MANNY PACQUIAO’S SEVENTH APPEARANCE ON JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! ANOTHER ROUSING SUCCESS!

Kimmel Debuts All-Access Unreality Segment 24/7 Pacquiao/Rodriguez 4! 

HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. (November 22, 2012) -- Fighter of the Decade and boxing's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter and box office attraction Congressman MANNY "PacMan" PACQUIAO (@MannyPacquiao) took time from training for his upcoming rumble with three-division world champion Juan Manuel Márquez (@JMMarquez_1) to make another boffo appearance on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! (@JimmyKimmelLive / #JKL) on Wednesday night. This was Manny’s seventh consecutive appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in as many pay-per-view promotions, dating back to November 3, 2009 when he knocked out Miguel Cotto to claim the welterweight title. That 2009 appearance also marked Manny’s U.S. network TV debut, which has since led to a multitude of network television, radio and magazine features, including, CBS’ 60 Minutes, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, ABC’s Nightline, FOX News Channel’s On The Record With Greta Van Susteren, CNN’s America Morning, NPR’s Morning Edition and Weekend Edition, Playboy, Sports Illustrated and cover stories in TIME and Newsweek.

After catching up with Manny on his life and training for his upcoming high-stakes welterweight battle against Márquez, Kimmel (@JimmyKimmel) announced Manny’s next fight – against sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez (@IAMGUILLERMO) -- with his own all-access unreality segment, 24/7 Pacquiao/Rodriguez 4, which also featured Rodriguez’s trainer Yehya, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum (@BobArum) and Hall of Fame trainer World-Famous Freddie Roach (@FreddieRoach.)

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Pacquiao and Roach are in deep training for Act Four of their exciting and fistoric rivalry with Juan Manuel Márquez. Pacquiao and Márquez, who have won world titles in 12 weight divisions between them, will go mano a mano and toe-to-toe in a high-stakes welterweight showdown, Saturday, December 8, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.



Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions, Zanfer Promotions, Márquez Boxing, Tecate and MGM Grand, Pacquiao-Márquez 4 will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®.



All-new editions of HBO’s all-access reality series 24/7 PACQUIAO/MARQUEZ 4 debut on Saturdays – November 24 (12:15-12:45 a.m. ET/PT), and December 1 (9:30-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) – while the finale debuts Friday, December 7 (8:00-8:30 p.m. ET/PT), the night before the high-stakes welterweight showdown. All four episodes will have multiple replay dates on HBO, and the series will also be available on HBO On Demand and HBO GO®.



Remaining tickets to Pacquiao-Márquez 4 are priced at $1,200, $900, $600, $400, and $200. Ticket sales at $1,200, $900, $600 and $400 are limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $200 are limited to two (2) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

The Pacquiao-Márquez 4 telecast, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 92 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. Follow HBO Boxing news at www.hbo.com and at www.facebook.com/hboboxing. Use the hashtag #PacMarquez to join the conversation on Twitter. For Pacquiao vs. Márquez updates, log on to www.toprank.com or www.hbo.com.

Photo: Jimmy Kimmel's sidekick Guillermo "El Gordo" Rodriguez(ctr) tips the scale at 247 lbs, only 100 pounds over the weight limit for his battle with 8-division world champion Manny Pacquiao(R) at the Wildcard Boxing Club. Pacquiao filmed this segment for his record seventh appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" ABC television show Wednesday night from Hollywood,Ca. Pacquiao is in deep preparation for the upcoming fourth fight of his historic rivalry against three-division world champion Juan Manuel Marquez. Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions, Zanfer Promotions, Marquez Boxing, Tecate and MGM Grand, Pacquiao vs Marquez 4 will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay Per View from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday, Dec. 8. --- Photo by Chris Farina - Top Rank.

First Take: Larry Merchant sells his take on Mayweather-Pacquiao megafight

photo credit: HBO Boxing

This morning, respected boxing analyst Larry Merchant graced ESPN's First Take in what host Stephen A. Smith called as "ESPN collaborating with HBO on boxing," that was hailed by many boxing observers as a move in the right direction for the networks.

For people who regularly follow the show, the guest appearance of Larry Merchant was like a breath of fresh air after being exposed for far too long to the daily diatribes of the two hysterical, loquacious, and hilarious motormouths in Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith. On a side note, the addition of Cari Champion as the moderator between the two protagonists is a welcome addition, too.

Larry Merchant, a hard-hitting veteran of the boxing circuit, who is not afraid to speak his mind on any topic, knows his boxing really well. He will not hold any punches to dish out verbal jabs, hooks and straights on anyone if he deems it necessary to convey his point. He is a straight-shooter inside and outside the ring and is probably one of the greatest, if not the greatest, TV boxing analysts of all time.

The topic of the discussion was: "Running Scared: Is Floyd Mayweather really afraid of Manny Pacquiao?", showing video snippets of Pacquiao proclaiming on one of his earlier appearances on First Take that he is willing to accept a lower percentage of the fight revenue (45%-to-55%) and that his earlier objection to random drug testing is now a non-issue ("No problem even at the night of the fight, no problem").

But the most telling piece was when Manny Pacquiao was asked whether Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is afraid of him. Manny Pacquiao laughed at the question and seriously stated that he believes that Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is really afraid of him -- "I think it's kind of that."

But true to form, Larry Merchant had a different opinion on the matter: "Mayweather is not afraid of fighting Manny Pacquiao. I think, number one, what's held up this fight, and I've been in the 'yes it's going to happen' category when the nos have been carrying the day for a few years, is that there's a disincentive financially."
He further explained that both fighters are "making upwards of 40-50 million a year: Pacquiao by fighting twice, Mayweather by fighting once. There's no urgency. It's a business as well as a sport."

Stephen A. Smith then offered his 'solution' of "stop buying the pay-per-view other than a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather, Jr." fight and went on to say that he believes that Floyd Mayweather will win it because "he is the best boxer on the planet."

Larry Merchant went on length to convey his views on Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. -- "They are the heavyweight champions in America in terms of their popularity, in terms of reaching beyond boxing to the casual fans."

"I think Floyd Mayweather thinks he's going to beat Manny Pacquiao. He will be the favorite. What Mayweather is afraid of more than anything else is an L, a loss. He has marketed himself as this unbeaten and unbeatable fighter, and to a lot of new fans or unsophisticated fans, they think that's a big, big deal, which it never has been, because if you fight enough good, young fighters in their prime, somebody's gonna beat you. It happened to Pacquiao even in a bad decision, but against a tough, good kid."

Skip Bayless pressed Larry Merchant further, "Does Floyd think he'll win or lose to Pacquiao?"

"I think he thinks that Pacquiao is the greatest threat to him. Why take, in the risk-reward equation, if I can make $40 million for fighting some guy (and) I've only got to give him $3 million to take the fight, why am I going to do that (fight Pacquiao)? There have been comparable situations in the past. Lennox Lewis and Tyson didn't fight 'til well into their careers and broke records; they were past their primes. So, it's business. Will the heat still be there? Will they both have maintained their star status? Will they lose it? It's not unprecedented in boxing. Hopefully it'll happen someday. Meanwhile, we've got 3 big pay-per-view events in boxing in a year instead of one big blowout."

And Stephen A. Smith, not to be outdone, posited this silly question to Merchant-

"Who's the best boxer on the planet right now?"

"I think Mayweather is on top and I think Pacquiao is right there." Merchant then confessed though that he "likes Pacquiao's style as a puncher-boxer."

Then Larry Merchant added this nugget of a wisdom on the possible Mayweather-Pacquiao scenario:
"The old expression "good defense beats good offense." It was the pitcher for the Pirates Bob Veale who said, "good pitching beats good hitting" and vice versa. It's the good hitting that sometimes beats good pitching."

The round-table discussion continues with Skip Bayless interjecting that he is on record that Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is "ducking Manny Pacquiao because he fears that Manny is equal to him in hand quickness but has more punching power, and for the first time in Floyd's career, not only does he stand to take the L but he stands to get hurt, to get caught."

Larry Merchant, in his own irrepressible way, delivered the counterpunch: 'I'm surprised that Skip has such strong opinions on this thing" that elicited laughter among themselves.

"My attitude about the fight is I wanna see it happen. Mayweather fought Cotto; it was a good fight, a better fight than expected, and the 4th Marquez-Pacquiao fight may be a better one than the first three, all of which were good fights."

Cari Champion then asked that if Mayweather and Pacquiao get together, "Who do you think is gonna win the fight?"

Larry Merchant refused to answer the question directly but has this to say:

"I'm gonna wait 'til it happens. And because things happen between now and then, there's no doubt that Mayweather will be the favorite. And that if you go by the history of these things, the boxer, the guy who comes out of the dressing room with his first and second thoughts are 'I'm not gonna get hit' and is a master at that," and in Merchant's opinion, "it's hard to beat him."

Many fight fans are hoping that Larry Merchant's first appearance on the show will not be his last. And even if we do not agree with some of his views, it is refreshing to listen to somebody as knowledgeable and eloquent as Larry Merchant sharing his thoughts regarding some of the issues plaguing the sport.

ESPN First Take: Mayweather-Pacquiao Saga Continues

TICKETS FOR PACQUIAO-MÁRQUEZ 4 GO ON SALE TOMORROW! 1 P.M. ET / 10 A.M. PT

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (September 27, 2012) – Fighter of the Decade MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO of the Philippines and four-division world champion JUAN MANUEL “Dinamita” MÁRQUEZ of México will go mano a mano and toe-to-toe once again in a 12-round welterweight battle between two of this era’s top pound for pound and evenly matched fighters. Pacquiao-Márquez 4, the eagerly anticipated fourth act of their fistoric rivalry that has had fans and media standing on their feet for 36 action-packed rounds, will take place Saturday, December 8. It will be produced and distributed Live by HBO Pay-Per-View from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nev.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions, Zanfer Promotions, Márquez Boxing, Tecate and MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, tickets to Pacquiao-Márquez 4 will go on sale Tomorrow! Friday, September 28, at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT. Tickets are priced at $1,200, $900, $600, $400, and $200. Ticket sales at $1,200, $900, $600 and $400 are limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $200 are limited to two (2) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs), the lone congressional representative from the Sarangani province in the Philippines, returns to the Fight Capital of the World as the only fighter to win eight world titles in as many weight divisions. A three-time Fighter of the Year and the Boxing Writers Association of America’s “Fighter of the Decade,” Pacquiao’s resume features victories over future Hall of Famers, including Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley and Márquez. From 2008 to 2010, five of his seven victories were world title victories in five different divisions, where he dethroned super featherweight champion Márquez, lightweight champion David Diaz, junior welterweight champion Hatton, welterweight champion Cotto and he annihilated three-time world champion Antonio Margarito for the vacant super welterweight title. Pacquiao’s seven-year, 15-bout winning streak came to an end on June 9, when he lost his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown to undefeated WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, Jr. via a controversial split decision. Pacquiao’s knockout victories over Cotto and Hatton in 2009, his victories over Joshua Clottey and Margarito in 2010, his wins against Mosley and Márquez in 2011 as well as his disputed loss to Bradley in June have combined for more than seven million pay-per-view buys making Pacquiao a pay-per-view king. No boxer sold more live tickets in the U.S. than Pacquiao in 2010 and 2011, making him a pound-for-pound monarch in the ring and at the box office.

Márquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs), of México City, is one of only a rare few fighters from México to have won world titles in four different weight divisions. He captured his first world title – the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight championship – with a seventh-round stoppage of three-time featherweight champion Manuel Medina in 2003. He unified the title that same year with a decisive victory over World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight titlist Derrick Gainer. Márquez successfully defended the titles three times during his three-year reign, which included unanimous decision victories over Victor Polo and Orlando Salido and a Draw with Pacquiao. After losing the crown to Chris John and winning the WBO interim featherweight crown, all in 2006, Márquez moved up in weight to dethrone the legendary Marco Antonio Barrera and claim his World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight championship belt in 2007. After successfully defending the title, by a unanimous decision over Ricky Juarez, he lost the title in his 2008 rematch with Pacquiao by the slimmest of margins – a one point split decision. Since that fight, Márquez has won six of his last eight fights, including knockout victories of Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis -- the latter two in World Boxing Association (WBA) / WBO lightweight championship fights. In his last fight, on April 14, Márquez won his fourth world title in as many divisions, capturing the WBO interim junior welterweight championship with a dominant 12-round unanimous decision over Serhiy Fedchenko.

The Pacquiao vs. Márquez telecast, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 92 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. Follow HBO Boxing news at www.hbo.com and at www.facebook.com/hboboxing. Use the hashtag #PacMarquez to join the conversation on Twitter. For Pacquiao vs. Márquez updates, log on to www.toprank.com or www.hbo.com.

The Manila Bulletin: Pacquiao To Fans: Don’t Worry

By NICK GIONGCO

September 27, 2012, 8:25pm

Manny Pacquiao is assuring everyone not to worry about his fourth fight with his Mexican nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez on Dec. 8.

“Why are they all feeling nervous when I am the one fighting and I am not even nervous?” Pacquiao told the Bulletin on Thursday afternoon as he was getting ready to work out at the gym of boxing patron Rey Golingan in General Santos City.

It’s not that Pacquiao has become cocky.

Pacquiao has been always like that and he said the same thing just days before he faced and overwhelmed Marco Antonio Barrera in Nov. 2003, giving his then manager, the late Rod Nazario, all the reason in the world to look forward to a sensational victory.

So when Pacquiao showed up for training at Golingan’s sweat shop, it was to give his fans and followers the guarantee that he is going after a resounding win against the fighter who has given him his toughest and roughest fights.

Pacquiao is not due for training until the first week of October at the Wild card Boxing Club in Hollywood but the 33-year-old southpaw wants to warm up a bit.

Training assistant Buboy Fernandez was on hand at the gym and expressed the belief that there won’t be a need to stage a fifth fight although he admits Marquez is a tough nut to crack.

“Tumataas ang balahibo natin kapag si Marquez ang kalaban pero iba tayo ngayon. Iba ang ilalabas natin sa labang ito,” said Fernandez.

Fernandez has been busy at night dissecting Marquez’s style on video and could not help but take note of the Mexican’s ‘‘footwork.’’

PDI: Pacquiao starts early training for Marquez

 By Roy Luarca
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Fighter of the Decade Manny Pacquiao will be relying on his inherent speed advantage to counter Juan Manuel Marquez’s “dirty tricks” when they tangle for the fourth time on Dec. 8 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

As Pacquiao started his physical conditioning at the Gen. Santos City Sports Complex on Wednesday, trainer Buboy Fernandez told ANC Channel on Wednesday that, this time, the eight-division world champion will be ready for whatever the Mexican warrior will bring to the ring.

Fernandez, who is taking charge of Pacquiao’s light training in the country, noted that in their third encounter last year, Marquez caught Pacquiao off guard by stepping on his foot at least six times in the course of their 12-round bout.

Though Pacquiao won by majority decision, the fight was perceived to be too close that Marquez again harped that he was robbed of victory by the judges, as in Pacquiao-Marquez I, which ended in a draw, and in their rematch, which went to Pacquiao by split decision.

In a light, jovial mood amid familiar surroundings, Pacquiao, accompanied by wife Jinkee and brother Bobby, jogged for 30 minutes around the track oval, occasionally doing the dance craze Gang nam.
Pacquiao, who had his hair trimmed, said he can’t afford to be complacent against Marquez, whose counterpunching style proved to be a problem in their past three fights.

After filing his certificate of candidacy for congressman of Sarangani province’s lone district next week, Pacquiao will leave for Los Angeles to begin training camp at chief trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.

Pacquiao decided to spend the entire eight weeks in the United States to eliminate travel time and jet lag.
Marquez enjoys a head start in their race to attain the best form possible on fight night.

Pushing his 39-year-old legs, Marquez is doing running and endurance training at the Nevado de Toluca, a dormant volcano about 129 km west of Mexico City where he works out at the Romanza Gym of fabled trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain.

Mayweather, Pacquiao Settling Defamation Case

LAS VEGAS -- Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are settling a federal defamation case in Las Vegas, clearing a key hurdle to a long-awaited bout between two top fighters who've traded verbal jabs for years but have never met in the ring.

Terms of the pretrial agreement cited in documents filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas are confidential, said Malcolm LaVergne, a lawyer representing Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s father in the case.
LaVergne said documents filed under seal ask U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks to dismiss the lawsuit. Documents filed publicly said each side would bear its own attorney fees and costs.

"The matter has been resolved," LaVergne said. "Any alleged terms of the resolution would be strictly confidential. Floyd Mayweather Sr. is very happy that this lengthy case has finally come to a conclusion."
Pacquiao filed the lawsuit in December 2009 seeking unspecified damages based on allegations that Floyd Mayweather Jr. defamed him by suggesting Pacquiao used performance-enhancing substances. Pacquiao denied Mayweather's claim.

In a statement released Tuesday night through the mediator in the case, the Mayweathers said they "wish to make it clear that they never intended to claim that Manny Pacquiao has used or is using any performance-enhancing drugs, nor are they aware of any evidence that Manny Pacquiao has used performance-enhancing drugs."

An attorney for Pacquiao did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.
The direction of the case took a turn against Floyd Mayweather Jr. last week, when the judge issued a ruling ordering him to pay about $114,000 in legal fees and costs for avoiding questioning under oath from Pacquiao's lawyers.

Hicks faulted Mayweather for failure to comply with a court order. But he earlier rejected a bid by Pacquiao lawyers Daniel Petrocelli and David Marroso to end the lawsuit with a more severe sanction -- a default judgment for Pacquiao.

LaVergne said Tuesday he had no information about whether the court settlement means Mayweather and Pacquiao will meet in the ring.

Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank Inc., declined comment. His spokesman, Lee Samuels, said the company was not involved in the defamation case.

Nevada State Athletic Commission chief Keith Kizer said he wasn't aware of any talks between the two camps about scheduling a fight. But Kizer said such a fight could set records for the highest purse, gate and number of cable television paid viewers.

A Mayweather-Pacquiao fight might eclipse the Mayweather super welterweight fight against Oscar De La Hoya that drew 17,078 fans to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in May 2007, Kizer said. Paid attendance was $18.4 million.

"Based on my dealings with the boxing public and boxing insiders, the proposed Mayweather-Pacquiao fight has as much interest as any fight I can remember in the last 20 years," Kizer said. "I think this would be our first gate over $20 million."

Pacquiao, 33, also a member of Congress in the Philippines, is 54-4 with two draws in 60 fights. He is due to fight Juan Manuel Marquez on Dec. 8 at the MGM Grand Garden.

Mayweather, 35, who goes by the nickname "Money," was serving two months of a three-month sentence in a Las Vegas jail on a domestic battery conviction when he was named by Forbes magazine this summer as the highest-paid athlete in the world for 2011.

He is undefeated in 43 fights and was guaranteed $32 million for the May 5 bout during which he defeated Miguel Cotto.