Saturday night’s Juan Manuel Marquez-Manny Pacquiao fight won’t be the most-discussed boxing match of the year and it won’t be the most profitable, but I think it’s going to be the best fight of the year.
Marquez and Pacquiao, who are fighting at 130 pounds, are clearly the class of their division, and many would argue that after Floyd Mayweather, they’re the two best fighters in the world regardless of weight class. They fought to a wild draw in 2004, and they’re both still on top of their games.
Here are the details:
What: Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Manny Pacquiao for the Ring Magazine and WBC super featherweight/junior lightweight titles.
When: Saturday, 9 p.m. ET
Where: Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas
How: Pay-per-view, $49.95 (high definition is $59.95), or just follow along with the FanHouse live blog.
A prediction is after the jump.
The first time they fought, Pacquiao knocked Marquez down three times in the first round, and then took on an uncharacteristically measured approach to the rest of the fight. Although one judge gave most of the last 11 rounds to Pacquiao, one of the judges thought Marquez absolutely dominated the remaining 11 rounds, another judge thought Marquez won most of the remaining 11 rounds, and the result was a draw.
Any time two titans fight and the judges see three different things (the scores were 115-110, 113-113 and 110-115), a rematch is something that everyone wants to see, and it’s surprising that it has taken four years to get this one done. But it will be worth the wait.
Both Marquez and Pacquaio say they’re going to have a different strategy going into this fight than they had the last time. Although Marquez might be a better fighter now than he was in 2004, I expect to see Pacquaio use his right hand effectively, hurt Marquez early the way he did the first time they fought, and not let up.
