The Filipino Manny Pacquiao will add to his growing reputation as one of the world’s outstanding fighters if he beats Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas tonight to win the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation versions of the world featherweight title.
Pacquiao, 25, a southpaw pressure fighter, produced one of the exceptional performances of recent years in any weight division when he stopped the Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera in 11 rounds in San Antonio last November. Barrera, who ended the unbeaten record of Naseem Hamed, had previously laid claim to being among the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world.
Marquez, 30, is also one of the division’s major talents, however, beating top-class fighters in his fellow Mexican Manuel Medina and the American Derrick Gainer, stopping both in the seventh round, to win his WBA and IBF belts.
The clash of styles promises a classic. Marquez prefers to fight at range and throws devastatingly accurate counter-punches and combinations whereas Pacquiao prospers through the sheer intensity of his work as he rarely takes a backwards step. Regarded as a “pick’em fight” within the trade, the bookmakers find it similarly difficult to establish favouritism for either man. Stan James quotes Pacquiao at 4-5 with Marquez 10-11.
Marquez has been preparing at a training camp almost 13,000ft above sea level and will have massive Hispanic support. He feels slighted that Pacquiao’s backers have already been speaking of taking on another of Mexico’s finest, the No1 super-featherweight Erik Morales, in his next contest.
Pacquiao, who has been trained for the contest in Los Angeles by American boxing’s trainer of the year Freddie Roach, has threatened an early knockout, believing Marquez is similar in style to Barrera. But most experts predict a long and gruelling fight. If Pacquiao, who has already held world titles at flyweight and super-bantamweight, can upset the rhythm of the taller Marquez the Filipino may prevail by a narrow points margin.
Audley Harrison defends his World Boxing Federation heavyweight title and his undefeated record in Bristol tonight against the 39-year-old former British champion Julius Francis, who scored a victory over him 11 years ago when both were amateurs.
It should, though, be a routine affair for Harrison, Francis having lost his last six fights including a points reverse against the now British and Commonwealth title holder Matt Skelton in his most recent outing. On that occasion Francis threw hardly any punches of note.
