"Fighter of the Decade" and eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao has shown the courage he has always been known for by picking Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez for his December 8 fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pacquiao could have very easily chosen Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley whom he handily beat in their first encounter but was robbed of the decision by two of the three judges who Top Rank promoter Bob Arum referred to as "three blind mice."
Although the astute Arum got his numbers wrong he certainly reflected the opinion of a world-wide audience of boxing writers, TV commentators, sports columnists and knowledgeable fight fans who roundly condemned the split decision in favor of Bradley who only succeeded in raising a storm of protests.
Pacquiao's first choice among the three options placed before him by Arum was Miguel Cotto whom he had beaten badly to win by a 12th round TKO after dropping the Puerto Rican three times. But Cotto had his moments during that fight and although Floyd Mayweather Jr. comfortably beat Cotto, he didn't drop him unlike Pacquiao and Manny was probably hoping to win big against Cotto and force Mayweather's hand into a fight the world has long wanted to happen.
Rather than take what most experts believe would have been a chance to avenge his loss to Bradley and take him out like he should have in their first fight, Pacquiao decided to take the tougher route by fighting Marquez for a fourth time.
Boxing history will tell us that their previous three fights were action-packed, exciting and controversial, none more so than their third fight which Pacquiao won by a split decision while may of those at ringside believed the decision should have gone the other way.
Although the first Pacquiao-Marquez bout ended in a draw, judge Burt Clements publicly acknowledged a scoring error when he scored the first round, in which Pacquiao dropped Marquez three times, 10-7 when he should have scored it 10-6 like the two other judges did. That mistake cost Pacquiao the fight as Marquez salvaged a draw.
In their second encounter Pacquiao won by a majority decision and in the process won the WBC super featherweight title of Marquez in a close but controversial outcome which was nowhere near the third clash which had controversial written all over it.
We called the third fight with Atty. Ed Tolentino for the overseas audiences of The Filipino Channel and had Marquez the winner, in the process incurring Manny's ire.
But that's been forgotten as time passed by and our friendship is as strong as ever.
By picking Marquez, Pacquiao is aiming to not just put on a great fight but in so doing hopes to win back the band of Mexican supporters whom he lost and made their sentiments known when they booed the decision the last time around.
Pacquiao's adviser Michael Koncz told us that Manny was keen to win back his Mexican fans because he had a high regard for them, especially after they gave him a rousing reception when he visited Mexico City in the pre-fight media tour.
No other foreign fighter has ever won such admiration in Mexico as Pacquiao and he is keen on restoring that. He will get a chance to begin this mission when he visits Mexico City with Marquez in the final stop of their tour to buildup their fourth fight.
Celebrated trainer Freddie Roach has admitted that in the three previous fights he hasn't been able to solve the counter-punching style of Marquez and his deadly right hand lead. Roach has a couple of months to study the tapes, put his mind to it and hopefully come up with a game-plan to counter the counter-puncher.
He knows that it will be a tough ask and gives Pacquiao credit for accepting the challenge of a fourth fight, saying "Manny has balls."
In an interview on the "On the Ropes" radio show of Jenna Jay of Doghouse Boxing , Roach admitted it's " a very difficult fight" primarily because of Marquez's difficult style. Roach said "we just have to get in the gym and work real hard" which also means pitching camp at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles and not wandering around in the first half of training as Pacquiao has been doing in the Philippines summer capital of Baguio City and all its attendant distractions.
Pacquiao is in LA for two episodes of his entertainment show that airs on GMA 7 in the Philippines before kicking off the press tour at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Tuesday.
His showbiz schedule, charity work, his role as a bible-toting preacher-man and his congressional re-election bid are taking up much of his time and affecting his focus on the fight ahead and boxing itself.
Roach has made it clear that Manny "really needs to focus" admitting that style-wise it's a very difficult fight but believes that if Manny gets in the best shape he can "we will finally close the book on Marquez."
Strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, just like Roach, believes it will be a very tough fight but is confident that if Pacquiao focuses in training in the same way he prepared for his spectacular performances against Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton and Miguel Cotto, he has a real good chance of closing the book in the last chapter of the Marquez saga.
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