the minds of the fans and Marquez on who is the better fighter. I want everyone to know the old Manny Pacquiao is still alive in the ring. Speed and aggression will be my main weapons and if the knockout presents itself to me, I will go for it as many times as it takes.
What does this fourth fight with Marquez mean to me? It means the chance to author the final chapter of a marvelous story and to look forward to writing a new chapter in my ring life.
USA Today: Manny Pacquiao fights doubt amid talk of slippage
LAS VEGAS — The murmurs, the whispers and the shrugs from his mystified fans continue unabated: What's up with Manny Pacquiao these days?
With diminished ring performances in recent fights, is the little fellow who used to be considered the preeminent pound-for-pound boxer in the world suddenly backsliding toward eventual irrelevancy?
Self-doubt shares a stool in the corner with the 33-year-old Filipino fighter. For three grueling decades he's fought professionally after emerging from the slums of Manila to become an international superstar.
"He asked me and I told him he's not (nearing the end),'' trainer Freddie Roach told USA TODAY Sports. "The thing is, you have to prove you're not.''
Roach has devised an elementary blueprint for victory Saturday night when Pacquiao fights Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico in a rare-for-the-modern-era fourth confrontation. The Hall of Fame trainer wants the welterweight, who narrowly has claimed two disputed decisions and a draw against Marquez, to engage the sneaky counterpuncher and let his fists fly like the old days.
Pacquiao's last five fights have gone the distance; his last stoppage was Miguel Cotto (TKO 12) in 2009.
Leading to Saturday's bout (HBO pay-per-view, 9 p.m. ET), Roach said he told Pacquiao: "Let's face it: If you don't go out there and knock this guy out, you're not going to win (another decision).''
Among the theories for Pacquiao's perceived slippage:
Weight and see: Exceptional fighters who move up several divisions often hold their own. Eventually, wear and tear on the body and naturally larger opponents take a toll. They are competitive but no longer as dominant.
Pacquiao, a former eight-division champion, has packed on as much as 48 pounds since he turned pro as a 106-pound light-flyweight in 1995.
In recent bouts, Pacquiao claims he has suffered cramping in his legs. Roach told USA TODAY he believes the problem is located in his fighter's head, calling it a "mental issue.''
Nevertheless, in recent fights Pacquiao has fought complacently and flat-footed, failing to vary his rhythm and pace from round to round. "Your legs will go in boxing,'' Roach said. "My legs were gone at 26.''
No trepidation: As he was ascending the weight ladder, and preparing to take on elite foes, Pacquiao engaged in ultra-demanding conditioning programs that emphasized plyometrics (speed and repetition) and isometrics (static stretching).
That' s when he hired strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, who devised a far more strenuous workout regimen to build his power.
"When there's a fear factor, it's very easy to get up for an opponent,'' Ariza said. "(Oscar) De La Hoya was bigger and stronger. (Ricky) Hatton was a strong, aggressive puncher. (Miguel) Cotto was at his best (then). (The lack of fear) is where we lost it.''
Pacquiao defeated all three. He hasn't looked the same since.
Distractions: As a fighter, politician, singer, philanthropist, endorser and television personality, Pacquiao "has more on his plate any anyone I've ever seen,'' Roach said.
Distractions often overwhelm the finest of fighters. Eventually, many stop approaching their craft as a full-time vocation. A mega-star, such as Pacquiao, confronts an even greater challenge to remain dedicated. "It's all about time management,'' he said.
The Filipino congressman abandoned his foray into singing, sold his nightclub, halted a cockfighting business and eliminated his once-voracious appetite for gambling, particularly baccarat. "I remember wiring a casino in Australia $500,000 to cover a gambling (debt),'' said Bob Arum, his promoter.
Pacquiao says he now reads the Bible daily. "Some of his vices did catch up with him,'' Roach said. "But champions are a (special) breed.
"Sometimes I think giving up all the bad things was bad for him. Sometimes I want to say, 'Manny, go back to your old ways.'
But his wife would be mad at me.''
Sports Illustrated: Marquez, Hernandez deny steroid accusations made by Roach
By Chris Mannix
LAS VEGAS — Last week, Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach made news when he suggested Juan Manuel Marquez, who will face Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night, was using performance-enhancing substances. Roach told USA Today, “”If (his body) is natural, I will kiss his a–.”
Part of Roach’s suspicion involves Marquez’s association with Angel Hernandez, an admitted steroids peddler who has supplied performance-enhancing substances to Olympic athletes, including Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery. Hernandez — then known as Angel Heredia — later became a witness for the prosecution against athletes.
On Tuesday, both Marquez and Hernandez denied using anything illegal.
“You can say anything you want, but [if] you don’t have any proof, it means nothing,” Marquez said. “I told them I am willing to take any exam they want. Let’s go together, we’ll do it together.”
“Before the last camp, there were accusations about [Pacquiao], people saying things, and we didn’t care. We never brought it up. For this fight, all of a sudden they are attacking me. I say we do [a blood test] now.”
Marquez says working with Hernandez has “changed everything.”
“I have had a 20-year career,” Marquez said. “I did it the same for 18 years. Now, I’ve changed everything.”
“Weight training has changed a lot,” Hernandez said. “It’s evolved. In the past, you did not see strength and conditioning coaches around a boxer. There is nothing illegal. We do our jobs.”
Last week, Hernandez said he met with federal authorities, including noted investigator Jeff Novitzky, and asked them to look into Roach’s comments. He also said he planned to file a lawsuit against Roach, though that seems unlikely.
Hernandez said after this fight any fighter he works with will be required to submit to year-round blood and urine testing in line with the policies of the World Anti Doping Agency.
“I’d be happy to do it,” Marquez. “As long as the guy I’m fighting does the same thing. If there is going to be a level field, it has to be level for everyone.”
LAS VEGAS — Last week, Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach made news when he suggested Juan Manuel Marquez, who will face Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night, was using performance-enhancing substances. Roach told USA Today, “”If (his body) is natural, I will kiss his a–.”
Part of Roach’s suspicion involves Marquez’s association with Angel Hernandez, an admitted steroids peddler who has supplied performance-enhancing substances to Olympic athletes, including Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery. Hernandez — then known as Angel Heredia — later became a witness for the prosecution against athletes.
On Tuesday, both Marquez and Hernandez denied using anything illegal.
“You can say anything you want, but [if] you don’t have any proof, it means nothing,” Marquez said. “I told them I am willing to take any exam they want. Let’s go together, we’ll do it together.”
“Before the last camp, there were accusations about [Pacquiao], people saying things, and we didn’t care. We never brought it up. For this fight, all of a sudden they are attacking me. I say we do [a blood test] now.”
Marquez says working with Hernandez has “changed everything.”
“I have had a 20-year career,” Marquez said. “I did it the same for 18 years. Now, I’ve changed everything.”
“Weight training has changed a lot,” Hernandez said. “It’s evolved. In the past, you did not see strength and conditioning coaches around a boxer. There is nothing illegal. We do our jobs.”
Last week, Hernandez said he met with federal authorities, including noted investigator Jeff Novitzky, and asked them to look into Roach’s comments. He also said he planned to file a lawsuit against Roach, though that seems unlikely.
Hernandez said after this fight any fighter he works with will be required to submit to year-round blood and urine testing in line with the policies of the World Anti Doping Agency.
“I’d be happy to do it,” Marquez. “As long as the guy I’m fighting does the same thing. If there is going to be a level field, it has to be level for everyone.”
Fourth time's a charm: Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez have little to hide in rematch
By Kevin Iole
Yahoo! Sports
LAS VEGAS – Nobody better understands the problem Manny Pacquiao will
face on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden when he meets Juan Manuel
Marquez for a fourth time than "Jesse" James Leija.
Leija, the former super featherweight champion, faced Hall of Famer
Azumah Nelson four times over a nearly five-year period, winning a
unanimous decision in their last bout in 1998 to win the series 2-1-1.As Leija went through his preparations for that fight, he was flummoxed at times. Leija understood he needed to change tactics, because after having been in the ring with the man known in boxing circles as "The Professor," for 30 rounds at that point, Nelson knew Leija extensively.
Leija, too, knew pretty much what Nelson was going to do by the way Nelson positioned his hands, by the steps Nelson would take in the ring, by the feints he would use. It became, in essence, a stalemate.
"Some people have this perception that it's easier when you've fought the same guy over and over, but they're wrong," Leija said. "It's more difficult; way more difficult. I knew what he had and what he liked to do, but he knew what I had and what I liked to do.
"You take Pacquiao and Marquez, these guys are the best fighters in the world. If you're Manny, say, and you want to finally get that decisive victory he's been looking for, what can he do differently that Marquez hasn't seen before?"
Pacquiao and Marquez will become the 13th pair of boxers to have fought each other four or more times in their Saturday HBO Pay-Per-View bout. In the last 40 years, it has only happened three other times.
Bobby Chacon and Rafael "Bazooka" Limon fought four times between 1972-85. Nelson and Leija met four times between 1993-98. Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez, Juan Manuel's younger brother, met four times between 2007-10.
The Vazquez-Rafael Marquez rivalry was compressed into a very short time frame. They first met on March 3, 2007, in Carson, Calif. Their third bout was less than a year later, also in Carson on March 1, 2008.
All three were physical, brutal affairs which sapped a significant amount from each man. Having to fight three hard fights in such close proximity took its toll.
"I knew him so well and he knew me, because we didn't have a lot of time [between the first three fights]," Vazquez said. "By the time we got to the third fight, it was all about who was in the best condition and who wanted it the most."
Their fourth fight was 22 months after their third. From start to finish, they had 1,177 days in their rivalry. The Nelson-Leija series was contested over a four-year, 10-month span that was 1,776 days. But on Saturday, it will have been eight years, seven months and 3,137 days since the first time Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez faced each other.
The fights were remarkably close and compelling, with Pacquiao usually on the attack and Marquez countering him expertly.
Leija said Marquez is the second-best counter puncher in boxing behind Floyd Mayweather Jr., but he also said Marquez may be the sport's best technical fighter.
"He's by far one of the best technicians in the game, even better than Mayweather, and to tell you the truth, he may be the best," Leija said. "Mayweather is faster, bigger and stronger. He's got great defense and he can make you miss, and, with that speed of his, he takes advantage when you do.
"But if you want to show someone how to box, teach them how to be a pure boxer, you'd show them Marquez. Not everyone can be as fast as Mayweather and not everyone can have the defense that Mayweather has. But if you study technique and work on that, you can become a great boxer like Marquez."
Marquez has used that technique to great advantage in their three fights. Pacquiao has been the faster, stronger man and has put Marquez down four times.
Three of those knockdowns came in the first round of the first fight in 2004. Had referee Joe Cortez stopped the bout after that third knockdown, as often happens, there wouldn't have been a second fight, let alone a fourth.
But Cortez's decision gave boxing fans the gift of three sensational bouts and allowed Pacquiao and Marquez to become intimately familiar with their own – and their opponent's – strengths and weaknesses.
"He is a good counter puncher," Pacquiao said of Marquez. "He is very patient and sits back and waits for action. If I waited for him to throw the punches first, the fight would be boring. That's why I have always been the one to make the fight between us."
Both have vowed to be more aggressive in the fourth bout, and Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach has insisted that because of the controversy regarding the scoring in the first three fights, the judges may exhibit a subtle bias toward Marquez.
"I've said this a lot and I've talked about it with Manny, but I feel like when the bell rings to start that fight, we're already going to be down three rounds in the eyes of the judges," Roach said. "They know each other so well that it's tough to really be too much different, but I think from our standpoint, Manny needs to be more aggressive and show that killer instinct he had when he was a younger fighter."
Saturday's fight figures to be the last between them. Marquez is now 39 and logic suggests he doesn't have much more time left in the sport. Pacquiao is 33, but he's a Congressman in the Philippines and his political career is burgeoning. He's probably going to be around for another 18 months, at most.
Both men desperately want a decisive win, but given the nature of the first three, it's unlikely they'll get their wish. So, even though it wouldn't seem to make sense for a fifth one, don't totally rule it out if Pacquiao-Marquez IV is as compelling as I, II and III.
"It's hard to imagine a fourth one," Pacquiao said, jokingly, when asked if he could imagine a fifth fight with Marquez.
Promoter Bob Arum, though, wouldn't close the door on the possibility.
"There is a possibility," Arum said. "[It's] not likely, but a possibility. [Sugar Ray] Robinson and [Jake] LaMotta fought six times."
The Pacquiao-Marquez rivalry is one for the ages. Years from now, historians will be debating their bouts. Leija, though, assumes he knows what they're thinking.
"You just don't want to see the guy [in the ring] again and you want to be done with it," Leija said. "It's like, 'Please, get me someone else; anyone else.' I fought 42 rounds with Azumah and every one of those 42 rounds were brutal. When that fourth fight was over, I was definitely ready to see someone else and I would bet you they'll say the same thing [after the fight Saturday]."
ESPN: Pride and Pacquiao: Marquez's quest
By Brian Campbell | ESPN.com
If you look closely enough at Juan Manuel Marquez, you'll notice the subtle scars on his face that speak of punishment endured over 61 professional fights.
If you listen to the proud Mexican fighter, you'll also pick up on a different set of scars just below the surface -- an emotional longing for validation that speaks of a legacy incomplete.
When Marquez mentions that his fourth meeting with Manny Pacquiao on Dec. 8 in Las Vegas is the biggest fight of his career, he means it. In his mind, the same politics that allowed him to secure a fourth fight despite an 0-2-1 record against Pacquiao -- in the face of consumer fatigue -- have to be the same that prevented him on three occasions from victories he believes were rightfully his.
That's the beauty of Marquez and his Hall of Fame trainer, Nacho Beristain. The duo doesn't think Marquez was robbed of just one win over Pacquiao. Each believes with every fabric of his soul that Pacquiao, if not an accomplice, was the benefactor of three separate crimes.
Whether it's a case of stubborn pride or a legitimate beef, Marquez doesn't view a fourth fight as a chance to get even with Pacquiao so much as he considers it an opportunity to win the entire rivalry in one fight.
"I think the people [will] remember me for this fourth fight for my career," Marquez told ESPN.com. "It's important to me because the people will know Juan Manuel Marquez always."
It would be ignorant to diminish Marquez's Hall of Fame credentials by suggesting his place in history is necessarily dependent on defeating Pacquiao. But it's how the public will remember Marquez that makes this fight so crucial to him -- while simultaneously keeping the 39-year-old awake at night.
Whether Marquez will admit it or not, there's a difference between being remembered as the perennial runner-up in one of boxing's greatest rivalries and being referred to as an all-time great legend who toppled his archenemy when it mattered most.
Attaching this much meaning to one fight isn't necessarily fair, but the idea has clearly fueled Marquez's rabid stalking of Pacquiao through four weight classes over eight years. The controversial defeats have effectively road-blocked Marquez's path toward his greatest goal of all: becoming the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
It's that pride in his craftsmanship and quest for superiority among his peers -- worth more to him than money, titles or fame -- that has kept Marquez pressing forward this late in his career.
For his part, Beristain -- still as fiery and quick as ever at 73 -- rejected the notion that a Marquez victory would enhance, if not partially validate, a missing part of their collective résumé. He mentioned the 23 world champions he has trained with the vigor of a knight drawing his sword for battle. The tone of his voice, however, changed quickly to that of a father figure when describing what a Marquez win would mean to him.
"It will be for me a great satisfaction seeing a fighter win that I have known since he was a kid," Beristain told ESPN.com through interpreter Angel Heredia, Marquez's strength coach. "That would demonstrate to the whole world that the pound-for-pound best in the world is Juan Manuel Marquez, and that would make me happy."
Beristain's voice softened: "He is deserving."
Neither Beristain nor Marquez will come out and say it, but there is a dislike in the Marquez camp for Pacquiao that is palpable -- a loathing that centers more on the Filipino star's fame and what he represents than the fighter himself. It's the kind of rueful spite that gets fighter and trainer out of bed each morning.
"I am a professional boxer, but the last three fights, when we finished the fights, I feel very angry," Marquez said of the Pacquiao bouts. "In the ring we are enemies, and then outside of the ring, maybe friends. ... I don't know." He paused for what seemed like an eternity, as if the sum of the emotional toll from all three fights painfully surfaced at once. "Maybe friends ... but inside the ring is another thing."
Beristain, meanwhile, is generally complimentary of Pacquiao, but often in his own backhanded way.
"In this fight, it's particularly a great honor because Pacquiao is the one that brings the crowd and the money, and therefore that's why he is a great opponent," he said.
Beristain's real grudge, it seems, is more of a misdirected hostility aimed at Pacquiao's ability to have swayed the judges throughout the rivalry with Marquez.
"After [the second fight], I started to think that sometimes the judges lean toward the enterprise's fighter," Beristain said. "I believe that other people in the circle of boxing must think that Las Vegas is a mecca where all the money is built up and all of us that take part in it have an obligation to take care of the money that is put in. The acting of the judges leave a lot of us to [wonder] what is going on.
"The fans are so noble and so faithful. It's sad that the fans [are] still loyal regardless of decisions. It's kind of sad that you still have this black dot in the circle of the sport and the people can see that. Yet the fans still love the sport."
Beristain doesn't pull any punches in explaining exactly how Marquez was denied victories in all three bouts:
Pacquiao-Marquez I (May 8, 2004; featherweight): split draw -- 115-110 Pacquiao, 115-110 Marquez, 113-113
"I believe it was hard for Juan Manuel to get up after the three times he was knocked down [in the first round] and outbox [Pacquiao] throughout the night. [Marquez] gave him a nice boxing classroom. I believe that Marquez won, maybe by one point, and when they told me they gave him a draw, I was real pissed."
Pacquiao-Marquez II (March 15, 2008; super featherweight): split decision for Pacquiao -- 115-112, 114-113, 112-115
"The second one, we won it clearly -- more clearly than the first one. The referee told me in the locker room [before the fight] about head bumps. They were supposed to take a point away from Manny for a head bump. They never took it away. And in the ninth round, again, [Pacquiao] gave him another head bump, and in the 11th round, there was another bump that cut Marquez. The referee never had the guts to take the point. Juan should have had a minimum of two more points because the ref never had the guts to tell the judge to take a point away."
Pacquiao-Marquez III (Nov. 12, 2011; welterweight): majority decision for Pacquiao -- 115-113, 116-112, 114-114
"It would have been very hard for a fan to interpret the technical aspects of the fight, because a fan cannot see what a trainer can see from the corner. But in this last fight, even a kid who is 8 years old can tell that Juan Manuel Marquez won the fight."
In the seven years bookended by the first and third fights with Pacquiao, Marquez built a worthy list of accomplishments consisting of four titles in as many weight classes plus memorable victories over the likes of Orlando Salido, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Diaz (twice) and Michael Katsidis.
But you get the impression that none of it matters to Marquez because none of those names is Pacquiao's. In the prideful world of Marquez's Ahab-like obsession with the great whale that got away, no other fight will ever be as important.
The truth is, a Marquez victory Dec. 8 likely won't catapult him to the No. 1 P4P spot he most desires. If anything, it would only complicate the rivalry with Pacquiao, likely necessitating the need for more fights between the two.
But to one fighter and his fatherly trainer entrenched in a relationship more than two decades in the making, it would validate an eight-year crusade to right a wrong. When the only currency that may be more valuable to a man than truth is pride, one victory is all Marquez needs.
If you look closely enough at Juan Manuel Marquez, you'll notice the subtle scars on his face that speak of punishment endured over 61 professional fights.
If you listen to the proud Mexican fighter, you'll also pick up on a different set of scars just below the surface -- an emotional longing for validation that speaks of a legacy incomplete.
When Marquez mentions that his fourth meeting with Manny Pacquiao on Dec. 8 in Las Vegas is the biggest fight of his career, he means it. In his mind, the same politics that allowed him to secure a fourth fight despite an 0-2-1 record against Pacquiao -- in the face of consumer fatigue -- have to be the same that prevented him on three occasions from victories he believes were rightfully his.
That's the beauty of Marquez and his Hall of Fame trainer, Nacho Beristain. The duo doesn't think Marquez was robbed of just one win over Pacquiao. Each believes with every fabric of his soul that Pacquiao, if not an accomplice, was the benefactor of three separate crimes.
Whether it's a case of stubborn pride or a legitimate beef, Marquez doesn't view a fourth fight as a chance to get even with Pacquiao so much as he considers it an opportunity to win the entire rivalry in one fight.
"I think the people [will] remember me for this fourth fight for my career," Marquez told ESPN.com. "It's important to me because the people will know Juan Manuel Marquez always."
It would be ignorant to diminish Marquez's Hall of Fame credentials by suggesting his place in history is necessarily dependent on defeating Pacquiao. But it's how the public will remember Marquez that makes this fight so crucial to him -- while simultaneously keeping the 39-year-old awake at night.
Whether Marquez will admit it or not, there's a difference between being remembered as the perennial runner-up in one of boxing's greatest rivalries and being referred to as an all-time great legend who toppled his archenemy when it mattered most.
Attaching this much meaning to one fight isn't necessarily fair, but the idea has clearly fueled Marquez's rabid stalking of Pacquiao through four weight classes over eight years. The controversial defeats have effectively road-blocked Marquez's path toward his greatest goal of all: becoming the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
It's that pride in his craftsmanship and quest for superiority among his peers -- worth more to him than money, titles or fame -- that has kept Marquez pressing forward this late in his career.
For his part, Beristain -- still as fiery and quick as ever at 73 -- rejected the notion that a Marquez victory would enhance, if not partially validate, a missing part of their collective résumé. He mentioned the 23 world champions he has trained with the vigor of a knight drawing his sword for battle. The tone of his voice, however, changed quickly to that of a father figure when describing what a Marquez win would mean to him.
"It will be for me a great satisfaction seeing a fighter win that I have known since he was a kid," Beristain told ESPN.com through interpreter Angel Heredia, Marquez's strength coach. "That would demonstrate to the whole world that the pound-for-pound best in the world is Juan Manuel Marquez, and that would make me happy."
Beristain's voice softened: "He is deserving."
Neither Beristain nor Marquez will come out and say it, but there is a dislike in the Marquez camp for Pacquiao that is palpable -- a loathing that centers more on the Filipino star's fame and what he represents than the fighter himself. It's the kind of rueful spite that gets fighter and trainer out of bed each morning.
"I am a professional boxer, but the last three fights, when we finished the fights, I feel very angry," Marquez said of the Pacquiao bouts. "In the ring we are enemies, and then outside of the ring, maybe friends. ... I don't know." He paused for what seemed like an eternity, as if the sum of the emotional toll from all three fights painfully surfaced at once. "Maybe friends ... but inside the ring is another thing."
Beristain, meanwhile, is generally complimentary of Pacquiao, but often in his own backhanded way.
"In this fight, it's particularly a great honor because Pacquiao is the one that brings the crowd and the money, and therefore that's why he is a great opponent," he said.
Beristain's real grudge, it seems, is more of a misdirected hostility aimed at Pacquiao's ability to have swayed the judges throughout the rivalry with Marquez.
"After [the second fight], I started to think that sometimes the judges lean toward the enterprise's fighter," Beristain said. "I believe that other people in the circle of boxing must think that Las Vegas is a mecca where all the money is built up and all of us that take part in it have an obligation to take care of the money that is put in. The acting of the judges leave a lot of us to [wonder] what is going on.
"The fans are so noble and so faithful. It's sad that the fans [are] still loyal regardless of decisions. It's kind of sad that you still have this black dot in the circle of the sport and the people can see that. Yet the fans still love the sport."
Beristain doesn't pull any punches in explaining exactly how Marquez was denied victories in all three bouts:
Pacquiao-Marquez I (May 8, 2004; featherweight): split draw -- 115-110 Pacquiao, 115-110 Marquez, 113-113
"I believe it was hard for Juan Manuel to get up after the three times he was knocked down [in the first round] and outbox [Pacquiao] throughout the night. [Marquez] gave him a nice boxing classroom. I believe that Marquez won, maybe by one point, and when they told me they gave him a draw, I was real pissed."
Pacquiao-Marquez II (March 15, 2008; super featherweight): split decision for Pacquiao -- 115-112, 114-113, 112-115
"The second one, we won it clearly -- more clearly than the first one. The referee told me in the locker room [before the fight] about head bumps. They were supposed to take a point away from Manny for a head bump. They never took it away. And in the ninth round, again, [Pacquiao] gave him another head bump, and in the 11th round, there was another bump that cut Marquez. The referee never had the guts to take the point. Juan should have had a minimum of two more points because the ref never had the guts to tell the judge to take a point away."
Pacquiao-Marquez III (Nov. 12, 2011; welterweight): majority decision for Pacquiao -- 115-113, 116-112, 114-114
"It would have been very hard for a fan to interpret the technical aspects of the fight, because a fan cannot see what a trainer can see from the corner. But in this last fight, even a kid who is 8 years old can tell that Juan Manuel Marquez won the fight."
In the seven years bookended by the first and third fights with Pacquiao, Marquez built a worthy list of accomplishments consisting of four titles in as many weight classes plus memorable victories over the likes of Orlando Salido, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Diaz (twice) and Michael Katsidis.
But you get the impression that none of it matters to Marquez because none of those names is Pacquiao's. In the prideful world of Marquez's Ahab-like obsession with the great whale that got away, no other fight will ever be as important.
The truth is, a Marquez victory Dec. 8 likely won't catapult him to the No. 1 P4P spot he most desires. If anything, it would only complicate the rivalry with Pacquiao, likely necessitating the need for more fights between the two.
But to one fighter and his fatherly trainer entrenched in a relationship more than two decades in the making, it would validate an eight-year crusade to right a wrong. When the only currency that may be more valuable to a man than truth is pride, one victory is all Marquez needs.
The Manila Times: Pacquiao devotes last few days before fight to prayer
By
After all training ceased a week before his fourth fight against Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas USA, Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao is devoting his time to prayer.
“He keeps praying for the fight to become safe for both boxers. Manny is hoping nobody will get hurt seriously in this fight. We are all hoping for the best,” Pacquiao’s longtime lawyer Franklyn Gacal told The Manila Times in a telephone interview.
The Pacquiao camp folded up and left California for Las Vegas on Monday (Tuesday afternoon in Manila).
Pacquiao’s deep spirituality though stands in stark contrast with his ferocity in the ring, “It is the Pacquiao that we really want to see. A faster and stronger Pacquiao who wants to close his rivalry with Marquez with a convincing win. I’m pretty sure he’s 100 percent ready,” Gacal describes Pacquaio’s performance during training.
But Pacquiao (54-4-2 win-loss-draw card with 38 knockouts) is not underestimating Marquez (54-6-2 win-loss-draw with 39 KOs) and is expecting the Mexican to go for broke and to bank on clever counterpunching in their fourth encounter, “He expects a tough fight, so I’m expecting Manny to prevent those counterpunches,” said Gacal.
After all training ceased a week before his fourth fight against Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas USA, Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao is devoting his time to prayer.
“He keeps praying for the fight to become safe for both boxers. Manny is hoping nobody will get hurt seriously in this fight. We are all hoping for the best,” Pacquiao’s longtime lawyer Franklyn Gacal told The Manila Times in a telephone interview.
The Pacquiao camp folded up and left California for Las Vegas on Monday (Tuesday afternoon in Manila).
Pacquiao’s deep spirituality though stands in stark contrast with his ferocity in the ring, “It is the Pacquiao that we really want to see. A faster and stronger Pacquiao who wants to close his rivalry with Marquez with a convincing win. I’m pretty sure he’s 100 percent ready,” Gacal describes Pacquaio’s performance during training.
But Pacquiao (54-4-2 win-loss-draw card with 38 knockouts) is not underestimating Marquez (54-6-2 win-loss-draw with 39 KOs) and is expecting the Mexican to go for broke and to bank on clever counterpunching in their fourth encounter, “He expects a tough fight, so I’m expecting Manny to prevent those counterpunches,” said Gacal.
PDI: ‘Marquez can’t survive combos’
Peñalosa sure Pacquiao’s foe will wilt
By Roy Luarca
Philippine Daily Inquirer
HOLLYWOOD—Take it from former world champion Gerry Peñalosa. There’s one sure-fire way to beat a savvy counter-puncher like Juan Manuel Marquez: Overwhelm him with sheer volume of punches.
“If you throw a 1-2 combination, he can see it and defend. But when you unload a three- to four-punch combo he can no longer react in time,” Peñalosa told sportswriters in Filipino at Vagabond Inn here, just a stone’s throw away from Freddie Roach’s famed Wild Card Gym.
Peñalosa should know. Roach describes the former two-division world champion as the best Filipino technical boxer ever. Peñalosa also excels in defense and counter-punching.
Having seen Pacquiao in training here, the 40-year-old Peñalosa said his friend seems to be more focused than in his last two fights— against Marquez and unbeaten American Timothy Bradley.
“Unlike before, when Manny had difficulty waking up to do his early-morning run, he now rises on time. Maybe he sees Marquez’s face and that motivates him,” said Peñalosa.
The former WBC super flyweight and WBO bantamweight champion who retired in 2010 with a 55-win (37 KOs), 8-loss, 2-draw record is now a fight promoter.
He doubts whether Marquez could transform himself from a defender into an attacker on Dec. 8 for his fourth clash with Pacquiao.
“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” said Peñalosa.
According to Peñalosa, Pacquiao should avoid a replay of Pacquiao-Marquez 3 because the “judges could be swayed into rewarding the Mexican with the victory.”
On fight night, Peñalosa will also be watching his protégé, Michael Fareñas, and unbeaten nephew, Dodie Boy Jr., namesake of the former IBF light fly and flyweight champion, clash with separate opponents in the undercard of Pacquiao-Marquez 4.
Fareñas will be in for a tough fight against Athens Olympics gold medalist and former WBC and IBF featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa.
Dodie Boy Jr., who boasts an impressive record of nine wins, all by KOs, has a lighter assignment in Jesus Lule (6-4, with 1 KO).
By Roy Luarca
Philippine Daily Inquirer
HOLLYWOOD—Take it from former world champion Gerry Peñalosa. There’s one sure-fire way to beat a savvy counter-puncher like Juan Manuel Marquez: Overwhelm him with sheer volume of punches.
“If you throw a 1-2 combination, he can see it and defend. But when you unload a three- to four-punch combo he can no longer react in time,” Peñalosa told sportswriters in Filipino at Vagabond Inn here, just a stone’s throw away from Freddie Roach’s famed Wild Card Gym.
Peñalosa should know. Roach describes the former two-division world champion as the best Filipino technical boxer ever. Peñalosa also excels in defense and counter-punching.
Having seen Pacquiao in training here, the 40-year-old Peñalosa said his friend seems to be more focused than in his last two fights— against Marquez and unbeaten American Timothy Bradley.
“Unlike before, when Manny had difficulty waking up to do his early-morning run, he now rises on time. Maybe he sees Marquez’s face and that motivates him,” said Peñalosa.
The former WBC super flyweight and WBO bantamweight champion who retired in 2010 with a 55-win (37 KOs), 8-loss, 2-draw record is now a fight promoter.
He doubts whether Marquez could transform himself from a defender into an attacker on Dec. 8 for his fourth clash with Pacquiao.
“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” said Peñalosa.
According to Peñalosa, Pacquiao should avoid a replay of Pacquiao-Marquez 3 because the “judges could be swayed into rewarding the Mexican with the victory.”
On fight night, Peñalosa will also be watching his protégé, Michael Fareñas, and unbeaten nephew, Dodie Boy Jr., namesake of the former IBF light fly and flyweight champion, clash with separate opponents in the undercard of Pacquiao-Marquez 4.
Fareñas will be in for a tough fight against Athens Olympics gold medalist and former WBC and IBF featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa.
Dodie Boy Jr., who boasts an impressive record of nine wins, all by KOs, has a lighter assignment in Jesus Lule (6-4, with 1 KO).
The Christian Post: Manny Pacquiao Talks Being a Stronger Fighter in God
Filipino Pugilist Comments on Marquez Fight, Future Mayweather Bout
By Christine Thomasos , Christian Post Reporter
Manny Pacquiao is
gearing up to face Juan Manuel Marquez in the ring for the fourth time
on Saturday and despite the critics, the Filipino pugilist believes that
his Christian faith makes him a better fighter.
"What I can say is, if God is with you, who can be against you," Pacquiao questioned. "All things are possible with God."
Despite his faith, Pacquiao told the publication that he can still have a "killer instinct" in the ring.
"Boxing is a sport. We allow each other to hit each other, but I'm not treating my opponent like my enemy," Pacquiao said. "We're doing a job to entertain people."
"Because God loves us so much. He doesn't want us to die. He takes no pleasure in the death of anyone," Pacquiao told ESPN. "That's what He said. I mean, if we don't have God in our life, we're considered dead."
Pacquiao describe his favorite Bible verses when speaking to the publication.
"In Ezekiel 18, verse 31 and 32, it says: 'Rid yourself of all the offenses you have committed and get a new heart and a new spirit and for I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord,'" Pacquiao said. "Repent and live."
While Pacquiao will face Marquez in the ring next, his most popular opponent has yet to fight him. Floyd Mayweather, undefeated pugilist, has been a coveted opponent for Pacquiao and his fans for years.
Although a fight has yet to be scheduled between the two, Pacquiao said he hopes that they will both enter the ring on opposite sides next year. Until then, the Filipino boxer said he is praying for Mayweather.
"I have no comment about him. But I'm praying for him that he will find a way of life," Pacquiao told ESPN. "Because our life here in this world is temporary. I'm not angry at him. I like Floyd. This is my brother. In God, in Christ Jesus."
International Business Times: Roach Waiting on Mayweather Response as Pacquiao Demands 2013 Showdown
By Adrian Back
Legendary trainer Freddie Roach has revealed that he is waiting for a response from Floyd Mayweather after an offer was made on behalf of his fighter Manny Pacquiao.
The two future hall of fame fighters have repeatedly failed to agree terms on a mega fight that would go down as one of the biggest bouts in the history of the sport.
Mayweather has demanded that there be stringent drug testing in place for any fight, whilst also demanding a higher percentage of the earnings, two clauses that Pacquiao has recently agreed to meet.
It has remained impossible to make the fight as Pacquiao prepares to face Juan Manuel Marquez for a fourth time, while Mayweather was sentenced to a short spell behind bars earlier this year.
Mayweather has demanded that there be stringent drug testing in place for any fight, whilst also demanding a higher percentage of the earnings, two clauses that Pacquiao has recently agreed to meet.
It has remained impossible to make the fight as Pacquiao prepares to face Juan Manuel Marquez for a fourth time, while Mayweather was sentenced to a short spell behind bars earlier this year.
Legendary trainer Freddie Roach has revealed that he is waiting for a response from Floyd Mayweather after an offer was made on behalf of his fighter Manny Pacquiao.
The two future hall of fame fighters have repeatedly failed to agree terms on a mega fight that would go down as one of the biggest bouts in the history of the sport.
Mayweather has demanded that there be stringent drug testing in place for any fight, whilst also demanding a higher percentage of the earnings, two clauses that Pacquiao has recently agreed to meet.
It has remained impossible to make the fight as Pacquiao prepares to face Juan Manuel Marquez for a fourth time, while Mayweather was sentenced to a short spell behind bars earlier this year.
Mayweather has demanded that there be stringent drug testing in place for any fight, whilst also demanding a higher percentage of the earnings, two clauses that Pacquiao has recently agreed to meet.
It has remained impossible to make the fight as Pacquiao prepares to face Juan Manuel Marquez for a fourth time, while Mayweather was sentenced to a short spell behind bars earlier this year.
Philippine Star: Pacman’s ex-coach: It’s 50-50
By Quinito Henson
LOS ANGELES – Boxing trainer Justin Fortune said the other day the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight is too close to call but even as he saw it 50-50, gave himself away by declaring it will end in a knockout and the Mexican couldn’t stop the Filipino ring icon.
Fortune, 47, worked as Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach under trainer Freddie Roach for six years, ending in the knockout over Jorge Solis in San Antonio in 2007. He had a bitter parting of ways with Roach over money and both sued each other. Now, Fortune operates his own sweatshop on Sunset Boulevard, about a 15-minute drive to the Wild Card Gym.
“Of course, I miss Manny, he’s a friend,” said Fortune whose claim to fame as a fighter was once battling Lennox Lewis in Dublin in 1995. “I’d love to work with him again but I don’t think Freddie will like it. Before the (Timothy) Bradley fight, Freddie’s lawyer Nick Khan asked if I could rejoin the team. But Freddie will never allow Manny to train in my gym and I’ll never go to Wild Card. I’m not even sure if Freddie knew that Nick talked to me. I’ve known Freddie since 1992 – he trained me as a fighter. I know him better than anyone.”
Fortune said he’s saddened by rumors that there is a lot of infighting in Pacquiao’s camp. “I heard he’s got a chaotic corner, guys not liking each other,” said Fortune. “I don’t know if that will affect Manny’s performance but Manny has to be in control of his team. He can’t allow a situation where some guys in his team hate each other’s guts. You look at Marquez’ corner with (Nacho) Beristain who’s very calm. That’s what Manny will be up against.”
Fortune described Marquez as a consummate boxer. “He can get hurt but he’s able to rally,” said Fortune. “He has the ability to adjust during a fight. But I don’t think Marquez has the power to knock out Manny. Although I’m calling it 50-50, I’m hoping Manny wins. If it goes the distance, I’m not sure if the judges will give Manny the benefit of the doubt again because they did in the first three fights. One guy is going to get knocked out and I’m praying it’s not Manny.”
Fortune recently worked Filipino Drian Francisco’s corner when he halted Mexico’s Javier Gallo in the fifth round at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Francisco is one of four fighters under Fortune’s watch. The others are Japanese welterweight Kai Zama, Australian lightweight Michael Katsidis who once decked Marquez in a 2010 bout and Armenian lightmiddleweight Vito Gasparyan whose record is 14-2-5, with 8 KOs. Fortune also trains several mixed martial arts fighters, including Brazilian lightheavyweight Babalu Sobral and
heavyweight Brendan (The Hybrid) Shaub. His gym is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. with Fortune personally supervising workouts.
Fortune said Francisco, 30, will become a world champion sooner or later. “He’s tough at 118,” said Fortune. “I would’ve liked him to challenge (WBA superbantamweight champion Guillermo) Rigondeax. I think Drian would’ve knocked him out. Rigondeaux is a party guy, loves to stay out late, drinks and smokes. They almost finalized the fight then Rigondeaux backed out. Drian hits really hard. He’s wild when throwing punches but it’s not necessarily a disadvantage. Opponents know how hard he hits and they’re always on the defensive because Drian is so wild that he could hit you if you’re not careful. I’d like for Drian to come back to LA and train so we can make some minor adjustments in how he fights. We’ll work on his style and defense. His problem is if he fights someone who bangs like him. But at his weight division, I think he’s the hardest puncher.”
LOS ANGELES – Boxing trainer Justin Fortune said the other day the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight is too close to call but even as he saw it 50-50, gave himself away by declaring it will end in a knockout and the Mexican couldn’t stop the Filipino ring icon.
Fortune, 47, worked as Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach under trainer Freddie Roach for six years, ending in the knockout over Jorge Solis in San Antonio in 2007. He had a bitter parting of ways with Roach over money and both sued each other. Now, Fortune operates his own sweatshop on Sunset Boulevard, about a 15-minute drive to the Wild Card Gym.
“Of course, I miss Manny, he’s a friend,” said Fortune whose claim to fame as a fighter was once battling Lennox Lewis in Dublin in 1995. “I’d love to work with him again but I don’t think Freddie will like it. Before the (Timothy) Bradley fight, Freddie’s lawyer Nick Khan asked if I could rejoin the team. But Freddie will never allow Manny to train in my gym and I’ll never go to Wild Card. I’m not even sure if Freddie knew that Nick talked to me. I’ve known Freddie since 1992 – he trained me as a fighter. I know him better than anyone.”
Fortune said he’s saddened by rumors that there is a lot of infighting in Pacquiao’s camp. “I heard he’s got a chaotic corner, guys not liking each other,” said Fortune. “I don’t know if that will affect Manny’s performance but Manny has to be in control of his team. He can’t allow a situation where some guys in his team hate each other’s guts. You look at Marquez’ corner with (Nacho) Beristain who’s very calm. That’s what Manny will be up against.”
Fortune described Marquez as a consummate boxer. “He can get hurt but he’s able to rally,” said Fortune. “He has the ability to adjust during a fight. But I don’t think Marquez has the power to knock out Manny. Although I’m calling it 50-50, I’m hoping Manny wins. If it goes the distance, I’m not sure if the judges will give Manny the benefit of the doubt again because they did in the first three fights. One guy is going to get knocked out and I’m praying it’s not Manny.”
Fortune recently worked Filipino Drian Francisco’s corner when he halted Mexico’s Javier Gallo in the fifth round at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Francisco is one of four fighters under Fortune’s watch. The others are Japanese welterweight Kai Zama, Australian lightweight Michael Katsidis who once decked Marquez in a 2010 bout and Armenian lightmiddleweight Vito Gasparyan whose record is 14-2-5, with 8 KOs. Fortune also trains several mixed martial arts fighters, including Brazilian lightheavyweight Babalu Sobral and
heavyweight Brendan (The Hybrid) Shaub. His gym is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. with Fortune personally supervising workouts.
Fortune said Francisco, 30, will become a world champion sooner or later. “He’s tough at 118,” said Fortune. “I would’ve liked him to challenge (WBA superbantamweight champion Guillermo) Rigondeax. I think Drian would’ve knocked him out. Rigondeaux is a party guy, loves to stay out late, drinks and smokes. They almost finalized the fight then Rigondeaux backed out. Drian hits really hard. He’s wild when throwing punches but it’s not necessarily a disadvantage. Opponents know how hard he hits and they’re always on the defensive because Drian is so wild that he could hit you if you’re not careful. I’d like for Drian to come back to LA and train so we can make some minor adjustments in how he fights. We’ll work on his style and defense. His problem is if he fights someone who bangs like him. But at his weight division, I think he’s the hardest puncher.”
Yahoo Sports: Manny Pacquiao gives Hall of Famers Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller a taste of fight training
By Kevin Iole
One thing is certain when Manny Pacquiao is training for a fight: He'll never be lonely.
Pacquiao, who is preparing to face Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for a fourth time, always seems to host a flood of celebrities. He recently gave Basketball Hall of Famers Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller a taste of what it is like to train for a fight.
Barkley and Miller chronicled their experience working out with Pacquiao at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif., for a half-hour special that will air Thursday on TNT following the network's NBA coverage.
Miller ran with Pacquiao through Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Both men got in the ring with Pacquiao at the Wild Card, while Barkley spent time with trainer Freddie Roach.
I haven't had a chance to get a sneak peak of the footage, but Pacquiao was chuckling as he was watching Miller throw -- or, to be more accurate, try to throw -- a jab.
"As a boxing fan, it was one of the coolest things I've ever done," Barkley said.
Hopefully, Barkley's boxing form is better than his golf swing. Miller, for all his technical faults, said he enjoyed the time with the Pacman.
"As a professional athlete, it's always interesting to hear how other elite athletes prepare themselves for competition," Miller said. "Training with Manny was an experience I'll never forget."
The half-hour show, called "Charles & Reggie: Toe to Toe with Manny Pacquiao" will air after TNT's doubleheader ends Thursday. TNT will show the Miami Heat against the New York Knicks at 8 p.m. ET, with Dallas at Phoenix following at 10:30 p.m. ET.
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| photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank |
One thing is certain when Manny Pacquiao is training for a fight: He'll never be lonely.
Pacquiao, who is preparing to face Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for a fourth time, always seems to host a flood of celebrities. He recently gave Basketball Hall of Famers Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller a taste of what it is like to train for a fight.
Barkley and Miller chronicled their experience working out with Pacquiao at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif., for a half-hour special that will air Thursday on TNT following the network's NBA coverage.
Miller ran with Pacquiao through Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Both men got in the ring with Pacquiao at the Wild Card, while Barkley spent time with trainer Freddie Roach.
I haven't had a chance to get a sneak peak of the footage, but Pacquiao was chuckling as he was watching Miller throw -- or, to be more accurate, try to throw -- a jab.
"As a boxing fan, it was one of the coolest things I've ever done," Barkley said.
Hopefully, Barkley's boxing form is better than his golf swing. Miller, for all his technical faults, said he enjoyed the time with the Pacman.
"As a professional athlete, it's always interesting to hear how other elite athletes prepare themselves for competition," Miller said. "Training with Manny was an experience I'll never forget."
The half-hour show, called "Charles & Reggie: Toe to Toe with Manny Pacquiao" will air after TNT's doubleheader ends Thursday. TNT will show the Miami Heat against the New York Knicks at 8 p.m. ET, with Dallas at Phoenix following at 10:30 p.m. ET.
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