MANNY Pacquiao has beaten them all, Mexican warriors who tried hard to claim the Filipino boxer’s scalp but failed and tumbled one after the other like falling dominoes. All, except Juan Marquez.
Yes, he’s the only one great Mexican left who is standing in Pacquiao’s way at 130 pounds and his complete name is Juan Manuel Marquez.
Marquez, a terrific counter-puncher, represents the big stumbling block for Pacquiao is his quest for boxing greatness.
Pacquiao gets a golden opportunity to achieve that lofty billing and crown himself the new world boxing champion when he steps into the ring Sunday to face probably Mexico’s last hope to break a string of Mexican defeats at the hands of the Filipino punching machine.
The Pacquiao-Marquez II is a 12-round championship clash for the WBC and Ring Magazine super featherweight title and is set at the elegant Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 34-year-old Marquez, the defending champion, liked his chances and vowed to halt the rampaging Pacquiao train with a win and become the second Mexican to beat the Filipino pug.
Marquez and Pacquiao had faced each other before, in May of 2004 and in a bout where the Mexican hit the deck three times in the first round, but who came back strong in the second half of the fight to salvage a draw.
For Marquez, a victory over Pacquiao will catapult him to the top and carve his name in the Mexican history books for great boxers, something he has never enjoyed unlike Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, who were treated heroes back home.
That’s what Marquez wants to accomplish, get the attention not only of the Mexican people but also the boxing world and with all his skills, he, without a doubt, can tame a mean machine like Pacquiao.
Ignacio Beristain, Marquez’s famed trainer, believes his ward has the tools to beat Pacquiao.
“I think Juan Manuel is ready because he is a better fighter now. All this time, we have been working and training and getting better,” Beristain said.
“Manny Pacquiao isn’t fighting the same fighter. Juan Manuel is better,” Beristain added.
One fatal mistake, though, and Marquez will become another statistics in Pacquiao’s long list of Mexican victims.
Morales and Barrera, and the likes of Jorge Solis, Hector Velasquez, Oscar Larios, Gabriel Mira and Emmanuel Lucero have all lost to Pacquiao in devastating fashions.
Marquez and Pacquiao both easily made weight Friday before their rematch.
Marquez weighed in right at the 130-pound limit, while Pacquiao weighed 129 pounds in front of a spirited, pro-Mexican crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Marquez and Pacquiao are the main event on Saturday night, nearly four years after their acclaimed first matchup ended in a draw.
Both fighters appeared to be in exceptionally good shape, even by their own lofty standards.
Neither had any evidence of body fat as they flexed and shook hands while the crowd chanted rude slogans in Spanish at Pacquiao, who has beaten Mexican fighters in his last six bouts. (With a report from AP)
