Mexican challenger Juan Manuel Marquez said he has been working on his speed and power to bolster his chances of upsetting heavily favored world welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao in their title fight on November 12 in Las Vegas.
?Now, we are working on building speed. The training is going really well. I think we?re doing it the right way,? Marquez said during the second installment of 24/7 HBO feature Saturday night to hype one of the biggest boxing matches of the year.
As if to underscore his newfound strength, HBO showed footages of a bigger and grim-faced Marquez knocking down a sparring partner with powerful combinations and popping up the speedball from sheer power.
His Hall of Fame Mexican trainer, Ignacio ?Nacho? Beristain, acknowledged improvements in Marquez? game and power, but was quick to downplay the impact of his fighter decking one of his spar mate with a solid straight right hand.
?Those accidents can happen in training. There is no reason to start celebrating,? said the pragmatic trainer, who has developed more than a dozen world champions. ?Our goal is Pacquiao and he is what we?re working for.?
But Beristain cited basic changes in Marquez? training regimen for his prized fighter?s first fight at welterweight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2010. Marquez suffered a near shutout loss to Mayweather in that non-title fight,
?That training was different. He was carrying rocks and it changed his natural flexibility. He became a little slower, as if he?s lost his explosiveness. All these, combined with Mayweather?s great ability and weight advantage, we did bit stand a chance,? Beristain said of Marquez? training for Mayweather.
This time, Team Marquez hired strength and conditioning coach, Angel Fernandez, to supervise the unified world lightweight champion bulking up to the agreed welterweight limit of 144 pounds.
