LAS VEGAS?Mention Manny Pacquiao?s supposedly punishing training and great physical shape and Juan Manuel Marquez responds with a smirk.
The Mexican World Boxing Council super featherweight champion said he believes Pacquiao?s camp was just using it as ploy to hide his fears and worries.
?Maybe he?s more afraid,? said Marquez in Spanish, during Wednesday?s press conference of the ?Unfinished Business? at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.
?Or maybe he?s worried about something.?
Marquez, who did his altitude training at the Toluca mountains and his regular workouts at the Romanza Gym in Mexico City, stressed that he had prepared even longer and harder than the Filipino challenger.
After running in the rugged mountains with weights in both hands, Marquez said he feels a lot younger than 34.
?I am stronger, better and faster now,? said Marquez. ?I also gained experience.?
Marquez also scoffed at Team Pacquiao?s claims that the Filipino ring idol has turned into a two-handed fighter.
?I?ve always considered Pacquiao as a boxer with two hands,? said Marquez. ?I don?t need any special preparations. If I need to adjust something, I will do it in the ring.?
Marquez said he prefers to do his talking in the ring, where there?s only him and Pacquiao.
?I want to prove that I?m better than Pacquiao, and nothing can stop me as I have great spirit,? said Marquez. ?I want this fight very much to bring back pride to my country. I am not thinking of losing.?
Marquez reiterated that money was not the issue when he agreed to a big pay cut just to battle the man who downed him thrice in the first round of Pacquiao-Marquez I in 2004.
?It?s about pride,? said Marquez. ?They (promoters) insulted me with their small offers. Truth is, they just wanted to avoid me.?
Come Saturday (Sunday morning in Manila), when Pacquiao-Marquez II gets under way here, Marquez will either be vindicated or ridiculed.
