By Rick Reeno
WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (53-2-1, 38KOs) wasn't pleased with the full outcome of his last performance, a lopsided twelve round decision over Shane Mosley in May. In the pre-fight hype, both boxers promised a toe to toe war, but the fight told a different story.
After Mosley was dropped and badly hurt in the third round, he made a mental decision to stay at a distance. Mosley was hoping to find an opening to land a big counter, but the opening never came - and the better part of the next nine rounds were spent with Pacquiao chasing and outworking his opponent. The live crowd at the MGM Grand wasn't pleased. For the first time in Pacquiao's career - the Filipino superstar was hit with a shower of boos when his fight was over.
This time, he believes the story will be different.
"[Molsey] didn't want to fight me toe to toe. I've heard a lot of fighters say they will fight me toe to toe, but then when the fight comes, they don't want to fight. I think Marquez will come to fight toe to toe. Marquez likes to fight. I think it's going to be an exciting fight for the fans," Pacquiao said.
Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, also expects an active fight filled with fireworks.
"When a fighter puts on muscle that quickly, it tells me one thing - he wants to be strong because he plans to exchange. I think he's going to come out faster and he'll want to exchange with us. We'll be ready for that," Roach said.
