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Pacquiao Hoping Marquez Fights Pacquiao’s Fight

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Manny Pacquiao is hoping Juan Manuel Marquez doesn’t act like the savvy counterpuncher on Saturday, and instead tries to prove a point. (Chris Farina-Top Rank)

has spent every waking moment the past few days telling anyone who will listen that Juan Manuel Marquez needs to change his style. When great fighters begin to talk like that it always makes me wonder about them.

What they seem to be saying, really, is not that they are spoiling for a fight. What they’re really saying is they want their opponent to cooperate with them. They don‘t want to play a fistic version of golf on a tough course. They want to go to the driving range.

That is not unusual as a great fighter ages. In fact, it’s often the case. An opponent fights back in the way Marquez does, which is to say with technical proficiency and the ability to counter you and then disappear into the dark shadows before you can respond, and the great fighter grows not challenged, but annoyed.

They look upon such opponents as irksome problems they should no longer be burdened with. And so they say what they can to try and lure that person into a fight that is unwise.

Often a young fighter can find himself in such a place. Certainly it happened to a Sugar Ray Leonard in his first fight with Roberto Duran. Rather than focus on winning the fight he instead focused on proving a point.

He proved the point, lost the fight, learned a lesson and five months later boxed Duran into a psychological melt down, winning the rematch and proving his point in a more cerebral way. That time he fought his fight. Roberto Duran did not appreciate it.

Leonard never forgot that lesson. When he had to fight he did but many of his matches were won before he entered the ring. If you are among those who think he beat Marvelous Marvin Hagler, that’s how he did it. He so annoyed Hagler that he talked him into giving away his advantages – which were pressure, his southpaw style and making the match a street fight – and escaped with a decision.

Pacquiao now seems to be trying to do the same thing to Marquez. Earlier this week he insisted, “He needs to prove something.’’

Why any more so than Pacquiao?

He said, “If I was scared of him I would not choose to fight him four times. Even if every month we fight, no problem. He has a brave heart but if you claim you won the fights you need to show something.

“I want him to fight me toe-to-toe. Either me or him. We both have two hands to use in the fight.’’

Of course Pacquiao wants Marquez to go toe-to-toe. That’s what he did in the first round of their first fight and he ended up on his ass three times. After the third, Marquez weaved his way back to his corner, got a stern lecture from trainer Nacho Beristain about using his head and went back out and boxed Pacquiao into a fog.

By the end of a night that started off with him on the deck three times, Marquez was awarded a draw. Many people felt he won, believing he didn’t lose a round after the second.

“ That was one of the greatest comebacks I ever saw,’’ conceded Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach. “These have (all) been good matches. If we lost any of those fights I couldn’t complain.’’

Pacquiao knows the truth of that and at nearly 34 probably knows there is little he can do to change that this time either. Only Marquez can change it by forgetting who he is. It is why Manny Pacquiao keeps publicly urging him to fight toe-to-toe, insisting if he believes he won the other fights he must fight this one in a way that will make winning more difficult for him.

It is a wise man’s strategy, another example of how smart a prize fighter Manny Pacquiao is. His problem is that Juan Manuel Marquez is just as smart and at 39 old enough not to be lured into trying to prove he’s a winner by fighting in a way that would make it easier to be a loser.

When Roach was asked what he would be telling Marquez if he was preparing him to fight Pacquiao he conceded without debate that he’d tell him to do what he’d done before. He would not tell him to go toe-to-toe. He would tell him to counter punch because that is what Juan Manuel Marquez has always been.

“Yes, of course,’’ Roach admitted. “It’s the smart way to fight Manny. He is what he is. But you don’t win fights with defense. You win with offense. You have to take the title. You can’t just have it given to you.’’

Of course, there is no title on the line this time; none but the title of “I beat you.’’ Manny Pacquiao sounds like a guy who wants to win that title the easy way this time.

“If he wants to exchange more I think it’s in our favor,’’ Roach said. “But people don’t change much. That’s a very difficult thing to do.’’

In the case of Juan Manuel Marquez, one of the smartest and most technically proficient fighters in boxing even at age 39, it would also be a very stupid thing to do. Which is why Manny Pacquiao keeps suggesting it.

 

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The IBHOF Unveils its Newest Inductees: Manny Pacquiao is the Icing on the Cake

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The IBHOF Unveils its Newest Inductees: Manny Pacquiao is the Icing on the Cake

PRESS RELEASE —   CANASTOTA, NY – DECEMBER 5, 2024 – The International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum is thrilled to announce the newest class of inductees to be honored during the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend June 5-8, 2025 in “Boxing’s Hometown” Canastota, NY.

The Class of 2025 includes Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, “The Pazmanian Devil” Vinny Paz and Michael “Second To” Nunn in the Men’s Modern category; Yessica “Kika” Chavez, Anne Sophie Mathis and Mary Jo Sanders in the Women’s Modern category; Cathy “Cat” Davis in the Women’s Trailblazer category; referee Kenny Bayless, cut man Al Gavin (posthumous) and referee Harry Gibbs (posthumous) in the Non-Participant category; broadcaster / journalist Randy Gordon and television producer Ross Greenburg in the Observer category; Rodrigo Valdez (posthumous) in the Old Timer category and Owen Swift (posthumous) in the Pioneer category.

Inductees were voted in by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a panel of international boxing historians. 

“We’re extremely excited about the Class of 2025 and are very much looking forward to honoring the newest class of inductees to earn boxing’s highest honor,” said Executive Director Edward Brophy.

The 2025 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend is scheduled for June 5-8th in “Boxing’s Hometown.” Many events will take place in Canastota and nearby Turning Stone Resort Casino throughout the four-day celebration including ringside talks, fist casting, fight night, 5K race / fun run, boxing autograph card show, banquet, parade and induction ceremony. 

For more information on the 2025 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, please call (315) 697-7095.

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Navarrete-Valdez and Espinoza-Ramirez Rematches Headline Phoenix Fight Fiesta 

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The annals of boxing abound with iconic rematches, and there’s a good chance that list will get longer after this Saturday in Phoenix’s Footprint Center with Top Rank’s ESPN card featuring Emanuel Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) versus Oscar Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) and Rafael Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs, against Robeisy Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs).

Valdez’s ties to the local area and multiple Arizona appearances give his bout against Navarrete top billing, but WBO featherweight titlist Espinoza’s initial encounter with Ramirez was the better bout the first time around, deemed Fight and Upset of the Year by many observers.

That’s not to say Navarrete-Valdez 1 didn’t hold plenty of drama as Navarrete captured the WBO junior lightweight belt with a relatively widespread unanimous decision. Valdez got himself into an immediate bind in the first fight by walking into Navarrete’s jab, enabling Navarrete to score early with looping right leads from his six-inch reach advantage. Valdez’s corner implored him to stay patient but it seemed there was no avoiding a firefight that played into Navarette’s always busy hands.

By round 3 Valdez’s face was heavily marked and often on the defensive, waiting to establish an offense that never fully arrived. Though he scored with some big shots down the stretch, his swollen right eye closed by the 9th frame and the eventual outcome seemed obvious.

“I know there’s a lot of pride at stake in a Mexico versus Mexico battle,” said Navarrete. “I believe this will be an even better fight than before because we’re familiar with each other. I know I have to push Valdez to his limits.”

“I made mistakes the first time, the biggest one was trying to knock him out,” reflected Valdez. “I still have a few fights left in me, not everyone gets a second chance. I know what I needed to train for (this time) and I’ll make the most of it.”

Offense was never a problem for either Espinoza or Ramirez, who traded knockdowns in a give-and-take affair that might have gone either way. It was the gloved-up version of mongoose versus cobra as two time Olympic gold medalist Ramirez charged in behind blurring punches up the middle while the much taller Espinoza fired shoulder level combinations. In this case, it was the underdog cobra who triumphed.

Three days from first bell an unofficial consensus of online odds listed the previous winners as favorites, Espinoza by a hair and Navarrete by a solid margin. While the initial winners may still have an edge, that all disappears after the bell, and previous action indicates a pair of pick-em contests isn’t unlikely.

Boxing history is also full of tie-breaking trilogies, too. It wouldn’t be a big surprise if that’s what we’re looking at again in both these cases.

Adding to the electric atmosphere in Phoenix are a solid batch of undercard extras featuring multiple first-rate performers that should get the audience more than ready for the night’s headliners.

Top Rank junior welterweight prospect Lindolfo Delgado, 21-0 (15) from Nuevo Leon, meets skilled Dominican Jackson Marinez, 22-3 (10) in a contest that could qualify as main event worthy in many locales.

Undefeated southpaw heavyweight Richard Torrez, Jr, who earned the silver medal in that division for the USA at the 2020 Olympics faces off against Mexican big boy Issac Munoz Gutierrez, 18-1-1 (15) who reportedly packs a respectable wallop. None of Torrez’s pro opponents have made it to the final bell.

San Diego’s highly ranked welterweight title challenger Giovani Santillan, 31-1 (17) faces Fredrick Lawson of Ghana, 30-5 (22). Lawson has dropped his last two outings but that was against good opposition and he won’t be an easy test.

21 year-old DJ Zamora, a hot prospect at 13-0 (9) from Las Vegas meets experienced Roman Reynoso, 22-5-2 (10), from Argentina and emerging new stablemate Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez, 11-0 (7), who recently signed a long term Top Rank contract faces Gerardo Antonio Perez, 12-6-1 (3).

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R.I.P Israel Vazquez who has Passed Away at age 46

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Israel Vazquez, a three-time world champion at 122 pounds and one of the most crowd-pleasing prizefighters of any era, has passed away at the age of 46. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman revealed the bad news today (Dec. 3) on his social media platform.

Born on Christmas Day 1977, Vazquez began his pro career in his native Mexico City at age 17. He was 16 fights into his pro career when he made his U.S. debut in El Cajon, California, under the management of Frank Espinoza.

Vazquez is most remembered for his four-fight rivalry with fellow Mexico City native Rafael Marquez.

The first two meetings were contested before small crowds in Carson, California, and Hidalgo, Texas.

Marquez won the first meeting thanks to a left hook that broke Vazquez’s nose in the opening round. The nose swelled to the point that Vazquez, who was making the fourth defense of his WBC super bantamweight title,  could no longer breathe and he was all done after seven rounds.

Vazquez won the rematch (TKO 6), setting the stage for a rubber match that would be a fight for the ages. The bout, contested on March 1, 2008 at the soccer stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, was a shoo-in for Fight of the Year, earning that accolade from the BWAA, The Ring magazine and others.

Vazquez pulled that fight out of the fire in the final round, knocking Marquez to the canvas to win a split decision. Ron Borges, writing for this publication, wrote, “they knocked pieces off each other that could never be fully reattached.”

That was true of the detached retina in Vazquez’s right eye. It would require multiple surgeries before Vazquez, nicknamed “El Magnifico,” fought again and the eye would eventually be replaced by a prosthetic.

Their fourth meeting, contested before a celebrity-studded crowd at LA’s Staples Center, was anticlimactic. Vazquez, damaged goods, was stopped in the third round and never fought again.

All four meetings were televised on Showtime which celebrated the rivalry in 2015, airing highlights from all four fights on March 7 of that year. TSS West Coast Bureau Chief David A. Avila, looking back at the series, wrote, “[It was] 28 rounds of the most scientifically brutal and awe-inspiring prizefighting at an elite level.” Avila would also call Israel Vazquez one of the sport’s greatest gentlemen, a class act, as evinced in his energetic handshake whenever meeting a new fan.

Vazquez used his ring earnings to open a boxing gym in the Greater Los Angeles City of South Gate.

Vazquez’s passing wasn’t unexpected. Mauricio Sulaiman announced last month that Vazquez had been diagnosed with Stage IV Sarcoma, a particularly virulent strain of cancer and along with Oscar Valdez and Top Rank, established a GoFundMe account to defray his medical expenses. Today, Sulaiman wrote, “Israel Vazquez is finally resting in peace. May God give strength and support to his wife Laura, their children, family and friends during these difficult times.”

We here at TSS share that sentiment and send our condolences.

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