By Chris Robinson
Despite the mixed reviews upon its announcement, the fourth fight between rivals Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez is on the way, as the two stars will meet on December 8th inside of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This week, Pacquiao and Marquez have already made press stops in Los Angeles and New York ahead of their clash, while finding time to also appear on ESPN’s “First Take” on Thursday amidst their hectic schedule.
Marquez’s 0-2-1 record against Pacquiao isn’t a true reflection of just how fiercely competitive the first three fights were and the Mexico City stalwart admitted on the show that he must come up with something different this time around if he is to officially defeat his nemesis.
“I need to change something for this fight, because he knows me,” Marquez stated candidly. “I know him and I need to change. I train very hard and I need to change. I don’t know what.”
Host Stephen A. Smith then jumped in and pointed out that he personally had Marquez winning the third fight against Pacquiao this past November and asked him to clarify his statement.
“I need to [be more] aggressive, maybe,” Marquez would explain. “Because the judges, I don’t know what happened.”
Pacquiao also revealed that he is looking to come with a different kind of intensity when he faces Marquez in a few months’ time, as a certain kind of fire has been lacking from him as of late.
“To change the controversial decision for this fight, for me I realize I need to get back the aggressiveness that I had before when I was 25, 26 years old,” Pacquiao would admit.
“I need that aggressiveness for this fight.”
Pacquiao is planning on staging his entire training camp at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood as opposed to having the first leg in his native Philippines as was the case for previous contests and he’s hoping the move will produce a more definitive result.
“I want to give a good fight to end the doubts of all fans,” stated the eight-division champion.
Skip Bayless then asked Marquez for his opinion on who would win a bout between Pacquiao and potential foe Floyd Mayweather Jr. Marquez was dominated by Mayweather three years ago, as he was dropped in the second round while losing a lopsided decision, and he feels Floyd would be a bit too much for Manny.
“The two fighters are great fighters, but I think Mayweather,” Marquez said. “Everybody knows Floyd. Floyd is very defensive. He’s [not] aggressive and I think Manny will be looking for the fight all night.
“You know Mayweather, he doesn’t like to fight,” Marquez added. “I think Mayweather is the best fighter [defensively].”
Pacquiao laughed playfully at Marquez’s logic and offered up his own reasoning.
“Here’s the thing, I will answer that,” Pacquiao said. “When you see the fight of [Ricky] Hatton and Mayweather, if you see that fight, and Mayweather and [Oscar] De La Hoya; Mayweather can’t handle if you are throwing a lot of punches. Watch the fight with Mayweather and Hatton, and I think Hatton hit Floyd a lot.”
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