By John F. McKenna (McJack): Famed trainer Nacho Beristain believes WBO/WBA lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (53-5-1, 39 KO’s) will do well in his fight with World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KO’s) if he can survive the first four rounds. Marquez and Pacquiao will matchup in their Trilogy on November 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

In an interview with GMA News Beristain said through a Top Rank interpreter “If he doesn’t hurt us in four rounds we can do better. We have a good chance of winning the fight.” Marquez’ entire entourage is staying at the Manila Hotel for the kick off of the World Press Tour which Marquez and Pacquiao are embarking on to hype their fight.

Beristain’s comments are kind of iffy and not exactly a ringing endorsement of how he thinks Marquez will do against Pacquiao. The “If he doesn’t hurt us in the first four rounds” quote is particularly troubling. Not exactly what you would expect to hear from Marquez trainer. It begs the question, does Beristain really think “Dinamita” has a chance against “Pacman”?

In their first fight at 126 pounds in 2004 Pacquiao floored Marquez three times in the 1st round. Marquez fought back in the later rounds and the fight was called a draw. The fight was made especially controversial when it was later revealed that one of the judges made an error when tabulating his scorecard. If the fight had been scored correctly Pacquiao would have won the contest. Pacquiao won by a razor thin decision in 2008, which was fought at 130 pounds. Many boxing fans think to the present day that Marquez should have been awarded the decision in the 2nd fight. Marquez has been demanding a rematch ever since the 2008 fight claiming that he won both previous contests.

During the interim between the 2nd fight in 2008 and today, Pacquiao has added a significant amount of muscle and now fights at welterweight. He handles the added weight well and has taken his speed and power with him up to the higher weight. Marquez on the other hand struggled when he attempted to fight at the higher weight.
For that reason and the fact that Marquez is now 38 years old, Pacquiao is expected to be the dominant fighter in the 3rd fight. There will be a catch weight of 144 pounds in the upcoming match.

Controversy always helps to sell a fight and Top Rank CEO Bob Arum is pulling out all the stops including the World Press Tour to hype the Marquez – Pacquiao fight. It is hoped that in the end the Marquez – Pacquiao fight will do 1.4 million Pay Per View buys.