MANNY PACQUIAO declared yesterday that he’s ready to face anyone, including Juan Manuel Marquez.
“Whoever is lined up to face me, I won’t hesitate to fight him,” said Pacquiao after watching Marquez’s masterful victory over Mexican compatriot Marco Antonio Barrera hours after he arrived in Los Angeles yesterday.
The Filipino boxing icon was reacting to questions on whom he prefers to meet after his coming bout with another Mexican, Jorge Solis, on April 14 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
“Bring them on,” said Pacquiao as he was preparing to call it a night at his swanky apartment unit at the Palazzo in La Brea.
Pacquiao had just gotten off a 12-hour flight from Manila and was sad that his close friend and fellow lefty Gerry Pe?alosa had just been beaten by Daniel Ponce de Leon.
And while Marquez and Barrera were slugging it out before a huge Mandalay Bay crowd of over 10,000, Pacquiao must have thought about who among these two Latin punchers will be put in front of him after he disposes of unheralded Mexican Jorge Solis next month in San Antonio, Texas.
Of course, the front-runner is Marquez, who scored an impressive unanimous decision over Barrera that ringsiders are starting to drool over the prospects of seeing Pacquiao engage Marquez in a rematch of their controversial May 2004 duel that ended in a draw.
But Filipino boxing personalities are in agreement that Pacquiao will have to come up with an exemplary performance to defeat Marquez in the event they meet in a rematch.
“I have been telling Manny before that if there’s one guy he should never fight again, that fighter is Marquez,” said Pacquiao’s former business manager Rod Nazario.
Nazario was still with Pacquiao when the GenSan boxer met Marquez in May 2004 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and Nazario was amazed not only with Marquez’s recuperative powers but his exceptional counter-punching prowess.
Pacquiao put Marquez down thrice in the first round but the Mexican got up each time to salvage a 12-round split draw.
“For Manny to beat Marquez, he should be in terrific shape and should also alter his fighting style. If Manny decides to attack at will, he will be met with Marquez’s strong and well-timed counters,” said Nazario.
Nazario thinks Marquez has got Pacquiao’s number.
“If Manny gets in, Marquez will just step back and fire a combination. He is very good in fighting aggressive fighters like Pacquiao.
“Manny must fight Marquez from a distance but I doubt if that fight will look good,” added Nazario, whose association with Pacquiao ended two years ago after a decade-long relationship.
Boxing analyst Moy Lainez of In This Corner, another keen observer of the round-robin that is taking place in the super-featherweight class involving Pacquiao, Marquez, Barrera and Erik Morales, believes Pacquiao’s devil-may-care attitude atop the ring is tailor-made for someone as crafty as Marquez.
“Marquez is a very good counter-puncher and Manny is going to be in for a tough fight,” said Lainez, who was at ringside when Pacquiao struggled badly against Marquez.
Tony Aldeguer, one of the country’s leading promoters, can’t wait to see a Pacquiao-Marquez rematch but cautions Pacquiao about the perils of locking horns with someone as lethal-hitting and clever as Marquez.
“It’s going to be a very dangerous fight for Pacquiao,” said Aldeguer from his homebase in Cebu. “Manny must come in top condition to beat Marquez.”
“The way Marquez performed against Barrera, there is great anticipation for a rematch (with Pacquiao) and some people might doubt Pacquiao’s chances but I still think that Pacquiao’s speed and power will be too much (for Marquez) to cope with,” said Dong Secuya, owner-developer of the popular website mannypacquiao.ph.
Rey Golingan, the long-time benefactor of Pacquiao, opines that while Marquez made heads turn against Barrera, “Pacquiao is still going to handle him.”
Meanwhile, Golden Boy Promotions has already announced that a rematch between Barrera and Marquez will take place on Sept. 16.
