By James Slater: Along with some good judges of the sport, Juan Manuel Marquez believes he deserved the decision in both of his epic fights with Manny Pacquiao. The 38-year-old, speaking at the final press conference ahead of the eagerly-awaited part-three of Pacquiao-Marquez, said he won both fights, but that, “the third fight will be different because he [Pacquaio] has changed. He uses his right hand now so I have to take care of myself in the ring.”
“Dinamita” went on to say how he is looking forward to winning in Las Vegas on Nov. 12th, but he also stated that he “doesn’t know what will happen” on fight night. Is Marquez simply quietly confident, or is he having doubts about facing Pac-Man now that he is a complete, two-handed fighter? Marquez holds his cards close to his chest, so we will not know for sure until fight night. What we do know, though, is that the proud Mexican warrior will give his absolute best as he tries to win.
For his part, 32-year-old Pacquiao acknowledges that the first two fights between he and Marquez were close affairs, and he has vowed to prove he is the better of the two men by winning in decisive fashion in just over two months time.
“I really need to prove it this time,” Pacquiao stated. “And each of us will have to accept who’s the winner, who’s the loser. This fight is very important because it will clear all doubts. Marquez claimed he won the two fights, I simply won’t let that happen.”
There is no doubt, Pac-Man’s legacy is on the line in this fight. If he either loses or barely escapes with a win, certain historians, many years from now, will find themselves unable to label the Filipino dynamo THE outright finest fighter of his era. Instead, they will point to his three almighty struggles with the older, naturally smaller Marquez.
Pacquiao is a pretty big favourite to win the third fight, however – with a number of good prediction-makers expecting a stoppage win for Manny this time. Other experts, such as Angelo Dundee, feel Marquez will again put Pacquiao through hell; maybe even beat him this time.
The hype is almost over now, and the fight is rapidly approaching. As Pac-Man says himself, this fight will settle things once and for all.