Marquez sets out to re-write wrongs

Following the death of boxing legend Smokin’ Joe Frazier this week, Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marqeuz set out to hold the perfect tribute when they clash at the weekend. Charlie Grocott looks ahead to the fight…

All eyes will be on the ring this Saturday in Vegas when Filipino phenomenon Manny Pacquiao aims to silence the doubters and cement his position at the very top of the world of boxing by defeating WBO Lightweight World Champion, Mexican, Juan Manuel Márquez.

Saturday’s bout will be the finale of a trilogy of encounters between the familiar foes, and both fighters will be stepping into the ring with the belief that they can finally lay this rivalry to rest, and claim supremacy of the most exciting division of boxing at present.

Their previous encounters have been hard-fought, tense affairs, and not without controversy.

In their first meeting in 2004, Pacquiao’s fast and technical fists knocked Marquez down three times in the opening rounds- yet the crowd were stunned to see the Mexican not only get back to his feet, but dominate the rest of the fight, leaving the judges unable to separate the two.

A rematch four years later gave Pacquiao a narrow victory on points, but the verdict was hotly disputed by fans and pundits who judged Marquez to have been dominant throughout.

Both men have gained weight up to welterweight class for this fight, and both are predicting a hard-hitting affair.

“What I need to do with my performance on Saturday is prove that I won the fight, so that there can be no argument this time,” Pacquiao told reporters at the pre-match promotion.

Márquez has proved resilient in the ring, and still harbours a grudge over the previous rulings “I know I’m going to have to win the fight in a very convincing manner and hope that the judges score what they are seeing. They were not very impartial the last time”

For the man widely regarded as the best ‘pound for pound’ fighter on the planet, Pacquiao will only want one thing from this fight – a swift and decisive victory, and to silence those doubt his claims to greatness.

For Márquez the prize is even greater, he wants to prove himself as one of the very best, and claim the victory he feels was rightly his all along.

With the history behind these two boxers, there’s only one things you can be sure of when they settle the score on Saturday, and that’s that the viewers are in for one of the most enthralling boxing matches for years.