By Rob Smith: Freddie Roach doesn’t see the need for Manny Pacquiao to take any tune-up fights, and he just wants him back in the ring and ready to take on Juan Manuel Marquez for a fifth fight. Roach is excited about the fight because he thinks it’ll break the 2.4 million pay per view totals from the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. mark back in 2007. Those totals are the highest PPV mark ever in the sport, and Roach thinks Pacquiao-Marquez 5 will bust that record.
Juan Manuel Marquez
Juan Manuel Marquesz boxing news
Who will Arum match Pacquiao and Marquez up with on April 20th?
By Rob Smith: Bob Arum of Top Rank is interested in putting together a doubleheader on April 20th with Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez each fight separate tune-up fights on a pay per view card. Arum wants to get the boxing public interested in a September fifth fight between the two fighters.
A tune-up really isn’t needed for the 39-year-old Marquez because he looked really sharp on December 8th last month in stopping Pacquiao in the 6th round. But Pacquiao definitely needs a tune-up bout or two because he was badly knocked out and the Arum probably needs to make sure he’s okay by having him fight a safe opponent without any power to speak of.
With this being a tune-up fight I would figure that Arum would look to match Pacquiao against a weak punching 2nd tier fighter so there’s no risk of Pacquiao getting knocked out again, but I think Arum will want to keep the fight an in house Top Rank affair by matching him against one of his own fighters.
Pacquiao and Marquez in possible tune-up doubleheader on April 20th
By Rob Smith: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is reportedly interested in putting together separate tune-up bouts for his fighter Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez in a pay per view doubleheader on April 20th, according to the Manila Bulletin. Pacquiao’s anxious to get back in the ring and his 90-day medical suspension will have expired by that point. The tune-up bouts would get Pacquiao and Marquez ready for a huge mega fight later on in the year in September if the two fighters agree to it.
Marquez still needs to say ‘yes’ to the idea of the April 20th doubleheader. Arum spoke with Marquez’s promoter Fernando Beltran of Zanfer Promotions and he’s going to be speaking with Marquez to see if he’s on board with this idea.
Arum likes the idea of the Pacquiao and Marquez doubleheader because it’ll get boxing fans interested in a fight between the two stars in September in what would be a fifth fight between them. It’s likely that their September fight will take place on the Mexican Independence day on September 14th or around the same time.
Marquez still undecided about whether he’ll continue his career
By Rob Smith: 39-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez still doesn’t know if he’ll return to the ring in 2013, as he’s considering whether to continue to fight or not, according to notifight.com. He’s still talking with his family about whether he should come back and perhaps fight one or two more times before hanging up the gloves permanently.
It’s going to be difficult for Marquez to retire right now with the lure of a fifth fight with Manny Pacquiao at the Cowboys Stadium this year. Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum hasn’t yet talked to Marquez about his future plans, but you can guess that he’ll make a huge offer to get Marquez to continue fighting so that he can set up a Pacquiao vs. Marquez fifth fight this year.
It might actually be better Pacquiao’s sake if he doesn’t try and get Marquez to continue fighting because Pacquiao really doesn’t need another knockout loss like the one he suffered on December 8th of last month when Marquez knocked Pacquiao completely out in the 6th round. That was a knockout that could have some lasting negative effects for Pacquiao for the remainder of his career.
Arum could be making a mistake of having Pacquiao fight Marquez again, because even if it makes a ton of money for Pacquiao, Arum and Marquez, it could be the last big payday for Pacquiao if he gets knocked cold again. You would have to figure that Pacquiao would have a lot of pressure on him to retire after getting knocked out a second time.
Arum confirms Pacquiao-Marquez fight for 2013
By Rob Smith: In an interview, Bob Arum confirmed what pretty much everyone already knew that he’s going to look to put his fighter Manny Pacquiao back in the ring with Juan Manuel Marquez in 2013 if he can put the fight together.
Arum said in an interview with TMZ.com “We’re gonna, I think, do another fight with Juan Manuel Marquez. That was a great fight. He [Pacquiao] ran into a really good right hand, and we’ll see what happens next time.”
What happens next time could be bad for Pacquiao. Arum is making a mistake by putting his fighter back in the ring directly with Marquez without some kind of test against a lower level fighter to see if Pacquiao can handle getting hit.
Marquez is going to be looking to KO Pacquiao with every shot he throws and he already knows he can hurt him because he proved it twice last time. I think Arum is under the impression that this is the same Marquez that Pacquiao was controversial decisions in two of the three fights prior to their last one.
Marquez is a much different fighter now because he’s put on a lot of muscle and he’s hitting much harder. Pacquiao may have been giving Marquez some problems in the 5th and 6th rounds in their last fight, but Marquez was going to get to Pacquiao sooner or later.
First Annual “Gogue Awards” for the boxing year 2012 – Part I
By Joseph Herron: After somewhat of an historic year in the world of boxing, expert fight strategist and prolific trainer James Gogue gives Eastsideboxing.com his exclusive insight into the best and worst of the sweet science during the year 2012.
Gogue Award for Fighter of the Year 2012 – Juan Manuel Marquez
“During 2012, we saw many fighters make a solid and convincing argument for “Fighter of the Year’ honors,” admits James Gogue. “Danny Garcia, Abner Mares, Nonito Donaire, Austin Trout, Wladimir Klitschko, Leo Santa Cruz, Adrien Broner…they all deserve recognition for their respective accomplishments in the ring throughout 2012.”
“Although these fighters made great strides to further their clout within the industry, one fighter accomplished something that impacted the sport greater than any other individual achievement. That was Juan Manuel Marquez doing the unthinkable and knocking Manny Pacquiao unconscious. JMM finally gained that signature win on his resume that eluded the Mexican fight legend throughout his entire 17 year professional career.”
The Best Of 2012 – Who Was The Fighter Of The Year?
By James Slater – All in all, though 2012 saw a startling and quite unacceptable number of top names from our beloved sport failing drugs tests, the past 12-months were pretty good for boxing (sure, we saw our fair share of debatable, even plain bad decisions). We were treated to a number of truly great fights involving marquee names, we witnessed a number of unforgettable KO’s and we saw some quality match-making.
Indeed, as we approach the very end of 2012, it’s a tough job picking award winners for Fighter Of The Year. KO of The Year? That’s an easy one this year – the stunner that occurred in the 6th-round of a fourth meeting between two all-time greats; one from Mexico, the other hailing from The Philippines. But just who was 2012’s Fighter of The Year?
Here, for what it’s worth, take it or leave it, I list my choices:
Fighter Of The Year:
1: Juan Manuel Marquez.
Pacquiao-Marquez 5 could be a tough fight to make; both of their wives want them to retire
By Marcus Richardson: Whether Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez end up fighting for a fifth time may rest on whether both of their wives will allow them to continue fighting. It’s no secret that Marquez and Pacquiao’s wives both want them to retire.
Pacquiao’s wife was stunned at seeing Pacquiao knocked cold by Marquez in the 6th round in their fourth fight on December 8th, and she’s worried that Pacquiao could badly hurt in a 5th fight. She wants Pacquiao to retire straightaway, although she’s leaving the final decision with him.
Marquez’s wife had an agreement from Marquez that he’d retire after the fourth fight with Pacquiao, but now Marquez is hoping to talk his wife into allowing him to fight one more time before retiring in a final fight with Pacquiao. So far, Marquez’s wife is reportedly still adamant about wanting him to hang up his gloves. He’s going to try and convince her in the coming weeks/months to allow him to fight Pacquiao for a 5th fight.
The problem with the two fighters is that they’ll want to keep fighting unless something or someone makes them talk. The competitive drive between these guys is too strong for them to retire when the interest in still there with the boxing public.
Pacquiao hoping to return to the ring in April
By Rob Smith: Manny Pacquiao has no interest in sitting around and waiting until September 2013 before he fights again. Pacquiao reportedly is interested in getting back in action in April despite his 6th round knockout loss to his old nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez on December 8th of this month.
Marquez to make decision on whether to continue fighting
By Rob Smith: Juan Manuel Marquez riding high right now after knocking Manny Pacquiao out cold in the 6th round of their fight this month. Marquez avenged his two earlier controversial decision losses to the Filipino and did it in dramatic fashion by knocking Pacquiao completely out cold.
Marquez reportedly had promised his wife that the fourth fight with Pacquiao would be his last fight of his career and that he’d retire after that, but Marquez is now considering fighting on. For him to do that, however, he’s going to have to convince his wife, who wants him to hang up his gloves for good.
Marquez told the record.com.mx “I wish my wife would give the green light to continue and seek a fifth world title. I am trying to convince her.”
There won’t be any titles on the line for a fifth fight between Marquez and Pacquiao, so this would mean that Marquez is considering facing another opponent besides Pacquiao next year. The only one that’s a logical fit for Marquez is WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley, because he’s a Top Rank fighter and Bob Arum of Top Rank would likely go for that fight.