MANILA, Philippines ? Juan Manuel Marquez woke up before the sun was up on Monday and made the 45-minute drive to Toluca from Mexico City where he engaged in old school training methods like wood-chopping and striking a spare tire with a sledgehammer.
To say that Marquez is looking forward to knocking out Manny Pacquiao on Dec. 8 is an understatement.
According to the Mexican media, Marquez woke up at 4:30 am and travelled to Toluca with two members of his training team, braving the dawn chill that is caused by the elevation of 8,700 feet, more than 1,000 feet higher than their homebase in Mexico City.
“The holidays are over,” Marquez told the leading Mexican sports paper Esto. “This is the beginning of a great preparation.”
Marquez did not waste time in priming up for Pacquiao by opting to report for training right away even though he was just busy promoting his fourth fight with Pacquiao last week in Los Angeles, New York and Mexico City.
The mystical mountains of Toluca will be the venue of Marquez’s roadwork in the coming weeks even though he will spend most of his time planning under the watchful eyes of Nacho Beristain.
“There is enough time to achieve great preparation. I have about two and a half months to get a lot of preparation,” added Marquez, who turned 39 last August.
While it appeared that Marquez was in full blast, his trainers made it clear it was just the beginning of the long and arduous preparation to prove that he is the better man.
Pacquiao and Marquez battled to a draw the first time they met in 2004 but Pacquiao scored two controversial wins in 2008 and 2011.
Still, owing to the close decisions, Hall of Fame promoter Bod Arum said a fourth fight involving the two is expected to make a killing not only in gate attendance but, more importantly, in pay-per-view sales.
During the promotional tour, Pacquiao and Marquez both expressed optimism that there won’t be a need to stage a fifth fight.
Pacquiao, who turns 34 on Dec. 17, said he will go for an early knockout, while Marquez echoed the same thing, vowing that when the cloud clears, his hands–and not Pacquiao’s–will be raised.
