MARQUEZ RECRUITS JAPANESE SPARRING PARTNER
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 06 Feb 2008
WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez has recruited Japanese super lightweight Norio Kimura as one of his sparring partners in preparation his March 15 rematch with Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Well-known journalist James Blears who resides in Mexico City told Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today that Kimura also ?happens to be a southpaw? like Pacquiao and is ranked No. 7 by the WBC.
Kimura who won the Japanese light welterweight title with a unanimous ten round decision over Shingo Eguchi on April 3, 2004 has successfully defebded the title eleven times and sports a ring record of 33-5-2 with 17 knockouts. He is 29 years old and stands 5?7 ?? tall.
Blears said the Marquez camp had brought in Kimura who once served as a sparring partner for Erik ?El Terrible? Morales because the plan to bring in ageing Freddie Norwood ?hasn?t yet seem to have been developed.?
Blears had earlier reported that Marquez was training hard and looked in great shape and that Pacquiao would have to stay focused in training if he wished to erase the memory of a controversial draw in their first encounter in May 2004.
In that fight Pacquiao dropped Marquez three times in the very first round but couldn?t put the Mexican away enabling Marquez to counter-punch his way to salvage a draw.
Pacquiao has said he believes the judges made a mistake and planned to settle some ?Unfinished Business? with Marquez on March 15.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Kingsley “The Black Lion” Ibeh To headline historic “Legacy Nights” Inaugural Pro Boxing event in El Salvador
Tue, 16 Sep 2025Smarts over power
By Joaquin Henson, Tue, 16 Sep 2025HALL OF FAME FLIES FLAGS AT HALF-STAFF FOR TWO-DIVISION CHAMPION RICKY HATTON
Tue, 16 Sep 2025Kazakhstan tops the medal table at the inaugural World Boxing Championships 2025 thanks to victory in the final bout of the competition
Tue, 16 Sep 2025THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 13: JOE FRAZIER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER
By Maloney L. Samaco, Mon, 15 Sep 2025A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
By Dong Secuya, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
Mon, 15 Sep 202521-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
By Marlon Bernardino, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Mon, 15 Sep 2025Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
By Carlos Costa, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
Mon, 15 Sep 2025Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
By Carlos Costa, Sun, 14 Sep 2025A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
Sun, 14 Sep 2025