Juan Manuel Marquez

By Rob Smith: With Manny Pacquiao’s performances looking less and less impressive with each fight, Pacquiao now has to look especially good for him to be still considered as one of the best fighters in boxing. Getting beaten and/or winning controversial decisions isn’t helping him. You can’t look at Pacquiao’s last three performances against Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez and Tim Bradley and Pacquiao as a superstar type fighter. He lost to Bradley and should have to Marquez.

That’s two defeats in his last three fights. That’s terrible. While some boxing fans feel that Pacquiao deserved a win over Bradley last June, Pacquiao’s performance in that fight wasn’t superstar type material. Pacquiao just looked like an old guy that could no longer fight hard for three minutes of every round, and who also couldn’t cut off the ring to save his life.

If for no other reason that they can’t find another big money opponent to put him in with, Pacquiao will be fighting Juan Manuel Marquez on December 8th. With the Top Rank – Golden Boy rivalry limiting the number of options Pacquiao has in terms of opponents, sadly he’s reduced to fighting the same guys over and over again.

By Marc Livitz – Change is good…Complacency kills.

Neither of these well known socially accepted proverbs holds any weight if each of them is universally governed by the words of the great P.T. Barnum.

Oceans worth of fans still feel jilted from the fallout which resulted from the past three fights between a certain Emmanuel D. Pacquiao and a noteworthy Juan Manuel Marquez Mendez. To their credit, there is enough evidence however much it may be clouded by opinion and anger on each side to support their respective arguments.

Throughout the thirty six rounds contested between the two, we have been constantly reminded afterwards just how microscopic the differences have been in terms of how the scoring has played itself out. The knockdowns have made the difference, at least they have (or did) in the first and second contests, which took place in May 2005 and March 2008, respectively.

A show of hands, please. Who really wants to see a fourth meeting between the two?

Take into consideration for just a moment how age is certainly going to factor into the bout once the bell rings to commence round thirty seven on December 8 of this year. Manny Pacquiao will be closing in on his 34th birthday, while Marquez has already settled into the final year of his thirties.

Win?…pissed off at the result. Lose?…pissed off at the result. Draw?… pissed off at the result.

By Joseph Herron / On December 8th, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs) will attempt to defeat Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs) for a third consecutive time.

Although every meeting between the two future Hall of Famers have been riddled with controversy, the all time great trilogy has given fight fans around the world many memorable flashes of elite level action.

Despite the popularity of both fighters, most fight fans are divided regarding their support of the scheduled event. But realistically, what choices were Pacquiao and Top Rank left with?

Whereas most casual and die-hard fight fans are in agreement concerning whom they would prefer to see Pacquiao face in the ring on December 8th, that distinction has never been solely on the shoulders of Manny or the Top Rank brass; contrary to popular belief.

And while Palm Springs resident Tim Bradley won the Pac-Man’s WBO Welterweight title this past June, most fight fans are in congruence regarding the validity of the controversial “Split Decision” victory. Even after two consecutive losses to Pacquiao, a fourth bout with JMM still holds more credibility with the boxing faithful than a rematch with the current Welterweight title holder.