This morning we spoke with Manny Pacquiao, along with trainer Freddie Roach and promoter Bob Arum about his upcoming fight with Juan Manuel Marquez. Below are highlights from the conference call.
Pacquiao Conference Call Highlights
This morning, we joined in a conference call with the Pac-Man himself, Manny Pacquiao along with trainer Freddie Roach and Top Rank’s Bob Arum.
Manny talked about the first fight where he had Marquez hurt in the first round. Manny stated that he hurt his hand after the second knockdown and acquired a blister but was able to fight through it.
Manny said that he has learned a lot since the first fight. That he has gained more experience and has developed his right hand better. He doesn’t understimate Marquez though and he expects him to come to fight. Freddie also feels that Pacquiao is a much better fighter than he was 4 years ago.
I asked Manny about what he felt Marquez will bring to this fight and he feels that Marquez will be extremely focused and motivated since their draw. He knows he’ll bring his best and Manny knows that he is very well prepared for it. In talking to Bob Arum, I mentioned the buzz that can still be felt in the San Francisco Bay Area since Pacquiao’s media workout last week and I asked if he would like to put on a Pacquiao fight in the area any time soon. Bob responded positively saying that he would absolutely like to put that together. He said that they received a very good reception and Manny also promised his fans that he would come back to San Francisco. Bob has been in talks at the San Francisco Giants’ stadium about possibly bringing a Pacquiao fight later this year.
Bob was Marquez’ promoter last time and he thought the fight was going to be over in the first round. He talked about how the fight reminded him of Pavlik-Taylor I, in that it was a gutsy performance by Marquez. He also mentioned that there was a mistake in the scorecards with one judge scoring it 10-7 instead of 10-6 after three knockdowns and had he scored it correctly, the fight would have gone to Pacquiao.
Regarding the rematch, Bob mentioned that the reason it didn’t happen immediately was because Marquez’ camp wanted more money and since they didn’t get that request, they took on Chris John in Indonesia.
Manny was asked about coming earlier into training camp and he said that he knows Marquez is no easy opponent and that he wanted to be 100% concentrated on the fight. Arum fully expects that Pacquiao will have this mentality of coming into camp earlier and getting into phenomenal shape.
Though a potential fight with David Diaz is possible for the WBC lightweight title should he win, Manny is fully focused on Marquez but he would like to fight for a title at 130 lbs.
Pacquiao also responded about questions regarding future political aspirations in the Philippines and he said that he is completely dedicated to his boxing career now and doesn’t plan on getting into politics at this time.
Manny is happy that he has also crossed over into the Mexican market despite having big wins over major Mexican fighters. He wouldn’t want to be dubbed the next “Mexican Assassin” which was a nickname give to Roger Mayweather in the 80’s for feeding on Mexicans fighters in his era. Manny is pleased that the Mexican community has become fans of his and his goal is to have fanbases not only in the Philippines but everywhere around the world. Bob feels that his job is to get Manny popular within as many diverse communities and he knows that he is one of the most exciting fighters in the world today. He’s also in a good and interesting fight.
Marquez mentioned yesterday that this fight will be much more different from the last time they met and Pacquiao agrees. He also mentioned that he does various activities to relax before a fight such as play basketball or play chess in his apartment.
In closing Bob promised a terrific card on March 15, and Pacquiao went off to his media workout in LA.
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Marquez-Pacquaio II is scheduled for March 15 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout will be televised by HBO PPV starting at 9 PM ET/ 6 PM PT and will feature three other titles bouts on the televised portion of the card.
411mania will provide play by play coverage from Las Vegas so stay tuned next Saturday night for all the action.
