Super Featherweight

Manny Pacquiao has long been the work horse of his boxing class, his community and his home country. But as he approaches his fourth bout with Juan Manuel Marquez, it appears his political career could be keeping him from solely focusing on his Dec. 8 fight.

Bhenj Agustin recently reported that Pacquiao's camp is promoting a fight past the potential one with Marquez. Based on the crowd reaction and controversy surrounding his third fight with Marquez, this isn't going to be a smooth road back to the belt.

Here's an excerpt from the piece, with a quote from Pacman's promoter, Bob Arum:

“He wants to fight in April because he has to go back to the Philippines for the election. April 13th is no good because it’s Holy Week, it’s Easter Sunday. So the day that we’ve been looking at is April 20th."

Isn't it a little too soon to look past his current card?

Of course, there's also reason to believe that Pacquiao is back and stronger than ever. His recent conversion to the Christian faith has him more upbeat and jovial than ever before in interviews and other reports, and he's spending time training with the legendary Freddie Roach yet again. 

Pacman is also hungry to prove that his last two major bouts—Marquez III and Timothy Bradley—are not indicative of his decline as a boxing great. The 33-year-old had this to say in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times' Lance Pugmire:

“I have to prove they’re wrong...My last two or three fights have not been impressive, but guys are running and running from me after I hit them. I thought Marquez ran all night, and [Timothy] Bradley backed off."

There's certainly reason to believe this is his most important fight ever. Floyd Mayweather is still lurking in the shadows for a potential super fight with the two men, but it will never happen if Pacquiao were to lose again.

Whether or not the big bout ever happens, it's clear that the ultimate goal for Pacquiao is to end his career on top before returning to the Philippines to help the country that he's been loyal to for so long.

In another interview with USA Today's Jon Saraceno, Arum notes that Pacquiao is a national legend, much like Dirk Nowitzki is to the Germans and Yao Ming is to the Chinese.

He gives third-world people the feeling that they can advance..This is a kid who sold candy on the streets of Manila, who had to fight his way against all the other hungry Filipinos. He taught himself (English) and he ran for Congress. His is an unbelievable story—something even a huckster like me couldn't make up."

As his camp gets ready to defend itself against Marquez—arguably just as hungry for his first win in four fights—Pacquiao must continue to focus on his training at hand above the rest of his extra curricular activities back home.

He will be a great politician for his district and will hopefully bring about the same change in that region that he brought by changing the boxing landscape during his tenure as one of the best strikers and fighters that pay-per-view has to offer.

But for now, that must be on the back burner. If not, Marquez is waiting to send him home early.

Ethan Grant is a featured columnist for B/R's Breaking News Team.

Follow @DowntownEG

A professional boxer only has so many punches in him before he has to call it quits, so choosing worthy opponents for important, highly-publicized bouts is crucial. You want to maximize the fight's marketability while ensuring the quality of your opponent is up to par.

Heading into his next match, Pacquiao had the option of going toe-to-toe with three fighters: Timothy Bradley (a rematch of their last controversial fight), Juan Manuel Marquez (for the fourth time), or Miguel Cotto (another rematch, although he ultimately turned him down).

Choosing Marquez was the right decision, and will give the fans the best possible fight.

The duos previous three fights have all been extremely entertaining: They fought to a draw in 2004; Pacquiao won a 12-round split-decision in 2008; and Pacquiao won a 12-round majority decision last November.

These are two fighters who know the tendencies and motions of the other, so discussions leading up to the fight will focus on the competitiveness of their previous three fights. Pacquiao may seem like the superior fighter, but Marquez has lined up the 33-year-old superstar and given him a run for his money.

This is an important fight for both men, but for Pacquiao, if he ever hopes to go up against his nemesis Floyd Mayweather Jr., this is a must-win affair. Losing to Marquez would mean two losses in a row, and to fighters he is considered superior to. Seeing as he probably doesn't have too many fights left in him and has aspirations of a career in politics, now is the time to finish strong.

Of all his options, Marquez would be the kind of victory that would vault Pacquiao back to center stage, where he used to be and where Mayweather currently resides. Losing to Bradley wasn't so detrimental as to make him any less of a draw, but piling up losses hurts his chances at another big fight as well as his historical reputation.

In the pair's first fight in 2004, Marquez was knocked down early and often, but true to form, did not give in and made it a dogfight. That is the type of fighter Marquez is, and come Dec. 8 when the two go at it one more time, expect another fun-filled, back-and-forth affair.

Pacquiao wants to get back on track, and Marquez is the perfect man to go up against.

We know Manny Pacquiao will be fighting on Dec. 8 in Las Vegas, the first match since his controversial loss to Timothy Bradley Jr.

What we don't know is who he will be squaring off against when the lights of the boxing world shine on one of the game's most electrifying talents.

My vote goes to Juan Manuel Marquez, a man Pacquiao has faced three times already in his career.

Their first bout, back in 2004, went 12 grueling rounds and ended in a controversial draw. Marquez was knocked down early and often during that initial bout, but he somehow toughed out 12 rounds due to his counterpunch style. This technique staved off Pacman's aggressiveness and allowed him to last the whole fight.

In 2008, Pacquiao ended up winning a split decision against Marquez, with the latter landing more punches throughout the fight. The key to the fight was a third-round knockdown of Marquez by Pacman.

Their last fight occurred in 2011 and saw Pacquiao win by a majority decision. There was controversy surrounding this particular decision, as certain pundits claimed Marquez was robbed. However, the stats showed that Pacman landed more strikes and power punches during the fight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4gGw9LGH3Q

This is an important time for Pacquiao. He is coming off the controversy of the Bradley fight, so he is in need of a big victory against a strong opponent. That fight was an aberration in the truest sense of the word, so a rematch against him or someone of his ilk would not be in the best interest of the Filipino boxer.

A Marquez rematch would also do wonders for the sport of boxing. Pacquiao's last fight was a strong draw but didn't have the star power to make it must-see. (The duo's third fight in 2011 gained an impressive 1.4 million pay-per-view buys.)

Most people are holding out hope the Pacquiao will somehow work things out with Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s people and set up the fight of the century. Unfortunately, that fight seems less likely as the years pass.

They have a good thing going with Pacquiao-Marquez.

Why not squeeze one more good fight out of it?

There is no doubt that Juan Manuel Marquez is one of the most exciting, hard working and dedicated boxing champions that have ever graced a boxing ring. His thrilling style, unparalleled heart, and loyalty to his fans, have made ‘Dinamita’ a fighter that the boxing history books will never overlook.

It is safe to assume that a person who has had an unusually interesting life, such as many history-shaping sportsmen and politicians, has a story to tell. That story, their autobiography, rarely turns out to be dull and dry, and by telling it, they tell the world of what it takes to shape your dreams into reality.

Juan Manuel Marquez did just that. He has written an autobiography titled, “Yes, I beat you Pacquiao.”

According to BoxingScene, Marquez had the following to say about his new book:

“This book is about how I worked to achieve what I have achieved, with character, courage, and the desire that must be there to get what you want. The book which I wrote, and obviously I was helped a little with editing, was based on what I did and what I did to succeed. I speak of discipline, responsibility, and to do so in a book is very important because it’s a great way for people to know a little bit more about me.” 

The contents of the book seem to be average and self-explanatory, but the title shows Marquez’s obsession and disappointment in his trilogy against his Filipino rival.

I don’t blame Marquez for coming up with such an offensive title towards Pacquiao: it is very creative and will definitely help the book sell. I am looking forward to reading the autobiography, and am sure we are going to find a lot of interesting facts about his boxing career, certain lucrative fights, and maybe get some inside information on how things work leading up to a big fight.

Aside from his sublime overall skill, sound defense, blazing hand speed and thudding power, the reason Adrien Broner (24-0, 20 KO) is such a compelling fighter is due to his superfluous nature. With Broner, fans might be divided—a la Floyd Mayweather—but the bottom line is that he elicits a response.

That said, while Broner has thus far crafted his persona through delight in seemingly unnecessary frills, there is one area where he hopefully won’t make excess a habit: his weight.

On Saturday, Broner needed only five rounds to dispatch of Vicente Escobedo (26-4, 15 KO), a 2004 U.S. Olympian and classy contender. The fight, however, was marred with a certain degree of controversy as Broner originally weighed in 3.5 pounds over the junior lightweight limit of 130 and also re-weighed in at 143.5, well over the 140-pound agreement struck with Escobedo’s camp.

Escobedo, who was fighting for a full-fledged major title for the first time in his career, agreed to go on with the fight, though the outcome was never in doubt as Broner dominated his game but overmatched opponent.

Responses to Broner’s weigh issues and post-fight antics have been extreme and divisive, but it seems that a balance can be struck between what actually warrants criticism and what is merely a case of playful, albeit immature, antics.

Broner’s bended knee “proposal” where he popped the hair-brushing question to his girlfriend (what will he think of next?) is innocent enough, though he might reconsider such actions a few years down the road—to her credit, Arie Nicole, Broner’s girlfriend, has taken the incident and the accompanying negative press in stride.

While Broner equating his average haircut with the sanctity of marriage might put some people off, such antics could be chalked up to Broner being Broner (a side note on his hair: the joke is that his hair doesn’t actually need brushing, right?). Whether fans love it or hate it, this type of charisma, combined with his skills, has Broner poised to be one of boxing’s biggest and most marketable stars.

What is serious and hopefully not a case of Broner being Broner is his flippant disregard for making weight. The fact that Broner was drinking water after failing to make weight and tweeting pictures of Twinkies is deplorable, and it makes a mockery of all boxers who sacrifice and train diligently to make weight.

There comes a point where jesting crosses over into unprofessionalism, and no measure of story spinning can salvage Broner’s actions, Twinkie and otherwise, surrounding his weight issues for the Escobedo fight.

In less high-profile cases, boxing fans and writers have watched weight issues all but destroy the credibility of former champions like Joan Guzman and Jose Luis Castillo. Failing to make weight is deflating for everyone involved, and the act itself sullies and ruins the integrity of a fight. The last thing Broner needs is to make this a habit.

Broner had always intended to move up in weight, but his premature jump is still inexcusable. Why fight at 130 with the presumption of defending a world title if you know you can’t make weight? Maybe the WBO belt was insignificant to Broner, but an alleged title fight where the belt is only at stake for one boxer lacks a certain luster, to put it kindly.

This might very well be the only occasion where Broner fails to make weight. That said, for a championship-level fighter, once is too much. 

Broner can have his fake marriage proposals, hair brushing, tasseled trunks, neon shoes, dancing and entourage; who am I to begrudge him or judge him based on any of those things? But when it comes to his weight, he’d better toe the line, or his shine might wear off sooner than he thinks.   

On Saturday night, live from Cincinnati, flashy 22-year-old Adrien "The Problem" Broner (23-0 19 KO's) defends his WBO Super Featherweight title against tough veteran Vicente Escobedo (26-3 15 KO's). Broner's had a somewhat easy title reign thus far, but Escobedo is a quality fighter who should provide him with his first major test when they meet on Saturday. 

So, here's a quick breakdown of the fight, with my prediction as well. 

When you talk about Adrien Broner, the first thing that comes to mind is that he's young, brash and cocky, but also very talented. Broner has terrific hand and foot speed, and very heavy hands. He's also a big guy for the 130-pound weight class, and looks as if he could one day fight as high as 147 pounds. 

Broner's fighting style is the exact opposite of his personality. When he's talking in front of the cameras, he's borderline arrogant and somewhat immature (although I'm a big fan of his trash talk, I think he's hilarious). But when he steps into the ring, he's all business and he totally changes his mindset. 

Broner fights with the pace and skill of a wily veteran, picking his shots and being very careful not to make mistakes. He fights out of a really wide stance, but he makes it work and makes his opponents pay if they make technical errors.

He also combines being technically proficient with blazing fast hands and real knockout power. Broner is kind of like Floyd Mayweather, but with higher punch volume and more power. He's got the talent to one day be a Top 5 pound-for-pound type of fighter, he's that good.

He talks a lot of trash, but has thus far backed it up in the ring. 

In Vicente Escobedo, you have a fighter who fights behind a strong jab and is capable of putting his punches together nicely. He doesn't have the speed or power of Broner, but he's certainly no slouch. Escobedo is a world-class fighter and won't be blown out like other Broner opponents have been as of late.

Escobedo has a nice 1-2 combo that he can use to disrupt the rhythm of Broner, something that will be key if he wants to pull off the victory. Escobedo also goes to be body very well, which he'll need to do early and often to wear down the younger, stronger Broner. 

At 5'8" Escobedo is also an inch taller than Broner. While this may seem inconsequential, Broner's used to being the bigger guy with the longer reach. Escobedo must use this to his advantage and make sure to keep Broner on the end of his jab.

If he lets Broner get to work and doesn't keep him at bay with a consistent jab, it's going to be a long day for Escobedo.

So, who's going to win? I think that it's going to be a very good action fight, with Broner pulling out a tough, close, but clear-cut unanimous decision victory, somewhere in the neighborhood of 116-112. If Broner can stop Escobedo though, it would be very impressive, as Escobedo has never been knocked out in 29 career fights. 

Escobedo is really tough and has a good chin, so don't be shocked if he wins a couple of early rounds. However, Broner has elite talent and it's going to be very hard for Escobedo to pull off an upset. Pardon the pun, but Broner will just be too strong and too fast, and will cause too many problems for Escobedo on Saturday night.

Follow me on Twitter: @rlongo924 

Manny Pacquiao’s famed trainer Freddie Roach believes that the best way to continue Manny’s boxing career is to fight Timothy Bradley in a rematch, according to the BoxingChannel via ABS-CBN News.

Boxing fans crave a fourth Pacquiao vs. Marquez fight, but Roach believes the entertainment factor would be lacking: “I think every time they fight each other, it's less entertaining, they know each other so well. Three times is enough for me,” stated Roach.

Of course, if Pacquiao chooses to give the fans what they want and the fight were to happen, Roach said he would make sure that Pacquiao is prepared for Juan Manuel.

While I am not too sure what the financial distribution would be in either fight, but I think that it is safe to say that a fight with Marquez would be much more profitable for both fighters.

On the other hand, revenge is never bitter when it comes to boxing. Although the commission decided that Pacquiao had actually won the fight against Bradley, on the spot it was a loss, and the belt left with its new owner. The way Bradley fought, Pacquiao should have done a lot better.

But all that is in the past, and despite the fact that I would really love to see Pacquiao face Marquez yet another time, probably in Mexico, he should first straighten things up with Bradley and attempt another sit-down with Mayweather Jr. in hopes of finally making the dream fight a reality.

As of now, no future opponent has been named by camp Pacquiao or Top Rank.

While Juan Manuel Marquez does not believe that Manny Pacquiao lost his fight against Timothy Bradley this past Saturday, he says that now Pacquiao knows just how Marquez felt when he was supposedly robbed against Pacquiao when they fought.

“I didn't think the fight was that close. I think Pacquiao won by at least five points. No it doesn't make me happy that he lost that way but now he knows how I felt this past November,” said Marquez in his recent interview with BoxingScene.com.

Marquez is a pretty sharp guy, and I think that his opinion should matter.

Being a master tactician in the ring, he may be able to spot things that most of us would never notice. Marquez mentioned that he didn’t believe the fight was even close, thus pointing out that indeed there was something very wrong with the way the decision was judged.

Of course, he had to point out that he felt the same way that Pacquiao must feel now, but this is beside the point. Their fight was indeed a close call, and it was truly hard to label one or the other a solid winner.

In the case of Pacquiao vs. Bradley, an average boxing fan having watched the fight live or on PPV would be able to tell who was in control of the fight, and who was winning round after round.

I am not at all implying that Pacquiao dominated this fight and should have won by a landslide, but what I am saying is that his victory was obvious enough to call the given decision a lie.

Due to Manny Pacquiao’s loss to Timothy Bradley this past Saturday night, it seems like Juan Manuel Marquez might have to wait a little bit longer for another chance at facing Pacquiao again. Team Pacquiao will now be directing their efforts and time into getting the decision either reversed or a rematch actualized.

Instead, according to Fightnews, it looks as though Marquez will now face Erik Moralez on Spetember 15, 2012.

I don’t know about you, but I can see this being an exciting and explosive match. For Marquez, it is a chance at earning a pretty hefty paycheck as well as an opportunity to get another big-name victory under his belt. For Morales, it’s a sure way to skyrocket his stock back to the top. While the benefit of this fight would be much bigger for Morales, it is a pretty good next option for Marquez as well.

Both fighters have their own armies of fans, and I would expect this event to sell out at Garden Arena, if that’s where they end up hosting the fight. Of course, I am fully aware that, technically speaking, Morales would be a huge underdog, and most of the money bet would have the name of Marquez attached to it as the winner.

Having said that, I would never count out a warrior like Morales in any fight. At the right weight, with the right incentive, he is capable of being extremely competitive, and I can see Marquez struggling with Morale’s style.

If September is when they are planning on making the fight, they are already running on a very tight schedule. I assume we can expect to hear the final details by the end of this week.

On June 9^th Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley will square off in the ring for what boxing fans are hoping is the next classic. We all know that Pacquiao is the favorite, and currently the odds of betting on the Pac Man are two to seven vs. nine to two odds for Bradley.

Everybody knows what you get out of Pacquiao, the guy is fearless, extremely quick and in the last few years he’s been unbeatable. Bradley, in his own right, is a damn good fighter as well and is currently sitting at 29-0.

The much anticipated fight will air on HBO pay-per-view, and it will come with the usual hype that surrounds a Manny Pacquiao fight. For the average boxing fan, one might not understand or have a solid knowledge base of just who Timothy Bradley is.

Bradley is out of North Palm Springs, California and is currently the WBO Light Welterweight Champion. He also was a two-time WBC Light Welterweight Champion.

His background is a bit odd in the terms of normal boxers. Timothy Bradley has been stripped of his titles due to refusing to fight certain opponents such as Devon Alexander and Amir Khan.

Now you have to ask yourself, Bradley doesn’t want to fight Khan but he is willing to fight Manny Pacquiao?

Really?

However, to his credit, Bradley wanted a shot at Pacquiao and the hefty purse that comes along with such a fight. Bradley isn’t much of a power fighter either, as he only has 12 TKOs in 30 career fights. In the June 9^th matchup, his chin will come into question. Will he be able to stand toe-to-toe with the pound-for-pound champion in all the land?

It is always a bit dangerous for a fighter to enter the ring with any sort of distraction, and with the recent remarks made by Manny Pacquaio, the champion has just that. Is his mind really in this bout?

We shall see.

Bradley is not necessarily a knockout artist and has been known to be a patient fighter who likes to take the fight to the end and let the judges decide. Point blank: this will not work against Manny, who is one of the best at this strategy, if Bradley tries to fight conservatively.

According to Pacquiao’s camp, the champion is seeking to end this fight early via K.O. If so, that would make Pac-Man’s first knockout since he dropped Miguel Cotto in 2009.

Pacquiao is out to prove his talent once again, since his last fight was a bit of a struggle against Juan Manuel Marquez. Famous trainer Manny Diaz feels that Pacquiao will have no trouble with Bradley so long as he takes the fight to him quickly and stays on the attack: “It’s not like he’s a great puncher, he’s not a great fighter, he doesn’t have a great defense, he’s open to get hit,” said Diaz.

One thing is for sure, Pacquaiao will likely make short work of Mr. Bradley, and Pac-Man will be looking for his 15^th straight victory; leaving boxing fans anxious once more for the anticipated matchup vs. Floyd "Money" Mayweather.