MANILA, Philippines — Manny Pacquiao has been dubbed ?The Mexican Killer? for beating the best fighters Mexico has to offer. Juan Manuel Marquez asserts the Filipino ring superstar doesn?t deserve the moniker.
The World Boxing Council super featherweight champion, dubbed ?The Last Mexican Standing? rightfully maintains that ?he (Pacquiao) didn?t beat me the first time.?
Marquez, who?s feeling intense nationalistic pressure to whip Pacquiao in their rematch on March 15, was referring to their first encounter on May 24, 2004 that ended in a draw even if Pacquiao had sent Marquez to the canvass thrice in the first round.
Finally standing nose-to-nose with Pacquiao during Tuesday?s (Wednesday in Manila) press conference of Pacquiao-Marquez II set at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Marquez resented Pacquiao?s answer to one of the questions fielded.
Asked: ?If you beat Marquez, would you ever dare vacation in Mexico??
Pacquiao grinned, then said: ?Maybe, but with more bodyguards.?
For Marquez, the reply was far from funny.
?There is so much pride,? Marquez said. ?There is so much feeling in me. I want so badly to beat Manny.?
His primary reason, of course, is to salvage Mexican pride which has been pricked by Pacquiao?s rampage over the country?s best, including future Hall of Famers Marco Antonio Barrera and Eric Morales.
Marquez, already looking fit and ready to defend the crown he wrested from Barrera last year, promised the audience he won?t end up as another victim of Pacquiao?s fury.
Like Marquez, Pacquiao is also brimming with patriotic fervor.
?Here we go again,? Pacquiao said. ?It is not about the belt, it?s about the honor of my country.?
Pacquiao is gunning for his third world championship after winning the flyweight and junior featherweight titles.
For added motivation, Pacquiao stands to receive about P400 million, counting PPV (pay-per-view revenues), his biggest paycheck ever.
The 34-year-old Marquez, on the other hand, settled for a lesser amount just to earn the legacy that has long eluded him.
?Maybe before I was put in the shadows,? said Marquez, who?s regarded below Barrera and Morales back home. ?But I will demonstrate that I fight with heart and soul.?
?The presscon which included a fancy lunch was well attended by members of the Los Angeles media as well as out-of-town and international scribes and photographers,? reported Ed De la Vega of Philboxing.com.
Close to 300 were present in the affair jointly hosted by Bob Arum, president of Top Rank, and Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, at the Beverly Hills Hotel along Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
Co-promoters GBP and Top Rank have dubbed the rematch as ?Unfinished Business,? highlighting the fact that Pacquiao-Marquez I ended in a draw.
?I have to win this fight as we have many plans for more and bigger fights this year,? Pacquiao told the gathering, referring to a possible June 28 bout in his next outing likely set in Macau.
Pacquiao arrived in Los Angeles Monday night to attend the promotional launch and begin his preparations at the Wild Card Gym of renowned trainer Freddie Roach.
?This rivalry between a Mexican and Filipino is good for boxing,? said Roach. ?This is going to be a huge fight.? With reports from Salven L. Lagumbay and The Associated Press
