Marquez looks to seal legacy in Pacquiao bout
Source: Agencies |
December 9, 2012, Sunday
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ALONG with the bodies of the fighters, the prizemoney and attention have grown as Manny Pacquiao and Juan-Manuel Marquez meet this morning (Shanghai time) for the fourth - and presumably last - time in the rivalry that has served both fighters so well.
Marquez will try once again to do what he hasn't been able to do in 36 evenly contested rounds against Pacquiao - get a decision from the ringside scorecards. At age 39, it's a fight that may mean more to his legacy than his future career, which is why it's a fight he seems almost desperate to win.
"All I ask is for the judges to be objective," Marquez said. "They need to really see what is happening in the ring instead of what they think might be happening in the ring."
Pacquiao is not as desperate, but he needs a win just as badly. The Filipino barely escaped with a majority decision over Marquez last November - a result that drew loud boos from the pro-Marquez crowd - and lost a widely panned decision to Timothy Bradley his last time out.
A loss to Marquez would not only confirm the whispers that he is slipping after 17 years as a pro, but perhaps derail for good any talk of a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr that would be boxing's richest ever.
"I have always been focused, but not like this fight," Pacquiao said. "There are no distractions in my mind."
Neither fighter holds a title as they meet in a welterweight fight that will make both even richer. Pacquiao is expected to make more than US$20 million while promoter Bob Arum said Marquez could make as much as US$6 million.
It's a far cry from 2004, when Pacquiao and Marquez could barely fill half the arena. That fight, though, was intriguing, with Pacquiao coming off a win over Marco Antonio Barrera and Marquez having stopped his previous 11 opponents.
It seemed a mismatch when Pacquiao knocked the Mexican down three times in the first round and Marquez barely survived to hear the bell. But he began a comeback in round 3, dominating the late rounds on his way to a disputed draw that foreshadowed what was to come in the years ahead. All three fights - Pacquiao won the past two - were so close they could have gone either way. And had they gone the other way, boxing history may have changed.
Marquez will try once again to do what he hasn't been able to do in 36 evenly contested rounds against Pacquiao - get a decision from the ringside scorecards. At age 39, it's a fight that may mean more to his legacy than his future career, which is why it's a fight he seems almost desperate to win.
"All I ask is for the judges to be objective," Marquez said. "They need to really see what is happening in the ring instead of what they think might be happening in the ring."
Pacquiao is not as desperate, but he needs a win just as badly. The Filipino barely escaped with a majority decision over Marquez last November - a result that drew loud boos from the pro-Marquez crowd - and lost a widely panned decision to Timothy Bradley his last time out.
A loss to Marquez would not only confirm the whispers that he is slipping after 17 years as a pro, but perhaps derail for good any talk of a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr that would be boxing's richest ever.
"I have always been focused, but not like this fight," Pacquiao said. "There are no distractions in my mind."
Neither fighter holds a title as they meet in a welterweight fight that will make both even richer. Pacquiao is expected to make more than US$20 million while promoter Bob Arum said Marquez could make as much as US$6 million.
It's a far cry from 2004, when Pacquiao and Marquez could barely fill half the arena. That fight, though, was intriguing, with Pacquiao coming off a win over Marco Antonio Barrera and Marquez having stopped his previous 11 opponents.
It seemed a mismatch when Pacquiao knocked the Mexican down three times in the first round and Marquez barely survived to hear the bell. But he began a comeback in round 3, dominating the late rounds on his way to a disputed draw that foreshadowed what was to come in the years ahead. All three fights - Pacquiao won the past two - were so close they could have gone either way. And had they gone the other way, boxing history may have changed.
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