LA PRENSA brings you a preview of the highly anticipated third showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez

By Steve Galindo III

What: Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez III (For the WBO Welterweight title)
Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada
When: Saturday 6:00 p.m.

   For Marquez, the wait for Superman is officially over:

After three years of playing the waiting game, Mexico’s most prominent fighter will finally get what he’s so desperately been seeking: A much deserved third fight with Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao

   For Juan Manuel Marquez, the long- awaited trilogy fight with his arch-rival Manny Pacquiao marks the culmination of year’s worth of patience and persistence which at times has seemed as somewhat of an obsession. How obsessed is Marquez with the notion of facing Manny Pacquiao? In his 1994 classic Gin and Juice, hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg rapped about his obsession with money when he famously flowed: “With my mind on my money, and my money on my mind.” If there were ever a Mexico City remix to Gin and Juice featuring the aforementioned Marquez, one would assume that his lyrics might sound a little like: “With my mind on Manny, and Manny on my mind.”

   Manny has been an incessant thought in Marquez’ mind since spring ‘04. In that year, the two formally met for the featherweight crown in an unforgettable battle staged at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It was a highly anticipated match-up fueled by the fact that both warriors were universally recognized as the top two fighters in the featherweight division. In spite of the fact that Marquez was coming into the bout as both the WBA and IBF champion, Vegas odds makers favored Pacquiao by a 2-1 margin- due in part to his 11- round destruction of fellow Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera six months prior. In the early goings it seemed as though Marquez would meet the same bloody fate as his fellow compatriot Barrera. It took Pacquiao only 2 minutes and 17 seconds to send the champion to the canvas three times. The three knockdowns had left the Pro-Marquez crowd of 7,000 as stunned as their hero. Once boisterous Chants of Mar-Quez! Mar-Quez! – Quickly turned into sunken chants of Si-Se-Puede, Si-Se-Puede. In the face of adversity, battered and bloody, Marquez miraculously gained his composure and instead of saying no mas, he proceeded to mount one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the sport. A brutal back and forth slugfest ensued that saw the Mexican great prove his mettle by battling back to earn a draw.

   In March 2008, nearly four years to the date of their first epic encounter, the two met yet again this time at Jr. Lightweight. As in the first fight, Marquez would enter the bout as the champion and as a 2-1 underdog. This time the drama would unfold across the street from their first fight at the Mandalay Bay Event Center. The ambiance inside of the sold-out arena rivaled that of a World-Cup soccer matchup with both fighters’ countrymen making their presence felt. The fight, billed as “Unfinished Business” picked up where the first one left off with the two warriors standing toe-to-toe in the center of the ring exchanging jabs, hooks, and timely combinations-much to the delight of the 12,000 rabid fans in attendance. In round three, Pacquiao would go on to floor Marquez- but as in the first fight, the future hall of famer rallied back and at times seemed to have a bloodied Pacquiao on the ropes. Despite his best efforts, Marquez’ rally fell short as Pacquiao would go on to squeak his way to victory via a contentious split decision victory. When asked of the controversial decision Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach shrugged his shoulders and admitted that the fight “Could have gone either way.” When asked of his thoughts of a potential third fight with Marquez, Pacquiao declined stating that “the business is over.”

   Three years – three weight classes later and it would appear as if “the business” is anything but over. Tomorrow night from the sold-out MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will meet once again at a catch weight of 144 pounds. In a vast contrast from their previous two outings, Marquez is now seen as a tremendous underdog, 8-1 according to Las Vegas sports books. “People can make bets if they like that is fine with me” said a defiant Marquez. “It has nothing to do with my fight. I have to go into the fight with a mentality that I have to win each round and if the opportunity comes I go for the knockout. I am not going to hesitate if the opportunity is there.”

   In a career that spans over 17 years the proud Mexican fighter has never faced such immense odds- not even in his fight versus Floyd Mayweather Jr. While many pundits are predicting an easy night’s work for Pacquiao, some would argue that Marquez’ style will continue to stymie Pacquiao, thus handing him his first defeat in over 6 years. In other words, where most see Pacquiao as boxing’s equivalent to a modern day superman, some see Marquez as his kryptonite.

Marquez: Right opponent at the right time

   The selection of Marquez was essentially a no brainer for Pacquiao promoter, Bob Arum. After drawing ire and criticism by both fans and media for the selection of Pacquiao’s last three opponents, Arum knew that he needed to find a suitable dance partner for the Filipino deity. Knowing that Floyd Mayweather Jr. would not be available for a fall showdown (and perhaps may never be available), Arum turned to Marquez. Aside from May-weather, financially, Marquez is the biggest fight out there for Pacquiao. The last time the two hooked up, the fight set a record by amassing 400,000 pay-per-view purchases- which at the time was a record for boxing’s lower weight classes. An amazing figure considering the fact that the economy was in much more dire straits at the time.

   For tomorrow night’s fight Arum should have no problem in tripling the pay-per-view totals of the ’08 fight as the rivalry between the two has grown to be more intense- thanks in part to a t-shirt that Marquez wore that read “Marquez beat Pacquiao twice.” The affable Marquez has turned into the guy that Filipino fans love to hate and in this business beef equates to bucks- just ask Floyd Mayweather Jr. (if you could find him).Needless to say, Top Rank Promotions didn’t need the services of a terrestrial network such as CBS to help sell this fight. The fight sells itself. For it is one that goes far beyond the ring- national bragging rights are at stake. Mexicans see Marquez as their last line of defense against a man that has been dubbed as the Mexicutioner for his dominance over Mexican born fighters. While Filipinos hope that their Manny could shut Marquez and his Mexican faithful up once and for all. Make no mistake about it, this is not a case of a fighter showing up to collect a check a la Mosley or Clottey- this is no third time a charm type scenario for Marquez- he is coming to leave it all in the ring which makes us fans the true winners.

Gran Predicción 

   Pacquiao will try to employ a similar tactic that he used in their first fight and come out with an all-out blitz on an unsuspecting Marquez. I see Marquez going down twice within the first six rounds, but as the two previous fights I see him rising up the canvas to dish out some punishment of his own. The question then becomes: Does Marquez have enough ‘Dinamita’ to defeat Pacquiao? My answer is no. The muscle mass gained by Marquez will do him more harm than good in this instance and will make him a more stationary opponent. Despite Pacquiao’s claims of this fight being more personal, I feel that he will show a bit of compassion towards his rival which will allow the fight to go the distance. – PACQUIAO by Unanimous Decision- Steve Galindo III

Fight Fans Weigh-In

   I believe that Marquez will put everything on the line and prove once and for all that he is the superior fighter. After two bad decisions Marquez will finally be vindicated with a win over his nemesis Pacquiao. This is Marquez’ time to shine. – MARQUEZ by TKO in round 10- Jaime Baro, 33, South East San Diego

   I believe Marquez’s style should give Pacquiao a challenge, but after it’s all said and done, Pacquiao’s speed and power will prove to be too much for Marquez. – PAC-QUIAO by K.O. in round 10- Robert Aguirre, 28, Torrance, CA.

   I think Marquez will out box Manny again and use his counter punching to wear Manny down. Marquez’ style and skill set is Manny’s kryptonite.- MARQUEZ by Unanimous Decision – Enrique Pimentel Jr., 29, Chula Vista.

Tijuana’s Juan Carlos Burgos to open up Pacquiao-Marquez telecast

   Super featherweight Juan Carlos Burgos (27-1, 19 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico, who is set to engage 26-year-old Puerto Rican Luis Cruz (19-0, 15 KOs) this Saturday, November 12 in a ten- round battle as the HBO Pay-Per-View televised opener of the highly anticipated Pacquiao vs. Marquez rubber match, put the finishing touches before his departure to Las Vegas.

   The talented Burgos had this to say about the upcoming battle, “I am preparing very hard for this fight because I don’t want to have the problems I had last year when I fought Hozumi Hasegawa in Japan.  I feel that I started too late and it caused me the loss, I was able to hurt Hasegawa in the middle rounds but I would have been more effective if I put more pressure on him early on.  I don’t want to have any regrets after this fight so I am going to go all out.”

   Burgos continued, “I put in a lot of work training in both San Diego and my hometown of Tijuana.  The training was intense.  This is my first fight at 130 pounds and I feel very comfortable at this weight. I don’t think that it will diminish my footwork, I actually think it will add to my strength and open new opportunities since I will be able to fight as a featherweight or a super featherweight.”

Questions/Comments: Steve Galindo III can be reached @ stevegalindo3@gmail.com