Pacquiao vs Marquez III At Odds

It’s not the fight we really want to see and whether we’ll ever see Pacquiao face Mayweather is a question few, if any, have an answer to. In the meantime this is probably as interesting a fight as the ’Mexicutioner’ could sign up for right now but will it complete a genuine ’thrill-ology’ of meetings between the two?

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There’s no doubting the quality of both men and though Pacquiao holds the slight advantage on the scorecards Juan Manuel Marquez will argue, with plenty of reason, that he should be going into this meeting with a 2-0 lead. He picked himself up off the canvas three times in the first round in 2004 to come on strong in the second half of the fight, snatching a draw he and many others believed should have been a win. Then in 2008 Pacquiao took a close split decision which could just as easily have gone the other way.

We should be all set for another close classic. Should be but probably won’t. There are some crucial differences between those earlier fights and now, the principal one being the weight. Manny Pacquiao has proven against the likes of Margarito and Cotto that he is very comfortable above the 140lb mark, losing none of his speed or power. Marquez on the other hand struggled badly against Mayweather at 146lbs in his only real excursion in that direction. It may not seem like much but the catchweight of 144lbs which this fight is taking place at may prove too big a step for Marquez’ body to take. He certainly doesn’t look as sharp and dangerous at the higher weights and if he performs as he did against Mayweather, Manny could put a decisive end to the  speculation caused by their previous encounters.

Then there’s also the fact that Pacquiao is a completely different fighter from the one Marquez fought in 2004 and he’s even improved a great deal since 2008. Now a more thoughtful, composed and complete boxer thanks to the stewardship of Freddie Roach, Pacquiao has barely lost a round since last meeting Marquez, a remarkable achievement when you look at the quality of opponents he’s faced in that time. He’s less likely to be dragged into the kind of brawl which would level the
playing field and we should expect to see the kind of masterclass he put on against Margarito in November of last year. Even if weight wasn’t an issue Marquez, who simply hasn’t improved at the same rate, would still struggle and unless his team have come up with some ingenious plan he could find himself outclassed in Las Vegas.

There are plenty of reasons why the Pacman is the 1/12 favourite and it’s difficult to see this being anywhere near as close as their previous two encounters. Manny Pacquiao is 15/8 to win on points, a good bet considering Marquez has never been stopped but if he can stop the Mexican with a TKO at 8/15 then maybe, just maybe, Mayweather will be forced to agree to the fight we all really want to see.