Manny Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao boxing news

Who will Arum match Pacquiao and Marquez up with on April 20th?

arum45By 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.

continue

Pacquiao and Marquez in possible tune-up doubleheader on April 20th

marquez34By 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.

continue

Pacquiao could fight twice in 2013

pac342By Rob Smith: The recently knocked out Manny Pacquiao could still be fighting twice this year, according to ABS-CBN News. Pacquiao just arrived back from vacation in Israel and he reportedly may choose to fight twice in 2013 if possible. His opponents are still undecided, although his promoter Bob Arum is very high on putting Pacquiao back in with Juan Manuel Marquez for a fifth fight.

Before Pacquiao fights again, he’ll likely be checked out at the Cleveland Brain Clinic in Las Vegas, Nevada to make sure that he’s okay to fight again. This is what Arum wants before Pacquiao gets back in the ring.

For Pacquiao to fight twice in 2013, he’s going to have to be back in the ring by at least June or July, since his fights are often five months apart. It’s possible for Pacquiao to fight twice but he may have to convince Arum that this is a good idea because he’s been talking about having Pacquiao rest until September.

If Pacquiao fights in September then he’ll only get one fight in this year. It looks like Pacquiao doesn’t want to drop off his activity level, so we should be hearing something soon if he does indeed plan on getting two fights in this year.

continue

Roach likes Pacquiao vs. Robert Guerrero fight

roach2By Rob Smith: Trainer Freddie Roach would like the idea of Manny Pacquiao possibly facing WBC interim welterweight champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero sometime in the future. Obviously, that’s not a fight that can happen in 2013, as Top Rank promoter Bob Arum badly wants to match his struggling star Pacquiao back up with Juan Manuel Marquez in September if Pacquiao can pass the medical exams for the fight. But a fight between Pacquiao and Guerrero would be an interesting one if Guerrero doesn’t get beaten too badly by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their possible fight on May 4th.

Roach told the boxingchannel.tv “He [Guerrero] did quite well with Manny in sparring, it was quite competitive. If this sparring session was like a fight, it would be a great fight because it was give and take for both guys Would we fight him? We’re not afraid of him [Guerrero] that’s for sure. Guerrero is a great fight.”

Obviously isn’t in great shape right now having been knocked out badly last December by Marquez, and it might not be a good idea to put Pacquiao in with a high volume puncher with a great chin like Guerrero because Pacquiao’s stamina and chin are both questionable at this point.

continue

Pacquiao not ready to retire, says he’s feeling good

By Rob Smith: In response to the comment from a Filipino doctor that he might have the symptoms of early Parkinson’s disease, Manny Pacquiao spoke up and said he’s feeling fine and isn’t planning on retiring anytime soon despite the doctor’s advice that he should consider doing so.

continue

10 Fights that Must Happen in 2013

By Jazz Gill: 2012 was a superb year of fights for boxing fans, even if it was the year when the dream of Mayweather vs Pacquiao died forever.

The two still had great fights respectively, whilst other veterans like the Klitschko brothers and Sergio Martinez continued to dominate. At the same time, new young stars proved they are capable of going u the next step – Austin Trout and Danny Garcia for example – whilst others proved they are among the elite of today and ready to take the mantle of the aforementioned veterans (Nonito Donaire, Robert Guerrero and Andre Ward).

continue

Marquez still undecided about whether he’ll continue his career

marquez9025By 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.

continue

Is Pacquiao losing now because he’s not training hard enough?

pacquiao4445By Brad Cronick: In looking at how hard Juan Manuel Marquez prepared for his recent 6th round knockout win over Manny Pacquiao last month, it seemed as if he wanted it much more than Pacquiao did. Marquez not only looked like he was in better shape than Manny, but he looked he was working a lot harder than him in training camp.

Pacquiao seemed to be strolling around the ring and one got a sense that he wasn’t really doing as far as he needed to in order to get in the best shape. Pacquiao’s physique looked soft compared to Marquez and we already know the outcome of the fight with Pacquiao getting knocked out.

British boxing trainer Joe Gallagher has his own theory with what’s happened to Pacquiao, saying to Philstar.com “Nothing can go on forever…He’s [Pacquiao] had distractions outside of the ring, his personal life and it may affect him, It’s just about making money now and when you’ve made so many millions, it’s hard to train hard.”

It’s hard to imagine what it’s like being Pacquiao because he’s not like any other fighter right now in terms of popularity. He is huge in the Philippines and to be such a big celebrity as him, it’s got to be difficult for him to get the same amount of motivation to train hard like he did earlier in his career. He’s making over $20 million per fight plus the other big money he’s getting through endorsements deals.

continue

Arum confirms Pacquiao-Marquez fight for 2013

marquez811By 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.

continue

Pacquiao-Marquez 5 could be a tough fight to make; both of their wives want them to retire

marquez811By 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.

continue