Marquez Looking Forward To Rematch With Pacquiao

World Boxing Council super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (48-3-1, 35 KOs) is getting ready for his March 15th rematch with Manny Pacquiao, whom he fought to a controversial 12-round draw with in May 2004. Marquez, 34, was knocked down three times in the first round of the fight, but from then on he rallied back, appearing to win most of the remaining rounds of the fight behind his sharp counter-punching style.

Despite the many knockdowns, it appeared that Marquez had done enough to earn the decision to many people that saw the bout. Afterwards, Marquez was eager for a rematch, but he was unable to reach agreement with Pacquiao and the fight never came off. Now, three years later, Marquez wants to prove that he is the better fighter once and for all, and is training hard to make that happen.

With the fight still three months away, Marquez is already within five lbs of the super featherweight limit. This time, the bout may turn out different, as long as Marquez can stay on his feet during the bout.

According to Marquez, “Manny is very strong but he’s not technical. Manny doesn’t like it when you go looking for the fight. He doesn’t know how to back up. He’s called a terminator of Mexican fighters but with me, no.”

Marquez has fought the tougher opposition since then, fighting Chris John, Jimrex Jaca, Marco Antonio Barrera, Olando Salido, to name a few, whereas Pacquiao has faced a washed up Erik Morales three times, Jorge Solis, Oscar Larios, Hector Velazquez and Marco Antonio Barrera. Pacquiao has seemed more interested in taking the softer competition rather than facing Marquez again. Some boxing fans think that Pacquiao waited this long to fight Marquez because he felt that by waiting this long, he would have a better chance at winning the fight.