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.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)