Pacquiao-Marquez III promotion in full swing         

   With one single point  the difference in keeping their two previous world title rumbles from being Draws, Fighter of the Decade MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO of the Philippines and Three-Division World Champion JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ of México will go mano a mano once again in a battle between two of this era’s top pound for pound and evenly matched fighters. Pacquiao-Marquez III, the eagerly anticipated third act of their world championship trilogy that has had fans and media standing on their feet for 24 action-packed rounds, will take place Saturday, November 12. It will be produced and distributed Live by HBO Pay-Per-View from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nev. “Our previous fights against each other brought out the best in us,” said Pacquiao. 

   “Of all the opponents I have fought, Juan Manuel Marquez is the only one who was able to anticipate many of my moves and effectively counter most of them not unlike a chess match; but instead of exchanging pieces we exchange punches. Freddie Roach and I will need to make the most of every training day to prepare for Juan Manuel. When I walk into the ring on November 12, it will be more than a world title defense for me. It will be another opportunity to bring honor and glory to my country and to my fellow Filipinos in the Philippines and around the world.”

   “I have been waiting for this fight for a long time and I am very excited that is finally going to happen,” countered Marquez. “I beat him the first two fights but did not get the decision; this time I will beat him again and I will also get the victory.”

   “The first two fights were as close as any two fights could be. The first fight was a Draw, the second was a close split-decision. This fight on November 12 will conclusively demonstrate who the better fighter is and settle a point of contention which has been going on for years,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.

   Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs), the lone congressional representative from the Sarangani province in the Philippines, returns to the Fight Capital of the World to defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight championship crown, his seventh of a  record eight world titles in as many weight divisions. He has successfully defended his welterweight title twice, via dominant unanimous decisions over former International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight champion Joshua Clottey and former three-division world champion Sugar Shane Mosley.

   Marquez (53-5-1, 39 KOs), of México City, is one of only a rare few from México to have won world titles in three different weight divisions.  He captured his first world title – the vacant 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. Marquez 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, Marquez 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, winning 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, Marquez has won five of his last six fights, including knockout victories of Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis, the latter two in World Boxing Association (WBA) / WBO lightweight championship fights

Adamek & Klitschko
Final Pre-Fight Press Conference

   Vitali Klitschko: “I know Tomasz Adamek is the most difficult fighter. He is very fast, very good condition. This fight will not be easy for me and this is why the preparation was special. Why special? Because I have a special opponent and I have special surprises. The surprises you can see in the ring.”

   “I’m ready to fight Tomasz. Everybody watched the Vladimir – Haye fight. David Haye is the biggest talker; Tomasz Adamek is the strongest fighter. Behind my brother and me is Tomasz. Can Tomasz be #1 in the world? Let’s see. I kind of like you Tomasz, maybe after this fight we can be friends, but on Saturday there will be no friendship between us. I am very proud have this belt, which many years ago Muhammad Ali, Lenox Lewis and many, many big fighters had and I never ever give this title to someone just for free. Tomasz, good luck trying to take this title away, I am ready to show my skills. This title is my title.”

   Tomasz Adamek: “I’m really glad to be in Wroclaw. I was ten and a half weeks in training. That was a time for preparation, now is a time for the fight. I’m in great shape after training with Roger (Bloodworth). I thank God for those weeks, it’s a long time and I was able to stay healthy.”

   “I’m ready for a big war with Vitali. I’m really ready to win this belt. I know it’s not going to be easy because it’s never easy in the ring, but my spirits are high and I’m ready for it. I will do everything to keep the WBC title in Poland.”

   The WBC Heavyweight Championship battle featuring reigning WBC champion Vitali Klitschko, 42-2, 39 KO’s and Tomasz Adamek, 44-1, 28 KO’s, will be held Saturday, September 10th at the new Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw, Poland.

   The fight will be shown live, Saturday, September 10, on HBO World Championship Boxing at 4:45pm ET.