Fighting congressman Manny Pacquiao has been quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying that he is eagerly looking forward to his third fight with Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas on November 12.
Pacquiao said he expects the fight, dubbed as “The Trilogy,” to silence Marquez once and for all. The Mexican boxer has been bragging that he actually won their first two fights which ended in a draw and a split decision.
Pacquiao said this is the reason why he is training so much harder now than in their first two fights.
For example, the champ’s high altitude training program started much earlier than before, and so did his timetable for sparring.
It seems he just couldn’t wait to get back in the ring with the boxer who does his training around the mouth of a mystical volcano in Mexico where ancient Aztecs drew their supernatural powers.
Unlike in his previous fights, Pacquiao is expected to be at his fiercest this time, said a colleague who covers boxing.
“No mercy! That will be Manny’s battle cry in November,” the scribe said.
Only a few months ago, Manny would not consider a return match with Marquez. He said so in an early morning show on national television.
The eight-division world champion said he didn’t want to fight Marquez because it was going to be boring.
“Who’ll watch that fight?” That’s exactly what he said.
* * *
But if Pacquiao is now eager to settle the score with Marquez, he appears to be losing his appetite for a bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“Of course I still want to fight Mayweather, but he has to show me that he wants to fight me,” said Manny as the whole world continues to wait for this match which should decide who reigns supreme in the welterweight division.
Speaking of Mayweather, has he lost the title of pay-per-view king following his disappointing fight with Victor Ortiz last September which ended in controversy?
HBO and the Mayweather camp have been completely mum on PPV figures of the Mayweather-Ortiz fight, but if live gate sales were to be the basis to determine the PPV revenue, the message is telling. The gate receipts only totaled $9 million, way below expectations.
This is the reason why HBO and the Floyd camp have been very quiet. In negotiating for a fight, the last PPV revenue is used for bargaining leverage by the boxer.
* * *
PNSA president Mikee Romero is back from a trip to Kuwait and Dubai with the good news that Sheikh Salman won as Asian Shooting Confederation in the last election.
“Sheikh Salman will help the Philippines secure the Olympic wild card, but the shooter needs to achieve the minimum qualifying score or mqs. There are only 4 Filipino shooters who have achieved the mqs,” said Mikee.
Meanwhile, Mikee has reduced his short list of candidates for Patriots coach to two. He’s really having a tough time deciding, he said.