Will Pacquiao Ever Fight Marquez Again?

marquez44322.jpgBy Manuel Perez: Now that Manny Pacquiao has a huge mega-fight with Oscar De La Hoya coming up, and possibly another big money fight following that one against Ricky Hatton, I doubt more and more that Pacquiao will ever risk facing Juan Manual Marquez (49-4-1, 36 KOs) again. Twice they’ve gone at it, with the first fight resulting in a draw and the second a close 12-round split decision win for Pacquiao in March. As much as I like Pacquiao as a fighter, I think he’s been extremely fortunate to have escaped losing to Marquez on both occasions. And because of this, I think Pacquiao is going to steer around Marquez for the remainder of his career, making sure that he stays well clear of him to avoid facing a potential embarrassing loss.

Pacquiao wants to be paid well for a bout against Marquez, and apparently he believes that Marquez simply wants too much money to make the fight possible. However, other than fights against De La Hoya or Hatton, Marquez is the only other fighter near the same size as Pacquiao that can bring in big money. Of course, Pacquiao can always continue fighting opponents bigger than him if he does well against De La Hoya, and stay in the welterweight division.

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Does Pacquiao Now Need Marquez More Than He Needs Him?

marquez56674345.jpgBy Alex McMillan: There were some interesting comments both in the immediate aftermath and at the press conference of Juan Manuel Marquez’ superb eleventh round KO of former lightweight linchpin Joel Casamayor last Saturday night; a career highlight in a career simply crammed with highlights. Firstly from the fighter himself, who declared that where Floyd Mayweather had previously been the pound for pound king, he himself was now rightful heir to the throne, and secondly from his promotion team ‘Golden Boy’, led of course by Oscar de la Hoya, whose CEO Richard Schaefer made it clear that Manny Pacquiao at this stage ‘wants nothing to do with Marquez’, who it seems will be forced to look instead at other prominent lightweight challenges, of which, granted, there are many.

The pound for pound mantle has become boxing’s unquestionable holy grail, a title that eludes belts and governing bodies in a sport – or perhaps the term business is more accurate – heavily saturated with both. In recent years it’s been nigh-on impossible to argue the mantle away from Mayweather, try though some might; since his retirement (for as long as it lasts) the door has been opened, and pretenders to the crown aplenty.

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Marquez Stops Casamayor

marquez674578.jpgBy Jason Kim: Six months after being on the receiving end of a very controversial loss to Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez got back on the winning track against veteran Joel Casamayor (36-4-1, 22 KOs), defeating him by a 11th round TKO on Saturday night at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Marquez, 35, who was moving up from the super featherweight division to take on Casamayor, dropped him twice in the 11th round. After the second knockdown, referee Tony Weeks stepped in and stopped the fight at 2:55 as Casamayor laid bleeding from his both his right eye and nose on the canvas. The fight was very close at the time of the stoppage, however, and I had the fight Casamayor slightly ahead at the time the fight was stopped. Marquez fought well in the first half of the fight, doing particularly well in rounds two, five, six, and ten, but the rest of the rounds appeared to have won by the taller, slicker counter punching Casamayor.

Indeed, at the time of the stoppage Casamayor had been fighting well and appeared to be possibly heading to a victory. After appearing to lose rounds seven through nine, Marquez rallied in the 10th round, landing several big right hands that clearly bothered Casamayor. Although the Cuban fighter shook his head as if to indicate the punches didn’t bother him, it looked to have done just that. Casamayor was bothered by a large cut over his right eye and a bloody nose, both of which appeared to occur at the same time in round five.

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De la Hoya Interested In Mayweather Rematch, Comments on Pacquiao, Casamayor-Marquez Bouts

delahoya545461.jpgBy Eric Thomas: In an interview yesterday with Brian Kenny from the Sportscenter, Oscar de la Hoya commented on various things, from a second fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr., how he’ll choose to fight Manny Pacquiao in their December 6th fight and his thoughts on the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Joel Casamayor bout on Saturday night. When asked about a second bout with Mayweather, De La Hoya said, “If I could have that rematch, how different that fight would be. When I fought Floyd, it was easier when I was throwing the jab, but for some reason I stopped throwing it. If we did it again in the near future, it would be a whole different story, that’s for sure…I hear he needs money.”

In commenting on Pacquiao, De La Hoya had this to say, “I have to be smart, be rangy, and just have to make sure I have my hands up when he [Pacquiao] comes inside.”

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Casamayor vs. Marquez on Saturday – Boxing News

casamayor5344.jpgBy Jason Kim: If you’re looking for excitement this Saturday night, then look no further than the lightweight match-up between former super featherweight champions Juan Manuel Marquez (48-4, 35 KOs) and Joel Casamayor (36-3, 22 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round bout at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada. Both fighters are getting up there in age, but Marquez, 35, appears to have much more left in the tank as evidenced by his 12-round split decision loss to Manny Pacquiao in March 2008. By most accounts, Marquez appeared to win the fight but found himself on the losing end of a questionable split decision to the more popular Pacquiao.

Unable to get attain a rematch with Pacquiao, who instead has opted to face Oscar De La Hoya, Marquez then chose to move up from the super featherweight division to the lightweights to find greener pastures. He was quickly able to land a fight with former Cuban amateur star Casamayor, which he hopes will be the beginning of finding other big fights in the division, such as a bout with Nate Campbell or possibly a rematch with Pacquiao, who already moved up to the lightweight division and is a current World Boxing Council lightweight champion after a win over David Diaz.

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Why Won’t Pacquiao Fight Marquez Again?

marquez55544.jpgBy Manuel Perez: After having seen the second of their two fights in March, a fight which Marquez appeared to dominate yet lost by a 12-round split decision, I wonder why on earth Manny Pacquiao (47-3, 25 KOs) is content to walk away from a third bout between the two fighters? Could it be fear that he may lose to him, which he should have in the second if the judges’ had scored it as many boxing fans did, and hence ruin his ability to get future big paydays? It seems as if Pacquiao is ducking him, trying to avoid taking a big risk – for little money – and fighting him. Instead of what would likely be a superb third fight between these two fighters, we get Pacquiao dancing back and forth with De La Hoya over money issues.

Even if the fight ever does come off, which i don’t think it will, it still won’t likely be as half as exciting as a third fight between Marquez and Pacquiao. Maybe I come from the old school in which when you don’t beat someone conclusively, you turn around immediately and give them a rematch so you can prove it to the public and yourself, that you are indeed the better fighter of the two. Pacquiao, as good as some of his many boxing fans think he is, hasn’t proven himself to be the better fighter in either of their two bouts. In fact, he’s proven to be the lesser of the two fighters, as Marquez has out-boxed him in both fighters after being knocked down. Who cares if Marquez was knocked down once or twice?

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Pacquiao Defeats Marquez On Questionable Decision

pacquiao4323353.jpgBy Manuel Perez: For the second time in four years, WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (48-4-1, 35 KOs) finds himself on the losing end of a dreadful decision, this time a 12-round split decision loss to Filipino star Manny Pacquiao (46-3-2, 35 KOs) on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The final judges’ scores were 115-112 for Pacquiao, 112-115 for Marquez and 114-113 for Pacquiao.

I personally had Marquez winning 8 rounds to 4, but with the knockdown of Marquez in the 3rd round, it came out to 7-5. Many other sports writers at both ringside and on the internet are in agreement with me about the outcome being a horrible decision.

I can’t say that I’m particularly surprised, though, because Pacquiao is the bigger named fighter and it would have taken almost a miracle performance by Marquez to pull out a decision, even though he was the WBC super featherweight champion going into the bout and should have had that going for him. Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough cache to get the win, but for most people that saw the fight, they know really won the fight, so I consider Marquez the people’s champion.

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De La Hoya’s Golden Goodbye Card

by Nick Kelly: It was entitled ‘Unfinished Business’ but even after Michael Buffer announced the split decision scorecards we were no nearer to knowing who is the superior of Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao.

Ever since the synonymous draw between the two in 2004, arguments have raged that either fighter could and should have been the victor.

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Marquez-Pacquiao: Will It Be Worth The Wait?

By Nate Anderson: For some boxing fans, this fight has come too late and it’s not the same as it could have been. However, for most people, they could care less how long they had to wait, it’s worth it none the less. On Saturday night, Manny Pacquiao (45-3-2, 35 KOs), considered to be one of the Pound for Pound best fighters in boxing, will challenge WBC featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (48-3, 35 KOs) in a rematch of their 2004 bout, which resulted in a disappointing draw. Both fighters are four years older now and look slightly different from the natural process of aging, along with a few more battle scars.

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Marquez Looking Forward To Rematch With Pacquiao

marquez555557551.jpgWorld 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.

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