Pacquiao wants to make ‘disrespectful’ Marquez pay

Manny Pacquiao always wants to look good for his fans. Tonight, in front of 16,000 at the sold-out MGM Grand Garden, he wants to look good for himself.

Pacquiao, the WBO welterweight champion and fighting congressman from Sarangani Province in the Philippines, is not happy with Juan Manuel Marquez, a longtime adversary whom he faces for the third time in seven years.

Early in the promotion for tonight's trilogy, Marquez showed up in the Philippines sporting a T-shirt that claimed Pacquiao robbed him in their two previous meetings.

Pacquiao, who gained a draw in their first meeting in 2004 and won a narrow 12-round split decision in their rematch in 2008, was not amused.

"Respect is the most important thing to me," said Pacquiao, 32, who is 53-3-2 with 38 knockouts. "What he did was disrespectful. You can be a good boxer and not have to say bad things about your opponent. But it is his freedom to do that."

Pacquiao, a minus-1000 favorite at the MGM Grand, plans to earn that respect when the fighters meet at the catch weight of 144 pounds. Their previous fights were at 126 (2004) and 130 (2008).

"The question to myself is to prove that I won the first two fights by beating him a third time," Pacquiao said. "It's important for me to take away any doubts from the first two fights."

The 38-year-old Marquez (53-5-1, 39 KOs) said: "It's not my fault he feels disrespected. But we wanted to get him in for a third fight, and here we are."

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's longtime trainer, said he hasn't seen his fighter this motivated in a long time.

"I think Manny has a little extra fire inside him because of what Marquez did," Roach said. "I don't see any danger in Manny being a little more emotional. He's not going to fight a dumb fight."

Roach said he'll be disappointed if Pacquiao doesn't knock out Marquez. In their first fight, Pacquiao knocked down Marquez three times in the first round. In the rematch, Pacquiao sent him to the canvas in the third round.

"I can't see this fight lasting very long," Roach said. "I think a knockout is the way it should end."

After an enhanced training program, Marquez bulked up considerably for the fight. At Friday's weigh-in at the Grand Garden before 5,500 fans, Marquez weighed 142 and Pacquiao 143.

Marquez's added bulk didn't seem to concern Pacquiao.

"All it means is there's going to be more of him for me to hit this time," he said.

Roach said: "I give Marquez credit for getting bigger. That means he's going to come right at us, which is what I want him to do. He'll be an easy target for Manny.

"If I were training Marquez, I would want it the other way, be as small and as quick as possible. But I'm not Nacho (Beristain, Marquez's trainer)."

Pacquiao said the development of his right hand since he last fought Marquez, plus his ability to be an accomplished counterpuncher, makes him much more dangerous this time.

"I'm more experienced," Pacquiao said. "Things come easier for me now than before. I'm more comfortable with my boxing skills."

But if Pacquiao loses to Marquez, there's a chance he could see him again. There's a clause in Pacquiao's contract with an option for a fourth fight. Marquez does not have that clause.

In Pacquiao's mind, that clause won't be necessary. He has plans beyond boxing and has said he intends to fight only a few more times before devoting himself entirely to politics. So with each fight, Pacquiao knows he's one step closer to the end of his Hall of Fame-caliber career.

"I don't think that far ahead," he said. "I just want to do my best in this fight."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.