Roach brings Jorge Linares as sparring partner in Baguio

MANILA, Philippines — Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach will turn up the heat in cold Baguio City as the dazzling duo reunited Tuesday for the start of the buildup for the fast-approaching Nov. 12 trilogy with Juan Manuel Marquez.

Arriving from Los Angeles early Tuesday, Roach hopped on a van that brought him to Baguio City, site of the first phase of Pacquiao’s training camp.

Roach brought along Venezuelan Jorge Linares, who will serve as Pacquiao’s sparring partner, as well as boxing agent Billy Keane, a close friend of the Hall of Fame trainer.

Knowing that Roach’s arrival means serious business, Pacquiao woke up early and tagged along his team to Burnham Park, where a large crowd watched him do his roadwork and light exercises.

Pacquiao arrived in the City of Pines from his home in Brentville in Laguna late Sunday night, determined to put closure on the never-ending debate about his rivalry with Marquez.

“This fight will put an end to all the questions,” said Pacquiao, who has been slighted by repeated claims that he was the recipient of favorable decisions in his two fights with Marquez.

The first Pacquiao vs Marquez fight happened in 2004, and the bout ended on a 12-round draw. The rematch took place in 2008 with Pacquiao declared winner via a split decision, a decision that Marquez said should have gone his way.

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum said those claims are unfounded.

“In 2004, I was promoting Marquez and Pacquiao was with another promoter,” said Arum, head of Top Rank, currently boxing’s premier promotional outfit.

Source: mb.com.ph

Pacquiao officially begins training in Baguio

MANILA, Philippines—The hard grind begins today as Manny Pacquiao officially begins training for his showdown with Juan Manuel Marquez on November 12 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Having seen and getting disappointed by Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s controversial fourth round knockout of Victor Ortiz on Sunday, Pacquiao said he wants a clear victory over Marquez in their third meeting since 2004.

Varied reactions came after Mayweather knocked out Ortiz with a left hook and right straight just when referee Joe Cortez had presumably called the fight to resume.

Renowned promoter Bob Arum, like many fight fans, told BoxingScene.com that Mayweather’s behavior was unsportsmanlike and inexcusable.

But some sportswriters and columnists justified Mayweather’s actions, saying it was Ortiz’s fault that he dropped his guard and allowed his opponent to exploit the situation.

Filipino promoter Rex “Wakee” Salud, a close associate of Pacquiao, offered a novel view of the knockout that became a hot topic in boxing forums.

Salud believes Ortiz was in a position to beat the count by referee Joe Cortez but chose not to, hoping that Mayweather would get disqualified for hitting during the break.

Pacquiao, who’s also eyeing a megabuck bout with Mayweather, left his home in Biñan, Laguna, Monday for Baguio City, where he’ll toil for three weeks under the watchful eyes of Freddie Roach.

The Hall of Fame trainer was scheduled to arrive early this morning from Los Angeles and then proceed directly to the Cooyeesan Hotel Plaza, base camp of Team Pacquiao in Baguio.

Unlike Pacquiao’s previous camps, the pound-for-pound king will no longer start from scratch, having undergone sporadic light training three weeks back.

Filipino assistant trainers Buboy Fernandez and Nonoy Neri supervised Pacquiao’s early workouts, while conditioning expert Alex Ariza started to do his chore last week.

Aside from jogging, Pacquiao has done gym work at Planet Jupiter in Makati and at the MP Tower, which he owns, in Sampaloc, Manila.

As a result, Pacquiao told Philboxing.com on Friday that he’s shaken off the rust and has regained “the feeling of what it is again to be on top of the ring.”

Pacquiao said he’s somewhat recovered his speed, strength and punching power and is ready to plunge into serious training.

Source: inquirer.net

Timothy Bradley is likely to be in Pacquiao-Marquez undercard!

Dan Rafael reports that Top Rank is hoping to get Timothy Bradley under their promotional banner in time to schedule him for the November 12 Pacquiao vs Marquez undercard. Currently, Bradley is still tied up in legal matters with Gary Shaw Productions and Thompson Boxing.

If they reach an agreement -- which I expect, even though multiple sources involved have told me they are still quite a bit apart on the amount of money the promoters would receive to walk away -- Bradley is headed for Top Rank. Top Rank's plan is for Bradley to return Nov. 12 on the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez HBO PPV undercard. Obviously, Top Rank would be prepping Bradley for a possible shot at Pacquiao if a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather doesn't come off.

Bradley (27-0, 11 KO) hasn't fought since defeating Devon Alexander in January. He was set to fight Amir Khan on July 23, but pulled out of the fight with his promotional contract set to expire, not wanting to take such a big and difficult fight just before he was set to test the waters of free agency.

The 28-year-old Bradley could, indeed, be a 2012 opponent for Pacquiao, as Manny (like Floyd Mayweather Jr) is beginning to run low on potential opponents. Thus far, he's been only a TV attraction, and despite his success in the ring, has not picked up a fanbase, and even struggles to draw fans in his home region. Top Rank may have to invest a little time and money in getting him some more fans, and at this point, to rebuild his reputation. No matter how logical Bradley's decision to pass on the Khan fight may have been, he took hits in the media and with fans, and to be fair did himself few favors when he spoke on the subject.

Source: badlefthook.com

I want him to be at his best - Manny Pacquiao

IF you know your boxing, you would agree that the March 2008 battle between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez was one of the best judged fights in the history of the sport.
For the record, judges Duane Ford and Tom Miller scored it 115-112 and 114-113, respectively, for Pacquiao, while Jerry Roth had it 115-112 for Marquez.

Most, if not all boxing experts agree the Marquez-Pacquiao II was a tightly-fought 12-round contest.

Even the fighters themselves agree it was a tough bout for both of them.

It’s understandable that Marquez keeps on claiming he won the second bout. Actually, he kept on saying he won even their initial bout back in 2004.

But to say he was robbed of a win is unfair to the sport in general, which accomplished some sort of a feat by having three judges score the Marquez-Pacquiao rematch the way it should be tallied.

MILLION BUYS. From the looks of it, the Pacquiao versus Marquez fight this November will easily get millions of pay-per-view Buys.

Last weekend, the four-city worldwide tour ended in Mexico with thousands of Mexicans attending the final stop. The tour started in Manila.

American promoter Bob Arum and Mexican boxing icon Marco Antonio Barrera were in awe as they never saw such huge crowd gather in the city for a boxing event.

Arum said aside from the close verdicts that decided their first two bouts, the styles of Pacquiao and Marquez is what makes this fight the most anticipated bout of the year.

Pacquiao will defend his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown against Marquez on Nov. 12 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This will be the third meeting between the two multi-division champions. Their first fight ended in a draw in 2004, while their rematch saw Pacquiao escaping with a split decision win in 2008.

BEST EVER. Pacquiao is hoping to meet the same Marquez that gave him a tough time in their two battles the last five years.

Though relatively old in the sport of boxing, the 38-year-old Marquez remains as the only fighter, who came close to beating Pacquiao.

“I want him to be at his best because If I beat him, I don’t want to hear people telling me he is already old or past his prime,” Pacquiao told newsmen in a round-table discussion during their stop in New York.

In 2004, Marquez came back from three knockdowns in the first round to settle for a draw in their featherweight encounter.

Four years later, Pacquiao decked Marquez in the third round to escape with a close, but split 12-round verdict in their superfeatherweight encounter.

For their third fight, Pacquiao said he will be adding two more weeks from his usual eight-week training that will commence in Baguio this month.

GAG ORDER. Will someone tell Floyd Mayweather, Jr. to just focus on his upcoming fight and leave Pacquiao alone?

For the nth time, Mayweather is putting the blame on Pacquiao on why their much talked about face-off remains uncertain.

Recently, Mayweather told mediamen that former opponent Shane Mosley has told him to force Pacquiao to take the test before he agrees to a fight.

Mosley reportedly claimed he has never been hit by a punch that is as strong as Pacquiao’s punches.

In his last fight, Mosley lost a one-sided decision to Pacquiao last May in Las Vegas.

Currently, Mayweather is busy promoting his welterweight battle against Mexican-American Victor Ortiz this Sunday (Manila Time).

Reporters, however, kept on pestering Mayweather with questions involving Pacquiao.

On the other hand, Pacquiao has insisted he has agreed to the testing protocol of Mayweather, but feels the American is just finding ways to avoid the match.

At the moment, Pacquiao prefers to focus on his Nov. 12 clash opposite bitter Mexicam rival Juan Manuel Marquez.



Source: manilastandardtoday.com

The world may be shocked but Pacquiao will be defeated - Nacho

GUADALAJARA - Mexico's greatest trainer, Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain, believes the time is now to defeat Manny Pacquiao. Marquez challenges Pacquiao for the WBO welterweight title on November 12th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. After guiding Juan Carlos Salgado to a title win last Saturday against Argenis Mendez, Beristain flew back to his gym in Mexico City on Sunday to continue the training camp with Marquez.

After 24 rounds and two controversial endings, Nacho expects Marquez to finally come through in the third and final meeting.

"Everything I do now is point to JuanMa and to beating Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 12," Beristain told me at the airport here. "The world may be shocked but Pacquiao will be defeated. He has a lack of focus and JuanMa will take advantage of this. Being a fighter, a Congressman, a singer, all of this, will finally catch up to Manny.

"Pacquiao is a great one, yes, but no other fighter knows him, after 24 rounds, like my fighter does. You will see a great explosion by Marquez on this night."

Source: boxingscene.com

Manny Pacquiao back in Manila

MANILA, Philippines – Lawmaker and sports icon Manny Pacquiao has arrived in Manila after wrapping up a press tour together with his next opponent Juan Manuel Marquez in the US and in Mexico.

The eight-division world champion arrived on board Philippine Airlines flight PR 103.

The press tour that promoted Pacquiao vs Marquez 3 fight lasted for a week. The two boxers went around New York, Los Angeles and even in Mexico where the Pinoy pride was warmly welcomed.

The much-awaited rematch between Pacquiao and Marquez will happen on November 12 in Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao declined to comment on his alleged plan to run for vice president in the 2016 elections.

“Huwag na muna nating pag-usapan 'yan. Boxing lang muna tayo, boxing lang,” Pacquiao said. The Filipino boxer is the representative of Saranggani province in the Lower House.

However, even if Pacquiao indeed plans to run, he is not eligible to do so because of the age requirement.

The 1987 Constitution provides that candidates should be at least 40 years of age on election day. Pacquiao will only be 37 years old in May 2016.

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

Pacquiao has the greatest jab according to Roach

MANILA, Philippines - In the middle of a smooth, three-hour flight from Toluca, Mexico to Los Angeles the other day, Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach worked on their game plan.

Pacquiao, in a shirt and tie, was having an animated chat with a couple of scribes, throwing right hooks, jabs and uppercuts to the air when his trainer got off his seat.

“You know, you have the greatest jab in the world,” said Roach.

Pacquiao, at the tailend of the hectic World Press Tour for his Nov. 12 date with old nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez, paused to face his trainer.

“But you’re not using it often. You’re not using it well,” Roach continued.

Bob Arum was playing card games on his iPad, enjoying the comforts of the gold-trimmed 11-seater Gulfstream jet, as the discussion went on.

Michael Koncz, the boxer’s adviser, was going through documents three inches thick while the boxer’s lawyer, Geng Gacal, and second, Roger Fernandez, dozed off.

What Roach was actually saying was that if Pacquiao floored Marquez many times with his left hand in their first two fights, then it’s time to give the Mexican a taste of his right.

“I feel my right hand is much stronger now,” said Pacquiao.

“Yes,” said Roach as Pacquiao jabbed the air a couple more times.

“Your jab is as strong as a straight. You can knock this guy (Marquez) out with your jab anytime,” Roach said.

Pacquiao listened hard.

During the New York leg of the 25,000-mile press tour, Arum recognized Roach’s tremendous effort in turning Pacquiao into a two-handed fighter.

“With the help of Freddie Roach, he became a complete package. He used to be a southpaw that relied completely on the left hand,” Arum said.

“Now he’s become a two-handed fighter, and he’s a much smarter fighter now than he was then,” the 79-year-old promoter said.

Marquez is going to face the best Pacquiao ever.

Source: philstar.com