Ring Magazine picks Marquez over Pac

The Philippine Star

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=105012

While it recognizes Manny Pacquiao’s exploits over two of Mexico’s boxing legends, the Ring Magazine said Juan Manuel Marquez’s speed, ring savvy and counterpunching skills would be enough to stop the Filipino sensation and restore Mexican pride.

"Pacquiao will pressure Marquez relentlessly and try to make it a brawl. He’ll have his moments, and could very well score a knockdown in the middle rounds. But Marquez won’t make the same mistakes he did early in the first fight. He’ll outwork and outbox Pacquiao to earn a 12-round decision and the biggest win of his career," according to The Ring, long regarded as the bible of boxing.

The two fighters will slug it out in a keenly awaited rematch on March 15 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas with no less than the World Boxing Council super featherweight title held by Marquez at stake.

Pacquiao knocked down Marquez thrice in the first round in their first meeting in 2004 but the Mexican bounced back to force a draw in a verdict that could’ve gone either way.

The upcoming fight has all the trimmings of a classic duel with Pacquiao, whose swarming, aggressive style has helped make him one of the biggest draws in the sport, out to reassert his domination of the Mexican fighters after sending Marco Antonio Barrera into retirement and punching Erik Morales to the brink of it.

"It’s a sensational matchup, a potential Fight of the Year candidate pitting two of the top three pound-for-pound fighters. And it could take on added meaning in Marquez’s native country," said The Ring.

"I think the Mexicans respect Manny Pacquiao," said Telefutura analyst Bernardo Osuna. "To do what he’s done against the best Mexican fighters of his generation speaks to his tenacity. The working man can’t help but love Manny Pacquiao, who goes out there against guys who are supposedly there to outclass him and comes through every time."

But this is a pride sport, after all, and Mexican fans in particular are fiercely devoted to their own. So never in his career has Marquez had the chance to win over his countrymen as he will on March 15.

"I am Mexican, and I support Mexicans," said Barrera, who also has a rooting interest as a partner in Golden Boy Promotions. "Manny Pacquiao is a very good friend, but I will come to support Juan Manuel."

"The match itself is very dangerous for Manny," said Bruce Trampler, the matchmaker for Pacquiao-promoter Top Rank. "He dropped the guy three times in the first round and had to fight for his life after that. You knock out that first round, and probably Marquez did more than Manny that first time.

"Manny won’t look past this guy," Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach said. "He knows this is the guy who gave him the hardest fight since he’s been in America, along with Agapito Sanchez in 2001. Marquez fought a great fight that night. Manny, I know he respects that. He knows he needs to work really hard for this fight."

While Pacquiao’s style has even earned him adoration south of the Rio Grande, Marquez has never developed into a top draw thanks partially to a more clever counter-punching approach that has sometimes turned off Mexican fans. The talented Marquez can be fun to watch, but he’s never been the blood-and-guts type warrior Morales and Barrera were for much of their careers, according to The Ring.

But when it’s time to talk about legacies and career significance, a win against Pacquiao will mean everything for Marquez.

"It would definitely validate what he and many in the boxing world believe, that he was on par with Morales and Barrera but never got the chances that they got," Osuna said. "Doing what they couldn’t do to Manny Pacquiao would validate his career."

And perhaps salvage some Mexican pride.