?I beat him the first three fights but did not get the decision; this time I will beat him again and I also will get the victory officially. It?s an election year and I am going to win by a landslide.” — Juan Manuel Marquez
Proud Mexican boxing legend Juan Manuel Marquez was all business Monday afternoon at the Beverly Hills Hotel for the press conference of his fourth fight with arch-rival Manny Pacquiao on Dec. 8th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Marquez sang a familiar tune as he did in the last two press conferences he did with Pacquiao, although this time around, even a good number of Pacquiao’s own fans were taking him seriously after the way he humbled the Filipino boxing icon in their third fight, which ended in a controversial split decision in favor of his foe.
“People say why against Pacquiao,” opened Marquez, and continued by saying, “I want to prove who’s better, and I want the referee to raise my hand. I’m training very hard for December 8. I’ll be ready to fight.” For his hand to be raised for sure, Marquez needs to find a way to leave it out of the judges’ hands. Something he is preparing to do, as he plans to work on improving his speed and power for his fourth try at thwarting Pacquiao. “I’ll be ready to win again. I didn’t like the judges’ decision, because everybody knows what happened in the last 3 fights,” Marquez continued.
What everybody knows is a matter of opinion, but one thing’s for sure, all 3 fights were close and exciting. Marquez is the one true thorn on Pacquiao’s side, and can play the role of the spoiler when it comes to the mega-million Pacquiao-Mayweather “Dream Fight”, which is starting to look like a realistic possibility for 2013.
“Each fight is a challenge, but this is a tough challenge for me. Manny Pacquiao knows me and I know him,” said Marquez. At this point, can any man really change their styles, game plan, and surprise the other and effect a different outcome in their 4th fight?
Both men have much to prove, but Pacquiao stands with much more to lose. That said, Marquez still has a lot of pressure in his shoulders to prove hs claims of superiority in the rind. Both men have read each other’s books, but Marquez clearly has a better understanding of what he has read, but can he finally put together a dominating performance?
He may have done well in his three previous fights against Pacquiao, and can definitely argue he won any of those three, but if he intends to be content in putting forth a similar performance, then he should also be content with a similar outcome.
