In just moments, one of the greatest boxing rivalries in history gets underway with Manny Pacquaio heading to the ring against Juan Manuel Marquez.
The two will meet for the fourth time in their careers with the prior three bouts being filled with intensity rarely witnessed in other such bouts. Pacquiao won two of the three matches, but they were all so close that it could have went in the other direction. In fact, through all of them, Marquez and his supporters claimed to have been robbed in the matches, creating even more bitterness between the two camps.
The first match was a featherweight championship fight in 2004. Despite Pacquiao achieving three knockdowns in the first round, it wound up as a draw. In 2008, the two met in a junior lightweight title fight that wound up with a split decision favoring Pacquiao. The most recent battle was 13 months ago in the welterweight title fight where Pacquaio obtained a win by unanimous decision.
Now the 33-year Filipino Pacquiao and 39-year old Mexican Marquez come together for a fourth match at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the venue of the first and third bouts.
Heading into the fight Pacquiao holds a 54-win, 4-loss, 2-draw record while Marquez has a 54-6-1 win-loss record. Both will be battling each other in the welterweight class.
Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, said that Manny had told him he would go for a knock out on Marquez during the fight. "It's the first time in 13 years that he's told me that we need a knockout to win. Usually he'll say, God will decide, so forth," Roach told WSJ's Lee Hawkins in an interview.
Latinos Post is conducting an unscientific poll to see what fans think of tonight's bout. The poll is located below.
Undercard matches and odds
Super Featherweight Title: Yuriorkis Gamboa (-1100) vs. Michael Farenas (+650)
Lightweight Title: Miguel Vazquez (-150) vs. Mercito Gesta (+120)
Featherweight Title: Javier Fortuna (-1000) vs. Patrick Hyland (+600)
Fight Time
Fight time starts at 12 AM. EST
Poll
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