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According to former associate Moy Lainez, Pacquiao became overconfident in his first fight against Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez as the Filipino sensation trained for only three weeks for that bout.
Lainez said Pacquiao spent most of his time enjoying his newly acquired stardom as he was coming off an impressive win against Marco Antonio Barrera in November 2003, a feat that jump-started him to what he is right now.
“He was enjoying every attention and accolades he was getting, and everything was new to him. And in coming off a win against Barrera, Marquez back then was just an ordinary fight he can hurdle,” Lainez said.
Marquez (48-3-1, 35 knockouts) miraculously scored a 12-round split draw after recovering from three first-round knockdowns against Pacquiao (45-3-2, 34 knockouts) in their world featherweight encounter in May 2004 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
Marquez, 34, kept his World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) 126-lb belts, while Pacquiao was regarded as “People’s Champion” by the prestigious Ring Magazine.
“Manny knew he will be in deep trouble if the fight goes the distance, that is why he was eager to finish off Marquez. But you really cannot underestimate Manny’s heart as he was able to go toe-to-toe with Marquez,” said Lainez.
Lainez believes Pacquiao is aware of the capabilities of Marquez, that is why he is spending at least two months of training at the Wild Card Gym of famed American guru Freddie Roach.
“Only Manny knows very well how good Marquez is. But I am confident Manny can beat Marquez easily this time,” said Lainez. “For him to train this long is a good sign. It only shows he is really serious about this fight.”
Confident was Lainez that he predicted a first-round knockout win for his one-time protégé.
“I’ll place my bet when I arrive in Las Vegas. I’ll pick a first-round knockout win for Manny,” said Lainez.
Lainez, an analyst of the weekly boxing show “In This Corner”, is a staunch ally of Pacquiao’s former business manager Rod Nazario whose association with American promoter Murad Muhammad led to their untimely break-off with the Filipino boxing superstar.
Marquez and Pacquiao face each other in a rematch on March 15 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. Marquez will stake his World Boxing Council super-featherweight crown in a 12-round encounter.
Monday morning, Pacquiao had an exclusive telephone interview with the daily morning program Sports Chat on Sports Radio 918.
“People should understand that boxers are always focused on one thing and that is to prepare for [their] next fight,” said Pacquiao. “I’m still the same Manny Pacquiao. I still prepare as hard as like this is just my first fight,” added Pacquiao.
Pacquiao belied insinuations that his weight is a major indicator about how he is preparing for his next major bout.
“All the reports stating that I’m behind in schedule in terms of training are absolutely untrue,” said Pacquiao “Why will I allow myself to be overweight? I’m fully aware that I will suffer the consequences if I climb the ring unprepared. I‘m doing what I have to do in training so everything is okay.”
Recently, BusinessMirror was able to talk with promoter Bob Arum who at the time of the interview just came from watching Pacquiao’s training at the Wild Card Gym.
“He went two hours without taking one break. I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve been in this business 42 years,” said Arum “I said to Freddie everybody takes a break, Muhammad Ali, Marvin Hagler, anybody takes a break and this guy didn’t stop for a minute. He’s training like a man possessed.”
Asked about concerns of Pacquiao peaking too early, Arum said he doesn’t see that happening as the celebrated Filipino seems to be enjoying what he is doing.
“If he was unhappy while he was doing it I will be concerned. But he’s happy and he loves to do it,” said Arum. “He is absolutely focused, no-nonsense doing other things. I can’t tell you how pleased I am with what I’ve seen.”
Arum added that Roach looks pleased with what Pacquiao has been showing in training camp since arriving in the United States middle of January.
“I think more important than what I see and feels is what Freddie feels. I think Freddie is super confident and Manny keeps up at this work level. He is going to give the best performance of his career,” said Arum.
Lainez said Pacquiao spent most of his time enjoying his newly acquired stardom as he was coming off an impressive win against Marco Antonio Barrera in November 2003, a feat that jump-started him to what he is right now.
“He was enjoying every attention and accolades he was getting, and everything was new to him. And in coming off a win against Barrera, Marquez back then was just an ordinary fight he can hurdle,” Lainez said.
Marquez (48-3-1, 35 knockouts) miraculously scored a 12-round split draw after recovering from three first-round knockdowns against Pacquiao (45-3-2, 34 knockouts) in their world featherweight encounter in May 2004 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
Marquez, 34, kept his World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) 126-lb belts, while Pacquiao was regarded as “People’s Champion” by the prestigious Ring Magazine.
“Manny knew he will be in deep trouble if the fight goes the distance, that is why he was eager to finish off Marquez. But you really cannot underestimate Manny’s heart as he was able to go toe-to-toe with Marquez,” said Lainez.
Lainez believes Pacquiao is aware of the capabilities of Marquez, that is why he is spending at least two months of training at the Wild Card Gym of famed American guru Freddie Roach.
“Only Manny knows very well how good Marquez is. But I am confident Manny can beat Marquez easily this time,” said Lainez. “For him to train this long is a good sign. It only shows he is really serious about this fight.”
Confident was Lainez that he predicted a first-round knockout win for his one-time protégé.
“I’ll place my bet when I arrive in Las Vegas. I’ll pick a first-round knockout win for Manny,” said Lainez.
Lainez, an analyst of the weekly boxing show “In This Corner”, is a staunch ally of Pacquiao’s former business manager Rod Nazario whose association with American promoter Murad Muhammad led to their untimely break-off with the Filipino boxing superstar.
Marquez and Pacquiao face each other in a rematch on March 15 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. Marquez will stake his World Boxing Council super-featherweight crown in a 12-round encounter.
Monday morning, Pacquiao had an exclusive telephone interview with the daily morning program Sports Chat on Sports Radio 918.
“People should understand that boxers are always focused on one thing and that is to prepare for [their] next fight,” said Pacquiao. “I’m still the same Manny Pacquiao. I still prepare as hard as like this is just my first fight,” added Pacquiao.
Pacquiao belied insinuations that his weight is a major indicator about how he is preparing for his next major bout.
“All the reports stating that I’m behind in schedule in terms of training are absolutely untrue,” said Pacquiao “Why will I allow myself to be overweight? I’m fully aware that I will suffer the consequences if I climb the ring unprepared. I‘m doing what I have to do in training so everything is okay.”
Recently, BusinessMirror was able to talk with promoter Bob Arum who at the time of the interview just came from watching Pacquiao’s training at the Wild Card Gym.
“He went two hours without taking one break. I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve been in this business 42 years,” said Arum “I said to Freddie everybody takes a break, Muhammad Ali, Marvin Hagler, anybody takes a break and this guy didn’t stop for a minute. He’s training like a man possessed.”
Asked about concerns of Pacquiao peaking too early, Arum said he doesn’t see that happening as the celebrated Filipino seems to be enjoying what he is doing.
“If he was unhappy while he was doing it I will be concerned. But he’s happy and he loves to do it,” said Arum. “He is absolutely focused, no-nonsense doing other things. I can’t tell you how pleased I am with what I’ve seen.”
Arum added that Roach looks pleased with what Pacquiao has been showing in training camp since arriving in the United States middle of January.
“I think more important than what I see and feels is what Freddie feels. I think Freddie is super confident and Manny keeps up at this work level. He is going to give the best performance of his career,” said Arum.
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