PACQUIAO SAYS MARQUEZ CAN?T HANDLE HIS POWER
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 29 Feb 2008
Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, exuding confidence during an open public workout at the Titanium Training Center in San Francisco says that WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez won?t be able to handle his power when they clash in a much awaited rematch at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on March 15.
Pacquiao, the devastating punching machine from General Santos City in Mindanao, received a fantastic reception from hundreds of fight fans who rocked the bay area with excitement. Many young families with children jam-packed the center to watch Pacquiao put on an awesome display like he did when Top Rank promoter Bob Arum watched him work out at the Wild Card Gym last week which Arum described as "unbelievable" emphasizing that "nobody in the world can beat Manny Pacquiao when he trains hard and his totally focused" which he is right now.
In a conversation with scores of media people who crowded around him Pacquiao said ?I am very serious about this fight as I know Marquez is the last great Mexican to beat. There is no more (Erik) Morales or (Marco Antonio) Barrera. I have a lot of power. In my heart I don?t believe Marquez can stand up to my power. It will be too much for him to overcome.?
Celebrated trainer Freddie Roach who earlier told us that he had drawn up an ?attack plan? where an "excellent, beautiful" right hand has been added to his offensive arsenal for the Marquez rematch, was clearly elated over the fact that Pacquiao kept his word and showed up at his Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles two months before the fight. Roach said that was ?the best thing Manny did.?
Roach said Pacquiao has ?worked very hard and has been very tough on his sparring partners.? Roach revealed that one sparring partner got hit on the chin, went down, continued but went home the next day.? Roach said both he and Pacquiao were not taking Marquez lightly. He said Pacquiao ?is very serious about Marquez which he should be. It is a difficult fight and Manny understands that. Marquez represents the last line of defense in Manny?s domination of Mexican champions. We know he (Marquez) is prepared to go down swinging.?
Pacquiao said he had ?never trained harder ? never ? for a fight.? He confirmed what Roach had told Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today in an earlier overseas telephone conversation that he ?hit the mitts with Freddie Roach for 17 straight rounds with no timeouts." Pacquiao disclosed that he " runs high in the mountains every day and then goes to the Wild Card and train three hours non-stop. I don?t like timeouts while training and do not use them.?
Broadcaster Hermie Rivera who lives in San Francisco said ?it was absolute bedlam? as scores of journalists, TV crews and adoring fans jostled to get a glimpse of perhaps the most exciting fighter in the world today who is considered by many as the No.1 pound-for-pound but lies second to undefeated Floyd Mayweather with Marquez now in third spot in the Ring Magazine ratings.
Aside from the WBC super featherweight title the prestigious Ring Magazine championship belt will also be at stake in a fight card billed "Unfinished Business."
Top photo: Three-division world champion boxer Manny Pacquiao, left, drills with trainer Freddie Roach at a public workout at Titanium Training Center in San Francisco, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008. Pacquiao will fight Juan Manuel Marquez for the WBC Super Featherweight World Title on March 15 in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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