By Ronnie Nathanielsz
WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez has recruited Japanese super lightweight Norio Kimura as one of his sparring partners in preparation for his March 15 rematch with Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Well-known journalist James Blears who resides in Mexico City told Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today that Kimura also “happens to be a southpaw” like Pacquiao and is ranked No. 7 by the WBC.
Kimura who won the Japanese light welterweight title with a unanimous ten round decision over Shingo Eguchi on April 3, 2004 has successfully defebded the title eleven times and sports a ring record of 33-5-2 with 17 knockouts. He is 29 years old and stands 5’7 ½”.
Blears said the Marquez camp had brought in Kimura who once served as a sparring partner for Erik “El Terrible” Morales because the plan to bring in ageing Freddie Norwood “hasn’t yet seem to have been developed.”
Blears had earlier reported that Marquez was training hard and looked in great shape and that Pacquiao would have to stay focused in training if he wished to erase the memory of a controversial draw in their first encounter in May 2004.
In that fight Pacquiao dropped Marquez three times in the very first round but couldn’t put the Mexican away enabling Marquez to counter-punch his way to salvage a draw.
Pacquiao has said he believes the judges made a mistake and planned to settle some “Unfinished Business” with Marquez on March 15.
