Once shown on television drinking his own urine during training, Mexican great Juan Manuel Marquez will shift to medical science for his third showdown against Manny Pacquiao.
Marquez, the WBA and WBO lightweight champion, told Examiner.com on Wednesday that he’ll bulk up once again, just like he did against Floyd Mayweather Jr., but this time it will be done under doctor’s supervision.
“I will come in at a higher weight than normal,” said Marquez, who’ll be chasing Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight crown at a catch weight of 144 pounds on Nov. 12 in Las Vegas. “But I will have doctors monitoring my progress.”
Photo by Laura Rauch, AP
The 37-year-old Marquez learned during his lopsided unanimous decision loss to Mayweather on Sept. 19, 2009, that he isn’t that mobile when he weighed in at 142 pounds.
In their first encounter in 2004, Marquez recovered from three first-round knockdowns to forge a draw with the
pound-for-pound king.
When they fought again in 2008 at 130 pounds, Marquez again fell in the third round and it proved to be the pivotal factor in Pacquiao’s split decision win.
A worldwide promotional tour for the bout will kick off in Manila in August, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told the Inquirer yesterday. The worldwide tour will end in Mexico after hitting big capitals of the world.
Arum also indicated that he expects Pacquiao to train for about eight weeks, beginning in mid-September.