Official weights: Pacquiao 147, Marquez 143

Official weights: Pacquiao 147, Marquez 143By Rob Smith: Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KO’s) made weight today for his bout tomorrow night against Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KO’s) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Surprisingly, Pacquiao weighed in 4 more than Marquez. Pacquiao weighed in at 147 pounds, while Marquez weighed 143 lbs. Marquez looked bigger than Pacquiao despite being four pounds lighter, but much of Marquez’s weight was in his upper body.

Pacquiao is the favorite in this fight with the oddsmakers, you have to ignore them and focus on who has been looking like the better fighter of late. That would have to be Marquez. He arguably beat Pacquiao last year in November, and then followed it up with a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision win over a very defensive minded Serhiy Fedchenko last April.

Marquez may not have looked as good he normally does, but he was facing someone that was running away each time he would even hint at throwing a punch in Fedchenko. Pacquiao looked poor against Marquez and then looked even worse in his loss last June to Tim Bradley. Boxing fans as whole saw Pacquiao as the winner of that fight, but he still looked bad in that fight, and nothing like what he once did in his prime.

continue

Matthysse vs. Lundy in the works for January 19th in Los Angeles, CA

By Steve Mabbott: A fight between WBC interim light welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse (32-2, 30 KO’s) and the struggling lightweight contender Hank Lundy (22-2-1, 11 KO’s) is being negotiated for January 19th, according to RingTV. The Matthysse-Lundy fight will be on the Devon Alexander vs. Kell Brook card at the Nokia Theater, in Los Angeles, California, USA.

continue

Harold Lederman: “Expect Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez to go all out in part four”

Harold Lederman: “Expect Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez to go all out in part four”By Joseph Herron – On the eve of the monumental fourth meeting between two future Hall of Fame fighters, Manny Pacquaio and Juan Manuel Marquez, HBO’s unofficial ringside scorer Harold Lederman chimed in on what fight fans should expect to see when these ring legends collide at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“One variable that’s worth noting when you look at the fourth installment of the Pacquiao/Marquez saga is that two of the three ringside judges will be from outside of Nevada,” observes Harold Lederman. “I screamed and yelled that Juan Manuel Marquez is entitled to have all three judges flown in from other locations, but they’re using Adalaide Byrd as the lone Nevada state judge.”

“But one of the judges will be from Great Britain, and the other will be flown in from New Jersey, so we’ll see what happens. But at least we don’t have three Nevada state judges this time for a fight of this magnitude. Maybe they’ll see it differently, because my gut tells me that it’s going twelve rounds once again.”

continue

“King” Gabriel Rosado: “I will defeat Gennady Golovkin on January 19th”

“King” Gabriel Rosado: “I will defeat Gennady Golovkin on January 19th”By Joseph Herron: It’s been just a little over two months since “King” Gabriel Rosado (21-5, 13 KOs) earned the opportunity to fight for championship gold by defeating Charles Whitaker in an IBF Junior Middleweight title eliminator on NBC Sports Network.

But to the surprise of most, the 26 year old puncher won’t be standing across the ring from IBF Champ K9 Bundrage when the opening bell sounds to begin his subsequent outing. The courageous Philly fighter will be taking on current WBA Middleweight Champion Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KOs) instead.

On January 19th, at the Mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden, Rosado will face one of the more avoided fighters and hardest pound for pound punchers in the entire sport. The title fight will be broadcast on HBO, as one part of an outstanding World Championship triple-header.

When Hall of Fame promoter Russell Peltz contacted his fighter concerning the prospect of facing the undefeated WBA Middleweight Champion, it didn’t take long for Gabriel to answer with a resounding, “Where do I sign?”

continue

Pacquiao vs. Marquez IV – Hold That Thought

Pacquiao vs. Marquez IV - Hold That ThoughtBy Marc Livitz: Rest assured and let there be no confusion in regards to the highly anticipated yet not totally appreciated mega fight which is set to take place this Saturday evening at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. There will be a Pacquiao versus Marquez V. And VI, VII, VIII and so on. While this idea is likely to be nothing more than figurative, the bickering amongst the dedicated faithful of the respective sides are likely to verbally squabble for many years to come. Manny Pacquiao believes he won and Juan Manuel Marquez knows that he won.

Of course, there’s been three superbly contested matches between the two combatants since 2004, yet the razor thin margins which have separated the incendiary results have less to do with the actual outcome than they do with the acknowledgement that popular culture found its way into the pugilistic mindset.

Consider this: The Nevada Athletic Commission easily makes available the totals and figures tallied at boxing events staged within its borders. Without looking, most boxing fans are well aware that the May 2007 bout between Oscar de la Hoya and Floyd Mayweather, Jr was the most lucrative night for the fighting sport. Of the three contests staged between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, only the third one, which took place in November of last year even cracks the top 30. However, marketing strategists and eager promotional posses often make the most serendipitous of bedfellows.

continue

Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez IV: Preview & Prediction

Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez IV: Preview & Prediction

by Geoffrey Ciani – When Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs) squares off against Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs) for a fourth time this Saturday, boxing fans already have a fairly good idea of what to expect. After all, even though Pacquiao officially has two victories and a draw against Marquez, these two have essentially battled to a stalemate after thirty-six rounds of action. If their past three encounters are any indication, there is little reason to believe things will unfold much differently in this fourth installment. The natural order of these clashing styles seemingly demands a fierce and competitive contest, and there is a strong likelihood this will yet again prove true on Saturday.

The big question going into this bout is what, if anything, can either man do differently in order to secure a decisive victory? All of the previous matchups between Pacquiao and Marquez concluded with varying degrees of dissenting voices and perceived controversies, but this comes with the territory of pitting evenly matched combatants against each other, especially when they exhibit a vastly different set of skills and strengths. Is it realistic to believe that either boxer can make a significant adjustment that enables him to finally seize command? It appears unlikely, but the thing about boxing is that anything can happen when two men enter the squared circle. Even though Pacquiao and Marquez have surely each presented the other with his full bag of tricks, many times over by now, it is still possible that a subtle change in tactics can sometimes render amazing results.

continue

Pacquiao vs Marquez IV – Firmly on the Fence

Pacquiao vs Marquez IV - Firmly on the Fence
By Paul Strauss: One boxing journalist had the audacity to say, “I’ve seen it before. I don’t want (need?) to see it again.” Think about that for a minute. Three great fights, all of which have involved some controversy and debate over who was the real winner, and just because the fourth fight is between the same two combatants, this numbskull doesn’t want to see it! He implies it will be tedious, irksome and lacking in interest! Bah! Humbug!

Most fans eagerly await the fourth fight, and would love to see a fifth snout and out bout, or however many times these two peerless, nonpareil fighters decide to lace on the gloves to face each other. That’s no crapola! Their fights come with a guarantee devotees will see boxing at its best and get their money’s worth of excitement. This journalist’s foolish opinion is nothing more than tommyrot. It’s beyond discussion. Discussion involves the exchange of knowledge, and this would be nothing more than an argument, a forced exchange of ignorance. Don’t fall for it. Don’t become flummoxed or addle brained into believing this will be boring. No way!

This is going to be another great fight, a beak buster! Much is at stake for both men. Manny wants to re-establish his worthiness as P4P and move back in line for a mega-million dollar match-up with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. JMM feels a win is necessary for him to remove all doubt created by those dastardly judges, who saw him as coming up a bit short in each of the previous three bouts. JMM has an urgent and admirable desire to leave a legacy of courage and greatness, and gain the love and respect from boxing fans that comes with it.

continue

Marquez vs. Pacquiao IV: Just the Facts!!

Marquez vs. Pacquiao IV: Just the Facts!!By Robert Jackson: This edition of ‘just the facts’ will discuss the merits of the fight including conditioning, trainers, skills and the like, so stayed tuned. This writer feels that even though both fighters have said they will knock the other out, both fighters have made a silent agreement with each other over 3 previous fights. This agreement – similar to the agreement that sparring partners have with the fighter they’re sparring with to get ready for a fight, prevents that sparring partner from doing anything more than giving the main event guy rounds and good preparation. In a sense both fighters have a sparring partners mentality at this point in their rivalry. Enough of that let’s get on with the analysis.

Trainers
Freddie Roach is a multi-time trainer of the year and counts among his charges Martirosyan, Kayode and others, but Pacquiao is his top pupil. Roach has taken Pacquiao from a one-handed fighter, to a well rounded fighter.

Long time Marquez trainer Nacho Beristain at this point is just a gameplanner, Marquez knows how to fight, and he knows how to fight Pacquiao. The training will be the same as it always was and the gameplan will probably be the same. Adding some bulk and strength for the 147lb weight class, seems to be the only major change they’ve made.

Advantage Trainers – Even

continue