Even without a major world title belt in his possession, Manny Pacquiao is still one of the first boxers mentioned in the rankings of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
Now, in agreeing to a March 15 rematch against Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez, the popular fighter from the Philippines will have the opportunity to take Marquez’s World Boxing Council super-featherweight title.
“I told Manny that 20 years from now they’re never going to be able to say you won a championship,” Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, said.
“It won’t put another dime in his pocket,” Arum added, in reference to paying for the title sanctioning fees, “but Manny said he agreed with me, that the belt is the best thing for his future legend.”
In a bout to be fought at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Pacquiao (45-3-2, 35 knockouts) will attempt to hand another Mexican fighter a defeat on the heels of his second victory over Marco Antonio Barrera in October (by decision), and last year’s pair of triumphs over Erik Morales by knockout and technical knockout.
“I’m champion, and wasn’t happy that he was allowed to dictate so many of the details about wanting to earn more money in this fight,” Marquez said. “But this is the fight I always wanted. I want to prove he’s not the Mexican killer he says he is.”
Marquez (48-3-1, 35 KOs) overcame three first-round knockdowns at the hands of Pacquiao in their May 2004 bout in Las Vegas, rallying to gain a draw in an entertaining battle.
“It’ll be a great fight, a war,” Marquez said. “I expect to be taking and giving punches, and it’ll be won by who’s in the better condition, who makes less mistakes, and who’s smarter.”
Marquez won the title by defeating Barrera in a unanimous decision in March. He has defended the belt once, winning a lopsided unanimous decision over Rocky Juarez in Tucson on Nov. 3.
Pacquiao complained of sickness in making 130 pounds for the Barrera fight, but Arum said Pacquiao will obey a stricter diet and training regimen this time, spending two months before the fight training with Freddie Roach in Los Angeles rather than doing the bulk of the training in his native country as he did last time.
Father knows best
As the son of the Mexican boxing legend, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has the instant name recognition that other boxers usually toil for years to attain.
Promoted by Top Rank, a company that builds its fighters’ records conservatively, the 21-year-old Chavez (33-0-1) and his father have pushed for stiffer competition. They’ll get their wish Saturday night against light middleweight Ray Sanchez (20-1, 15 knockouts) in Sanchez’s hometown of Albuquerque.
“There’s been a great impatience by Chavez Sr. to move the kid fast,” Top Rank’s Arum said. “We’ve accelerated him faster than we’d like, because they want to make more money faster.
“But Junior is nowhere near a complete fighter. He’s a big kid [6 feet] who should better utilize his movement and jab instead of fighting stationary like his father. He’s a work in progress, and this is a real test.”
Sanchez, 24, predicts his “vast” experience in amateur boxing will “pay big dividends. . . . [Chavez] has been born and blessed with the name, but I’m going to detour his career.”
The winner of the pay-per-view bout will meet Alfonso Gomez of “The Contender” reality television series, Arum said.
“I want to prove myself and to everyone that I’m ready for those bigger fights,” Chavez Jr. said.
His father will be in attendance at Albuquerque’s Tingley Coliseum, accompanied by two attendants from an alcohol/drug rehabilitation center the elder Chavez has attended since the summer, Arum said.
Still around
Pomona welterweight “Sugar” Shane Mosley discussed his future with Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions on Thursday and maintained his career was not over. Mosley says he wants only “big, mega-fights” with possible opponents Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton or Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Mosley, 36, and his wife, Jin, have mentioned retirement as a possibility after his unanimous decision loss to World Boxing Assn. welterweight champion Cotto on Nov. 10.
“I want the choice fight, one the fans want to see,” Mosley said. “I’m just going to take a little break to scope out the scene.”
Mosley will be in attendance for next week’s Mayweather-Hatton fight in Las Vegas, and said he should know by early next year how he fits into the talent-deep welterweight landscape.
“If I was not going to get one of those fights, then I would maybe call it quits,” Mosley said. “It’s about giving the fans what they want to see, and everywhere I go they say they still want me to fight.”
