Manny Pacquiao Escapes With Majority Decision Over Juan Manuel Marquez

Everyone was emotional after the controversial ending to the year's biggest boxing match, a majority decision in favor of Manny Pacquiao over Juan Manuel Marquez, heck, Marquez is threatening to retire he's so upset over the outcome. The scene afterwards was indicative of a fight like this: confusion, an unsatisfying post-fight interview (by, of all people, Mario Lopez), with both fighters telling different stories of what happened in the ring.

Here is Pacquiao's post-fight interview, sponsored by his promoter, Bob Arum, who is Public Enemy No. 1 in Mexico today:

Hard-hitting journalism from A.C. Slater there. After the scrum, in the press room, Marquez told the world he felt he was robbed, saying "everyone knows I won."

"I'm happy about my performance after tonight, and honestly, I don't know what I need to do to change the mind of the judges," Marquez said through a translator, clearly emotional after being "robbed," as he said. "What we need to do is sit down with my family and my camp and make a decision to continue with this sport or just simply retire." You can see the full post-fight press conference here.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez met last night to close the book on a trilogy that saw three incredibly competitive fights over seven and a half years. While the trilogy may be over, we may now be treated to one more fight to make it a tetralogy.

Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports has the word:

As he made his way through an angry crowd that shouted obscenities at him, Arum told Yahoo! Sports, "It was a great, great fight. I had Manny, but it was close, so why not bring them together again in May? It makes a lot of sense to do that."

If the megafight with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. can't get done, it's possible that a fourth fight between the two is the biggest money option for Pacquiao. While Timothy Bradley is a talented boxer, he's not exactly a name that draws big interest.

That leaves ideas like a possible rematch with Miguel Cotto if Cotto gets by Antonio Margarito in their December bout as the only other options that may draw money and interest on any level beyond "Pacquiao is fighting."

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Juan Manuel Marquez had strong words for the judges that declared Manny Pacquiao the winner by majority decision in Saturday's HBO pay-per-view title fight, calling the decision "terrible" and declaring the bout "a robbery." And while Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum immediately following the fight suggested the two fighters should a fourth time, Marquez hinted that Saturday's loss may instead drive him into retirement. 

"What I need to do is sit down with my family and my camp and make a decision about continuing in this sport or just simply retire from the sport," Marquez said through an interpretor, according to Reuters. "It will be difficult. I have to decide, I have to see what happens. Maybe I will retire, maybe I won't."

"Honestly, it's a result of the fight," he added. "The thing that makes me think of retirement is because I have prepared myself so hard for 18 years. This was the biggest fight of my career."

In the moments after the final bell but before the decision was announced, Marquez looked happy, clearly thinking he did enough to win the bout. His elation quickly turned to frustration as Pacquiao was announced the winner, though, prompting a quick exit from the ring. The crowd at MGM's Honda Center apparently agreed, showering Pacquiao with boos. 

"It is a robbery and of the two robberies I have had against him, this one is the more terrible," Marquez said, according to Yahoo! Sports. "I was the one with the clearer punches and I won again. The audience protested because they knew that I won again. It is difficult to fight against a fighter and two judges as well."

In his post-fight press conference, Pacquiao acknowledged the crowd's reaction but didn't give it any credence. "The fans of Marquez, of course they're not happy," Pacquiao said, according to MMA Fighting. "But my fans are very happy because it's clear I won the fight. ... It's very clear I won the fight."

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

It's the fight that the world has wanted to see for years now and it may be closer than many realize in the wake of Pacquiao's narrow majority decision win over Juan Manuel Marquez.

Mayweather fought Marquez in 2009 and was much more successful, dominating the Mexican superstar over twelve rounds. Every successful boxer is driven by his ego, those that say they aren't are lying, but perhaps no one in boxing is as ego driven as Mayweather.

Floyd is fiercely proud of the fact that he is undefeated, to the point where he thinks that is more important than appeasing the masses who feel that a loss in taking the risk of fighting the one man who can compete with him in pound-for-pound rankings is worth a hundred wins over Shane Mosley and Victor Ortiz types. To him, no one can say he isn't the best if he hasn't ever lost.

Now, with Manny struggling to beat a man he dominated, he may see Pacquiao as having enough holes in his game as to be easy prey. That may be the most important thing in actually getting the two pound-for-pound greats in the ring together.

Then again, maybe it won't and we'll simply never see the fight the world wants.

When Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez stepped into the ring in the MGM Grand on May 8, 2004 there was no one who anticipated it being the start of one of boxing's greatest rivalries. 36 rounds later, in the same building where it began, it closed with Manny Pacquiao's hand being raised after winning a narrow majority decision.

Amazingly, after those 36 rounds, it still feels somehow unfinished.

After 108 minutes in the ring against each other over the span of seven and a half years only seven points separate these men on the official scorecards. The combined judges scores in the fights show Manny Pacquiao with 1024 points to Juan Manuel Marquez's 1017. It's absurd to even think about, for two men to have been so evenly matched at three different weights and at three different stages in their careers.

This is the beauty that should not be lost in the immediate moments after the fight. Watching a great boxing match is a visceral experience, one where we, the viewers, can lose ourselves in what we feel is unfolding. We develop an emotional connection to a man like Marquez as he does the unthinkable.

Juan Manuel Marquez. The warrior, the faded star, the over-the-hill over-his-weight legend who many felt was only put in this position out of necessity and a desire to end a still unfinished story in the career of cash cow Manny Pacquiao. He did not come into the ring to play opponent. Instead we watched and we reacted as he gave as good as he got; blasting boxing's now favorite son with right hands, digging in with body shots and not backing down as the trademark Pacquiao left hand landed flush.

Seeing the man written off by so many despite his previous successes put on yet another masterful performance and lose a tight decision can be tough. As we invest in the underdog seeing him doing what he has no business doing, watching him lose "only" because three judges say so can be an emotional shot to the gut. It just feels wrong and, even if the decision is justifiable, we feel cheated.

I am in the crowd who saw the fight for Marquez, giving him the fight 115-113. But it was a close fight with many rounds that could have been scored either way depending on if you favored Pacquiao's aggression and left hand or Marquez's counterpunching and solid right straights.

No, it doesn't feel right that Marquez gave thirty-six rounds of the best he had across three brilliant fights and has two losses and a draw to show for it. But it still wasn't truly wrong. This fight, like the fist two, was simply too close to call a robbery.

Rather than dwell on the scorecards, I'm going to choose to remember that I was privileged to see these two men face each other on three separate occasions and remind me of what happens when two of the true elite agree to go to war. The memories of the Pacquiao vs. Marquez trilogy are to be cherished. The highs and lows for each fighter over thirty-six rounds something worthy of reverence.

The only true loser coming out of this fight is the man who fails to appreciate that a trilogy which will be talked about in boxing circles forever came to a close this night and the best of what happens between the bells was on display for all 36 rounds, all 108 minutes and the seven points over seven years that separated two legends.

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will forever be tied in boxing history as incredible opponents who brought out the best in each other in three amazing fights. Pacquiao won tonight's fight by majority decision with one judge scoring it 114-114 and the other judges seeing it 115-113 and 116-112 for Pacquiao. The crowd booed very loudly at the decision and booed during the in-ring interview with Pacquiao after the bout.

Myself, Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook, Steve Kim of MaxBoxing and Eric Raskin of Grantland all scored the fight for Marquez very close, but there were many, many close rounds throughout the bout and it's hard to get upset over Pacquiao winning the bout.

In the end it was Pacquiao's aggression that did more to impress the official judges -- and those are the ones that matter.

Marquez was not expected by most to be able to compete with Pacquiao in 2011. He was going up in weight to a spot where he looked awful against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and was now 38 years old to Pacquiao's legitimate size and 32 years of age.

Instead we were reminded why Marquez is one of the best fighters of his generation as he fought his heart out, gave Pacquiao everything he could handle for the third straight time and took him to his absolute limits.

Pacquiao had no quit in him and in the end he was able to come forward and throw his left hand with enough effectiveness that it kept Marquez from ever running away with the fight.

One of the biggest factors during the fight was the late rounds when Marquez's trainer told him he had a big lead, which led to Juan taking his foot off the gas and giving up a few rounds to Pacquiao's aggression.

We will have much, much more on this fight tonight and tomorrow as we deal with the fallout as well as dig deep into examining this fight.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

The final round in the HBO pay-per-view bout between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez saw the fight hanging in the balance on my card.

Jab lands for Marquez. Right hand gets through for Manny early.

Marquez gets countered while throwing a jab. Right hand for Marquez and he follows up with a good flurry. Right hand for Marquez gets through.

Pacquiao's mouthpiece falls out and there's a brief pause to replace it with 40 seconds left. It's up for grabs with 30 seconds left. Marquez with a flurry. Marquez tries to chase him down and it was a very close round. I scored it for Marquez which gave him the fight on my card.

SB Nation Scorecard
Round: 10-9 Marquez
Fight: 115-113

Official Scorecards: 114-114, 115-113, 116-112. Manny Pacquiao wins by majority decision.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Round 11 of the HBO pay-per-view bout between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez saw Pacquiao dealing with a cut from a headbutt the previous round.

Marquez needed to do something big this round and get it back on track as he is likely to have lost some close rounds on reputation if nothing else.

A few left hooks by Marquez and an uppercut. Right hand by Marquez. Right hand by Pacquiao and a two punch combo for Marquez.

Marquez was backing off in the aggression this round when he probably needed to step it up. Right hand by Pacquiao and a left in return from Marquez. 

Good round for Pacquiao and he can get a draw on my card by winning the final round.

Round: 10-9 Pacquiao
Fight: 105-104 Marquez

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

The 10th round of the HBO pay-per-view bout between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez saw Pacquiao coming off his best round in a while.

Left hand by Marquez gets through. Two nice shots for Marquez. Big left hand smokes the face of Pacquiao. Pacquiao shoves him to the ground in a clinch.

Big flurry by Marquez and it seems like their heads may have clashed. There's some blood on the face of Pacquiao.

Both men land power shots again and Marques gets in again. Left hand by Marquez. Manny is pawing at a cut over his eye and saying it came from the headbutt.

Marquez with a right hand and he slips a hook from Manny.

Marquez with a right hand at the end of the round but Pacquiao probably took that.

Round: 10-9 Pacquiao
Fight: 96-94 Marquez

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

The HBO pay-per-view bout between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez continued into the ninth round with Marquez having a somewhat commanding lead on my scorecard at 78-74.

Marquez fires two shots and Pacquiao picks them off. Right hand lands for Marquez. One two combo by Marquez and then he goes body, body, head. This is an incredible performance by a 38-year-old great who no one gave much of a chance.

Right hand by Marquez, Pacquiao with one in return. They're trading and Pacquiao lands a left hand.

Both men get power shots through and they trade. They're flurrying, both men landing hard shots. I am in love with what I am watching right now. 

Three punch combo and Manny is firing back. Big uppercut by Marquez and he ducks a return shot. Left hand for Pacquiao and he won his first round in a while on my card.

Round: 10-9 Pacquiao
Fight: 87-84 Marquez

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

In round eight of the HBO pay-per-view bout between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, I had Marquez ahead on my scorecard, shockingly.

Right hand by Pacquiao and one in return by Marquez. Left hand to the body by Marquez. Right hand by Marquez around the gloves.

A few short punches for Pacquiao in the clinch. Right hand by Marquez gets in. Left hand counter by Marquez lands and a short one in return by Pacquiao. Straight right to the gut by Marquez. Left hand gets in for Pacquiao. They flurry inside with Marquez getting the better of it.

Jab by Marquez. Left hand lands for Pacquiao.

Marquez just won ANOTHER round on my scorecard. Manny Pacquiao needs a knockdown to manage anything better than a draw on my scorecard.

Round: 10-9 Marquez
Fight: 78-74 Marquez

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez continued their fight into the seventh round of their HBO pay-per-view bout and it was shaping up to be another great fight.

Big right hand for Marquez early sent Pacquiao backward. Pacquiao looked like he was trying to figure out a way to keep his punches coming while not getting countered by Marquez, which is exactly what happens as Manny throws and Marquez lands a left hand.

Uppercut to the body by Marquez. Huge left to the head by Marquez. Left hand counter again by Marquez and an accidental low blow by Marquez and the two men touch gloves.

Left hand by Pacquaio and a flurry in return by Marquez. Right hand by Marquez and a hard jab. Pacquiao doesn't look beat, but he looks a little worried.

Left hand by Pacquiao and another left and Marquez looks at him after the bell as if to say "I'm here."

Round: 10-9 Marquez
Fight: 68-65 Marquez

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

The sixth round of the HBO pay-per-view main event between Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao saw Marquez coming off his best round of the fight. He looked to have his timing down and his right hand was getting more and more effective.

Left hand by Pacquiao was a solid punch but Marquez landed a hard body shot that forced Manny back for a second. Two hard punches to the body by Marquez. Manny tried to push Marquez back and Marquez hit him with a counter right. Pacquiao got in some hard shots that stunned Marquez a little bit.

Two right hands for Marquez. Right hook for Pacquiao and a hook in return by Marquez.

This is an incredible fight between two of the best pound for pound fighters in the sport.

Marquez closed the round with two body shots.

Round: 10-9 Marquez
Fight: 58-56 Marquez

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Round five of the HBO pay-per-view main event between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez saw Marquez go twice to the body. It was a little bit more measured in the first minute before both men got punches through.

Uppercut, right hand by Marquez. Another big right hand by Marquez and he's found a home for that right. Stiff jab from Marquez. Jab gets in for Pacquiao but a big right hand by Marquez. Left hand for Pacquiao and this is what makes boxing great. Two men, perfect styles for each other and evenly matched.

Big right hand by Marquez and this is his best round of the fight.

Juan Manuel Marquez is not here tonight to be an opponent, he's here to prove that he is a great.

Round: 10-9 Marquez
Fight: 48-47 Marquez

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

The fourth round of the HBO pay-per-view bout between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez had a variety of scores throughout media sources with either Marquez or Pacquiao up 29-28 in what was shaping up to be a close fight.

Big left hand got through for Pacquiao and then another. Marquez just missed with a left hook and Pacquiao looked to be getting his punches off a little bit better.

Marquez with a right hand and Pacquiao comes back with a pair of punches. Right hand to the body by Marquez. Big right hand by Marquez gets through hard and then a shot to the body.

Uppercut gets in for Pacquiao and he's trying to stop letting Marquez find space for the right hand. Marquez with a nice combo at the end of the round and a huge right hand that stole the round on my card.

Round:10-9 Marquez
Fight: 38-38 Even

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

The third round of Manny Pacquiao's HBO pay-per-view bout against Juan Manuel Marquez had Pacquiao come out looking for the left hand but missed a little wide.

Big uppercut landed for Marquez and Pacquiao connected with a looping right hand. Stiff left hand from Pacquiao got through. A stiff jab from Marquez landed as Pacquiao continued to walk forward trying to find the left hand. Marquez went back to the body with the left hand and a right upstairs.

It seems clear through three rounds that Marquez still has the kind of style that makes Pacquiao work and have to get into an actual fight. Left hand by Pacquiao got through and Marquez fired a combo back and a body shot. Pacquiao landed a hard left hand late in the round but Marquez did enough to win the round on my card.

Round: 10-9 Marquez
Fight: 29-28 Pacquiao

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

The second round of the HBO pay-per-view bout between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez saw the men come out still fighting somewhat cautious. Marquez threw a stiff jab and tried to follow up with a right hand which missed. Pacquiao came back with a left hand to the face.

Marquez continued to think body throwing jabs downstairs but Pacquiao answered with his own body shot and a stiff jab. Marquez went body, uppercut and a right hand -- that was his best combination of the fight so far -- and then a right hand that got through a bit. Pacquiao returned with a left hand and body shot.

The two men opened up much more this round with power shots and it was close again but I'd give a slight edge to Pacquiao.

Round: 10-9 Pacquiao
Fight: 20-18 Pacquiao

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez opened their third fight on HBO pay-per-view from the MGM Grand with the crowd going wild for both men.

Both men opened up pawing with their jabs and trying to get a feel for the fight. Pacquiao eventually started to get it going a little with left hands to the body and the face. Marquez dug in with a left hand to the ribs. The men exchanged shots with Marquez looking to continue working the body and Manny looking for openings to the head.

Marquez closed the round with a flurry to the body but it was probably Pacquiao who got the better of a close round that saw neither man land a ton of punches. Good start to the fight.

Round: 10-9 Pacquiao
Fight: 10-9 Pacquiao

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Joel Casamayor came into his bout with Timothy Bradley on the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez undercard as a very heavy underdog. He is 40 years old with his best days well behind him.

The story of the fight coming in was playing out through the early rounds. Casamayor had little beyond the occasional left hook and his trademark headbutts while Bradley's superior skills were allowing him pick apart Casamayor. It was not a particularly fun or pretty fight and in many ways probably hurt what the point of this fight truly was.

Bradley was put on the card in a showcase to make him a viable opponent for Pacquiao at some point in 2012, but Casamayor is such a hard guy to look good against -- even when you're dominating him -- that Bradley's stock wasn't likely to shoot up at all.

In round five, a body shot knocked Casamayor to the ground and he appeared to be on his last legs. Bradley attempted to pounce a little bit and get a stoppage but Joel survived. Casamayor went down again in the sixth round and simply had nothing beyond some sort of hail mary shot as the rounds ticked by.

Casamayor went down again in the eighth round and that was enough for his corner, who stepped in and stopped him from taking any further punishment.

Bradley did what he needed to and won, but it was far from an exciting and impressive bout and likely did little to build up Bradley as a future Pacquiao opponent.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Mike Alvarado and Breidis Prescott met on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez pay-per-view broadcast. Prescott made his name with a knockout of Amir Khan in under a minute but hadn't found a ton of success afterward, which led to his being brought in to play opponent to the undefeated Alvarado.

Prescott looked to work a very stiff jab as the fight opened which allowed him to throw off the rhythm of Alvarado. Alvarado came out in the second round throwing jabs of his own to set up his right hand, which was somewhat effective but his defensive holes resulted in him still getting tagged at times by Prescott.

The action kept at a high pace through three rounds, and then in the fourth round Prescott really opened up, busting Alvarado up with uppercuts and hooking punches. Alvarado didn't go down but he was bleeding badly from his nose, the inside of his mouth and a bad cut over his left eye. Both men kept swinging through the end of the fourth round really opening up.

The two fighters continued their blood and guts battle as the fight wore on, fighting with big power shots in close. Prescott started to lose some snap on his punches around the sixth round, which allowed Alvarado to start clawing his way back into a fight after he seemed to have lost the first five rounds.

Heading into the final few rounds it seemed pretty clear that it was going to take something incredible from the remaining two bouts to top this for being the most exciting fight of the evening.

With Alvarado losing the fight six rounds to three on the SB Nation scorecard, the final round turned into a slugfest before Alvarado landed a series of uppercuts that buckled the legs of Prescott and sent him to the canvas for the first time in his career. Prescott got to his feet but Alvarado poured on the punishment and forced referee Jay Nady to step in and save him from any further punishment.

It was a great dramatic comeback knockout for Alvarado, who survived a dangerous fight that left him with a cut over his eye, a torn lip and busted nose. It was an incredible fight.

A tweet from Kevin Iole shows just how much Alvarado needed the KO:

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Juan Carlos Burgos and Luis Cruz met in the opening bout of the pay-per-view for Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez. Cruz was the slightly favored prospect heading into the bout but ran into some very big trouble from Burgos.

Burgos managed to hurt Cruz with regularity during the first three rounds of the fight. Cruz was fighting a slower pace but he was unable to get power punches in while Burgos' pressure and hooks and right hands got through. Burgos also was able to get off combinations that seemed to bother Cruz.

Cruz started to find a bit of a rhythm in round four, winning his first round on the SB Nation card. Burgos found his combination punching and body attack again in the fifth, almost shutting out Cruz, who was unable to land a single power punch in the round.

Through the sixth round it was Burgos with a five rounds to one lead on the SB Nation scorecard, continuing to use his power shots to the head and body and combinations. The pattern continued in the seventh and Cruz's eye started to swell up.

HBO had it scored much closer as it wore on than SB Nation and Bad Left Hook, but heading into the tenth and final round it appeared that Burgos should be in the lead. Cruz took the final round with much more successful power punching, but our card read 97-93 for Burgos at the final bell.

The official scorecards read 95-95, 97-93 and 98-92. Juan Carlos Burgos was given the majority decision.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

We will have live results and play-by-play of all the bouts on the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez HBO pay-per-view card tonight. The show gets underway tonight at 9 p.m. ET and will feature four bouts.

The main event sees Juan Manuel Marquez take on boxing's pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao for the third time in their careers. The fighters battled to a draw in their 2004 bout and Pacquiao took a very close split decision in their 2008 meeting.

Another of boxing's best will be in action as Timothy Bradley returns to the ring, now a Top Rank managed fighter, to face veteran Joel Casamayor in the featured undercard fighter.

Full pay-per-view card:

Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez
Timothy Bradley vs. Joel Casamayor
Mike Alvarado vs. Breidis Prescott
Juan Carlos Burgos vs. Luis Cruz

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Manny Pacquiao enters the ring again on Saturday night, facing Juan Manuel Marquez for the third time. The two were relatively even in their first two fights, battling to a draw in one before Pacquiao took a split decision in the second.

As usual, a fight involving Pacquiao comes with a ton of attention and interest to boot. No matter who he fights, it seems as though Pacquiao is a draw, and Saturday night should be no different. If you're unable to order the HBO pay per view on Saturday night and want to join the masses watching the fight, there are options.

Top Rank will be providing a live-stream of the fight on its website. Because nothing in life comes free, the stream will run you $54.99. It is five dollars less than the television pay per view, so there's a small victory for the pocketbook.

The main event is scheduled to get underway at 9 p.m. ET, with the undercard set for 7 p.m. A free live-stream of the undercard, provided by Yahoo!, can be found here.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Yahoo! Sports is providing live streaming undercard action before the pay-per-view broadcast for Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez gets under way. The stream should start around 7 p.m. ET and last until the pay-per-view broadcast of the main card kicks off at 9 p.m. ET.

Here's the video:

There are four fights scheduled for the stream. Jose Benavidez, Jr. is in action on the undercard. Benavidez has been called the best prospect in boxing by Bad Left Hook. He will face Samuel Santana in one of the featured undercard scraps.

Other fights scheduled for the stream include Dennis Laurente (40-4-5, 21 KO) vs Ayi Bruce (20-4, 12 KO), Fernando Lumacad (24-3-3, 11 KO) vs Joseph Rios (10-5-2, 4 KO), and Victor Pasillas (4-2, 2 KO) vs Jose Garcia (0-3, 0 KO).

We will have full coverage of the pay-per-view broadcast once the main card kicks off.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Boxing's pound-for-pound king, Manny Pacquiao, is set to return to action tonight as he takes on his biggest rival, Juan Manuel Marquez, on HBO pay-per-view live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. This will be the third meeting between the two men with Pacquiao having won the rematch by a very close split decision after a draw in their first encounter.

The HBO pay-per-view will kick off at 9 p.m. ET with a cost of $59.99 for standard definition and $69.99 in high definition. Boxing fans in the United Kingdom will be able to watch the event on Primetime for £14.95.

There is also an online pay-per-view stream available on Top Rank TV which runs at a cost of $54.99.

Yahoo! Sports will also have a stream of the off-TV undercard available for free starting at 7 p.m. ET. We will provide coverage of every bout on the card starting with that stream.

The full pay-per-view card is:

Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez
Timothy Bradley vs. Joel Casamayor
Mike Alvarado vs. Breidis Prescott
Juan Carlos Burgos vs. Luis Cruz

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

History is having very little impact on the odds for the third meeting between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. The two men have faced off twice already in their great careers with the first fight resulting in a draw and the second a hotly disputed split decision that went Pacquiao's way.

In many cases the previous bouts being so competitive would mean very narrow odds at the bookmakers, but there are many factors at play in this fight. Pacquiao is now the much larger man, having moved up in weight from featherweight and super featherweight where the men met the first two time to a legitimate welterweight. Marquez is coming up in weight to meet Pacquiao and try to take his welterweight title. The last time we saw Marquez go up to this weight was the worst performance of his career as he was dominated by Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

It's also not helping matters that Marquez is now 38 years old and seen by many as on the downside of his career.

SB Nation boxing blog Bad Left Hook put together this table of the current odds on the fight which show just how heavy of a favorite Pacquiao is now:

There are some other bets one can make on the fight as the oddsmakers at BoDog have set the over/under on rounds at 10 1/2 with the under at -150 and the over at +110.

The favorite result is Pacquiao by KO, TKO or DQ at -160, Pacquiao by decision is +190, Marquez by KO, TKO or DQ is at +1000, Marquez by decision +1200 and a repeat of their first draw is a very big longshot at +2000.

We'll have live results of the full card right here on SB Nation later tonight.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Ahead of tomorrow night's HBO pay-per-view headlined by the third meeting between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez some of the data on the fight is coming out. The fighters all made weight Friday night and the fights are all set to go ahead.

Now, Dan Rafael of ESPN has tweeted out the official purse information for the fight.

Those are some very nice paydays for everyone on the main card of this show. Just to be clear "Casam" is Joel Casamayor.

The full card for PPV Saturday night:

Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez
Timothy Bradley vs. Joel Casamayor
Mike Alvarado vs. Breidis Prescott
Luis Cruz vs. Juan Carlos Burgos

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

CompuBox has a preview of Saturday night's HBO pay-per-view main event between Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao. With the two men having fought twice already there was plenty of data for CompuBox to pull from to tell the story of these two men.

Here are a few of the most interesting bits from the preview:

 

• In the first fight, Marquez landed 158 of 547 (29%-46 thrown per round) to 148 of 639 (23%-53 thrown per round) for Pac.
• In the rematch, Marquez landed 172 of 511 total punches (34%- 43 thrown per round) to 157 of 619 (25%-52 thrown per round) for Manny.
• In both fights combined, Marquez landed more total punches in 12 rounds, to nine for Manny, with three even.
• In between their first fight and rematch, Pacquiao was 7-1, with 5 ko's, while Marquez went 6-1, 2 ko's.
• Since the rematch, Pac is 7-0, 4 ko's - Marquez 5-1, 4 ko's
• Combined records of Pacquiao's opponents since rematch: 271-23-2 (92% win pct.); Marquez's opponents: 195-12-1 (94% win pct.)

 

It's hard to say what the prior fights mean for this bout, but the success Marquez has had against Pacquiao may do wonders for his confidence heading in.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Manny Pacquiao is looking to finally close the Juan Manuel Marquez chapter of his career Saturday night on HBO pay-per-view. Pacquiao has a win and a draw against Marquez in his career but both decisions were very close and many scored the bout for Marquez.

In Las Vegas the two men hit the scales to make the bout official. The official weight limit was a 144 pound catchweight despite Pacquiao's welterweight (147 pound) title being on the line.

Manny Pacquiao checked in at 143 pounds.

He looked very muscular as usual and the reports that he was under weight last night did not appear to be an issue of poor health. He did not look drained one bit despite being under the 144 pound limit.

Both Pacquiao and Marquez looked in great shape and hopefully that translates into a great fight.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Juan Manuel Marquez will be stepping up in weight considerably to take on Manny Pacquiao for the third time in his career. Marquez, the lightweight king, has battled Pacquiao to a hotly disputed draw and a split decision loss in their first two meetings. Many observers, including myself, scored the first two bouts for Marquez.

In Las Vegas the two men hit the scales to make the bout official. The official weight limit was a 144 pound catchweight despite Pacquiao's welterweight (147 pound) title being on the line.

Marquez's official weight was 142 pounds.

He looked much better at the weight than his previous welterweight attempt against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. when he looked somewhat unhealthy at the higher weight. Marquez was very muscular and healthy looking. We'll see what that means tomorrow night.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

On the weigh-ins for the undercard of Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez, one of the featured undercard fighters in Joel Casamayor came in a pound over the 140 pound limit for his bout with Timothy Bradley.

Casamayor stepped back on the scales after missing on the first attempt after taking off his underwear but was still heavy. He now has two hours to cut the additional pound which should be possible. If not he will likely be subject to losing a portion of his purse. It is unlikely that they'd cancel the fight outright.

We'll have live updates as Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez step on the scales for their HBO pay-per-view main event bout starting at roughly 6 p.m. ET. Stay tuned for plenty more news as everything unfolds.

Update: Casamayor returned to the scales around 7:00 p.m. and made weight at 140 pounds.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Tomorrow night Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez face each other for the third time in their careers. The men battled to a draw in the first bout with Pacquiao taking a controversial split decision victory in the rematch. Before they can face each other in the ring on HBO pay-per-view they have to step on the scales to make it official as they aim for the 144 pound weight limit.

We'll bring you live weigh-in updates and results and you'll also be able to watch the video of the fighters stepping on the scales right here at SB Nation. The weigh-ins will start at 6 p.m. and are also airing live on HBO for those who don't want to watch on their browser.

We'll have much more on the fight over the coming days.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez meet tomorrow night on HBO pay-per-view. The bout will be contested at 144 pounds, a weight where Manny should still have a decent size advantage. He is, however, not going to be cutting much weight today before stepping on the scales.

Boxing Scene is reporting that Manny was 143 pounds last night, putting him under the limit.

Marquez is expected to be in better shape for this fight than he was when he stepped up to a near welterweight catchweight for his bout with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. back in 2009. If he put on weight in a smart and safe way and if Manny is not pushing the weight limit for the bout it will be interesting to see just how much size comes into play.

That being said, Manny should still have a considerable advantage in terms of strength.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Saturday night will see Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez fight for the third time in their careers. The first bout was a draw in 2004 and Pacquiao took a very close split decision in 2008. Since that time, Pacquiao has become the pound-for-pound king in the sport of boxing while Marquez cemented himself as boxing's top lightweight.

Let's break down the fighters and see how this fight shapes up:

The Fighters

Manny Pacquiao
Record: 53-3-2
Last 5 Fights: 

• May 07, 2011 - W (Decision) vs. Shane Mosley
  
• November 13, 2010 - W (Decision) vs. Antonio Margarito
• March 13, 2010 - W (Decision) vs. Joshua Clottey
• November 14, 2009 - W (TKO - 12) vs. Miguel Angel Cotto
• May 02, 2009 - W (KO - 2) vs. Ricky Hatton

Strengths: Manny Pacquiao is a rare combination of skills, abilities and hard-work that combine to create a near perfect fighter. Pacquiao is very physically strong, even at welterweight, for a guy who started his career out as a light flyweight. It is also very useful strength, completely functional in fights. A large portion of his weight is in his legs, the point at which a boxer's power punching starts and this has translated into his ability to melt bigger men as he has steadily moved up in weight.

Pacquiao also has very quick hands and the ability to throw combinations with speed and accuracy. Unlike rival Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Manny has kept busy and at age 32 he shouldn't be near any sort of sudden athletic decline. 

Weaknesses: Manny doesn't have many weaknesses but there are moments where he almost seems to get bored and look for a real "fight" to develop. In those moments he gets a little careless. It's hard to see him getting so careless at welterweight against Marquez that he'd get hurt though. There have been times in Pacquiao's career where he falls in love with looking for the straight left, but as he matured as a fighter under the direction of Freddie Roach he has made the transition to a two handed fighter.

Juan Manuel Marquez
Record: 53-5-1
Last 5 Fights:

• July 16, 2011 - W (KO - 1) vs. Likar Ramos
• November 27, 2010 - W (TKO - 9) vs. Michael Katsidis
• July 31, 2010 - W (Decision) vs. Juan Diaz
• September 19, 2009 - L (Decision) vs. Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
• February 28, 2009 - W (TKO - 9) Juan Diaz

Strengths: Marquez is an expert counterfighter. When he is in his element he is working off his opponents' attacks with stinging counters. He has the ability to counter with both hands and has a very good sense of body positioning. Many fighters have balance issues in the counter game, that is not the case with Marquez. He also has the ability to drop his attack to the body very well, especially with lead hooks.

Marquez also has an intense competitive spirit. Most men would have been ready to look for a way out in the first Pacquiao fight after Manny scored three knockdowns in the first round. Marquez simply kept pushing and earned a draw in a fight many felt he came back to win. That is a certain kind of competitive spirit possessed by very few men. It should also be considered a strength that Juan has been in with Pacquiao twice already in his career, having a legitimate case for having won both fights.

Weaknesses: Juan Manuel Marquez is not a welterweight. He appears to be making the move up in weight this time with more success and strength than he had against Mayweather, but he still is not welterweight (the bout is at a catchweight of 144 instead of the 147 pound limit). If he looks anywhere near as sluggish as he did against Floyd, he will get knocked out by Manny.

Marquez is also 38 years old. He's not the prime age fighter that he was in the other Pacquiao bouts and the combination of age and size may just be too much.

The Fight

There's really only two ways this fight goes. Maybe Manny really is too big and Marquez too old to be competitive or Marquez simply is "that guy" in Manny's career.

I sat down this week and rewatched both of their first two meetings and I scored both for Marquez by narrow margins. If you're looking at the fight purely in terms of the physical it makes sense for Pacquiao to be such a heavy favorite, it's when you get into the mental that you can see ways that Marquez can find an edge.

The fact that Juan has been in with Manny twice and arguably won both fights makes for a very interesting dynamic. As opposed to a fight where a fighter thinks that he can beat an elite guy, Marquez knows that he can. Just as important as his masterful boxing is this mental part of the game. He isn't going to come out afraid, he's going to come out to win.

The fact that Marquez will be fighting to win should make for one of the most entertaining "big fights" in some time, even if it is a resounding Pacquiao win. These two men are going to fight, and that should be fun to watch.

The Prediction

While I scored the first two bouts for Marquez, it's just too hard to pick him to win this fight. 38 years old and at welterweight is not the Juan Manuel Marquez that has proven himself one of the best boxers of the past 20 years. Pacquiao is in his prime, is comfortable at the weight and has developed into a two handed boxer of much higher skill than in the first two bouts.

While I do believe it will be an exciting fight and I do think Marquez will win a round or two, it should still be a fairly comfortable Pacquiao decision. I think Manny may score a knockdown or two but I think Marquez will get to the finishing line.

Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Timothy Bradley's career has not exactly blown up to the degree people expected it to. Despite fighting legitimate conversation and compiling a 27-0 record, his fights aren't always thrilling affairs. In January, HBO invested a big portion of their boxing budget for the year in a bout between Bradley and Devon Alexander, a fight which did mediocre ratings and an unbelievably bad live gate (something not helped by holding the fight in Detroit during a recession).

Bradley now is set to face Joel Casamayor on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez pay-per-view in what has to be seen as a considerable step down.

Not that it should be a sign of a career failure to be on a pay-per-view undercard, boxing needs very good fighters rounding out cards they're asking people to spend upwards of $70 on, but HBO's investment in Bradley means that they need him to be a star capable of carrying shows.

I asked Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook about exactly that yesterday when he previewed the undercard with me:

The opinion of Timothy Bradley among a lot (not all, but a lot) of boxing fans took a pretty big hit this summer when he ducked out of an agreed-upon fight with Amir Khan, so I have to guess he's just happy being back in the ring at all. He's fought just two times since 2009, and neither fight was exactly memorable. To get himself on a Pacquiao card is big for him, in part because he's now believed by many to be the next likely opponent for Manny himself, should all go according to plan. That's not set in stone, but I think it makes his jump to Top Rank, and the promoter dispute that sidelined the Khan fight, worth it in the end, if it does indeed happen. Plus, Bradley never wanted the Alexander fight in the first place, because he didn't think it was that big of a fight. Turns out he was correct.

Despite Bradley being rumored as a future Pacquiao opponent, he remains tied in many ways to Amir Khan.

Khan and Bradley was believed to be going down this July, only to see Bradley pull out of the fight. Bradley followed up by saying that he wasn't interested in a Khan fight.

Then, in late October, Bradley suddenly made an about face on Twitter:

Now the two have engaged in a minor war of words. The Examiner had Bradley talking about why he didn't need the Khan fight:

"Even if I was to fight Amir Khan and win the fight, I felt that my career wasn't going to move anywhere," Bradley said:" The timing and the fact that I didn't want to be still in a contract with my promoters and I didn't take that fight because of that. It all had a lot to do with it; my decision not to take that fight. I am not afraid of Amir Khan. Amir Kahn knows that. He can say whatever he wants; sooner or later we are going to get it on, either at 140 or 147, we are going to get it on."

And then Khan responded (via Boxing Scene):

"I think everyone in boxing knows that he needs me. Just look where my career is going. I'm in the number one position [at 140]. I want the big fights and I've beaten guys in a better style [than Bradley]. I'm the biggest name at 140-pounds and the only reason I want to fight him is to prove to the world that I'm the best at the 140-pound division. He's been avoiding me."

Now we all just have to wait and see if Bradley can get past Joel Casamayor on Saturday (he should) and if Khan can beat Lamont Peterson in December (he should).

Bradley's public image can't take him not following through on the fight unless it is for a Pacquiao bout at that point.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Manny Pacquiao is set to face Juan Manuel Marquez for the third time in his career this Saturday night on HBO pay-per-view. The first two bouts were contested at lower weights but Marquez gave Manny everything he could handle in those meetings. That history is likely keeping Pacquiao from any ideas of taking his opponent lightly.

Top Rank Boxing released video of Manny training at the Top Rank Gym and it's worth the two and a half minutes of your time:

There's something about watching a great boxer in the gym. The constant tightness of Manny's footwork is a thrill to watch. And there is nothing more incredible to watch in the gym than a truly great boxer work the mitts. Seeing that constant movement, understanding the repetition that comes with the work and seeing how that translates into a fight is something almost like watching a great band in concert.

When you see Manny throw a right hand, pick off the return shot with his gloves, pivot to the right and unload with a left, right combo in the actual fight, you can think back to watching him do that exact same thing in training.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

The full schedule of HBO programming leading into Saturday night's bout between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez on pay-per-view is now available. I'll shamelessly steal the full schedule that Scott Christ posted at Bad Left Hook and provide it for you here:

Friday on HBO (All Times EST)

• 6:00 - Live coverage of the weigh-in on HBO. This is new, since the weigh-ins usually stream at various sources online, but HBO is going to actually dedicate a chunk of TV time. These weigh-ins for big fights have become their own little event. Hopefully nobody felt the need to hire Jo Koy and Alex Reymundo. That has got to stop.
  
• 6:30 - Face Off and Ring Life.
• 7:00 - Replays of the first three episodes of "24/7."
• 8:30 - The final episode of "24/7."
• 9:00 - "24/7 Overtime."

Saturday on HBO Zone (All Times EST)

Starting at Noon EST up until 6 p.m., HBO Zone will offer a giant block of Pacquiao vs Marquez programming, including live coverage from the MGM Grand lobby.

We'll have full coverage of the weigh-ins, HBO's coverage and the pay-per-view itself.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Manny Pacquiao has knocked Juan Manuel Marquez to the canvas four times in two bouts, but he has not been able to knock him out. In fact, Marquez came away from both bouts with a case to be made that he should have won the final decision (especially the second fight).

Both men have been respectful of their rival in the build-up to Saturday night's third meeting, but Manny thinks there is an ulterior motive to Marquez's politeness as expressed in this Yahoo! article:

"Marquez is the smartest guy I have fought recently," Pacquiao said. "He is a genius. You know why? It is because he is trying to use my personality. He knows I am a nice person, so he thinks that if he is very nice and respectful to me before the fight then I will go easy on him and will not knock him out.

"It is very smart. But I am smarter than him because I know what he is trying to do."

...I believe I will knock him out and it doesn't matter what he says. It doesn't matter if he is nice to me."

One has to think that this is just a bit of talk from Pacquiao. Marquez has never been one to shy away from a fight. And given the fact that Manny has seen the resiliency and toughness of the Mexican star, it's very likely that he knows that he should be prepared to go all twelve rounds if necessary.

Saturday night will see Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez step into the ring on HBO pay-per-view to face each other for a third time. While that is the bout that will sell the PPV to the masses, there are three undercard bouts that will also be shown. Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook, one of the best boxing writers on the planet, takes the time to talk to me about those undercard bouts. You can follow all of his updates on Pacquiao vs. Marquez at Bad Left Hook.

Brent Brookhouse: The biggest name on the undercard both in terms of overall ranking and notoriety is Timothy Bradley. Bradley faces Joel Casamayor in the featured undercard bout. Now, as a guy who was a big Casamayor fan when Joel was in his prime, this fight still seems like a waste to me. I also get the impression that it's not exactly the kind of bout the boxing media has jumped behind as a legitimate bout for a show of this cost and importance. Is that fair? Is this a legitimate bout in any way?

Scott Christ: Casamayor is 40 years old and hasn't looked good in a fight since losing his lightweight championship to Juan Manuel Marquez in 2008, which was the first (and to date only) time that the Cuban has been stopped. It's fair to look at the fight as a serious mismatch in 2011. Casamayor has recently struggled against club fighters, and was routed by Robert Guerrero in 2010. Joel is fighting for money at this point, and has lost all of what made him one of the great overlooked fighters of his generation. Bradley, on the other hand, is 28 years old and in the prime of his career, and is making his debut under the Top Rank banner. But it's also a curious fight, as Casamayor can ugly up 10 rounds like nobody's business, and Bradley isn't known for being a particularly exciting fighter to begin with. Top Rank is pushing the fight as something legitimate, but it really isn't. They're hoping most haven't seen Casamayor in a few years, or don't even know or care who he is in the first place. And it runs the risk of sucking the life out of the arena if it winds up as bad as it could be.

Brent Brookhouse: Is this a disappointment for Bradley? After having HBO dump a lot of money into and making big commitments with his fight with Devon Alexander in January, this seems like a major step back. Yes, he's now with Top Rank, but wouldn't the hope coming off of a fight that was supposed to be so big and have such importance be that Bradley would at least be continuing to headline HBO Championship Boxing cards, not fighting shot Cubans on undercards?

Scott Christ: The opinion of Timothy Bradley among a lot (not all, but a lot) of boxing fans took a pretty big hit this summer when he ducked out of an agreed-upon fight with Amir Khan, so I have to guess he's just happy being back in the ring at all. He's fought just two times since 2009, and neither fight was exactly memorable. To get himself on a Pacquiao card is big for him, in part because he's now believed by many to be the next likely opponent for Manny himself, should all go according to plan. That's not set in stone, but I think it makes his jump to Top Rank, and the promoter dispute that sidelined the Khan fight, worth it in the end, if it does indeed happen. Plus, Bradley never wanted the Alexander fight in the first place, because he didn't think it was that big of a fight. Turns out he was correct.

Brent Brookhouse: Speaking of Khan, the only man to ever beat him, Breidis Prescott, faces Mike Alvarado in another undercard bout. Prescott certainly didn't develop into a top level fighter after beating Khan and now it seems like he is on the card specifically as an opponent to the undefeated Alvarado. Is this a fair assessment?

Scott Christ: Top Rank is booking him as a semi-name opponent, hoping to juice whatever is left of Prescott's reputation from the Khan win , but they may have picked the wrong guy here for an Alvarado showcase. Prescott is very limited, but Alvarado likes to be aggressive and turn boxing matches into fights, and that's right up Prescott's alley. While Prescott certainly isn't a huge puncher, he does have legitimate power. And he's coming off of a fight in Belfast where he lost a debated, close to decision to hometown fighter Paul McCloskey, which I actually scored for Prescott. It was arguably, outside of the 54 seconds with Khan, the best performance of Prescott's career. Alvarado has wasted a lot of time in his career with outside the ring issues, and hasn't ever really been tested. Prescott could be a trap opponent.

Brent Brookhouse: So there's potential for that to at least be an entertaining fight then?

Scott Christ: If Alvarado doesn't play it safe, it could turn out to be a pretty fun fight. Prescott's biggest flaw is that he's not consistent in any given fight, and tends to lose focus, which makes him dull more than you'd expect for a guy with his KO rate. He also loses his power after the first four rounds or so. But if Alvarado is aggressive, it could be entertaining. It's up to him to make the fight, though.

Brent Brookhouse: The other fight set to make the broadcast is Luis Cruz vs. Juan Carlos Bugos. I've only seen a little bit of each man this week as I prepared for the event and I'm sure what little bit I've seen is far more than most people who will be watching the show. Given that this bout has little to no name value, explain what people should expect.

Scott Christ: Expect a good fight with this one. When the Mayweather vs Ortiz card was announced, I said then that I felt that the opening fight (Josesito Lopez vs Jessie Vargas) would wind up the fight of the night, and it was. Those were the two most "unknown" guys on that show, and that's the situation you have here. It's a really good matchup of two young, talented fighters, plus you have the Puerto Rico (Cruz) vs Mexico (Burgos) thing in play, and that's always a great rivalry renewal in boxing. Cruz is 26 and has some upside, with a long 72" reach for the 130-pound division, but we've seen him struggle this year when he faced veteran spoiler Martin Honorio. That was his only real pro test. Burgos, 23, is a serious talent. His one loss was a good one, as he was competitive in Japan against Hozumi Hasegawa one year ago. Hasegawa is one of Japan's better fighters of the last decade, and I think his experience played a role in winning that fight. Cruz won't have that advantage. I like Burgos in this fight, and I like him as someone to watch long-term. I just think he's the better of these two fighters right now, but this is the type of fight where we'll learn as we watch, too. Both guys have a lot left to reveal about themselves.

Brent Brookhouse: I guess we'll wrap this up with this. Is this undercard a fair and good one for the price of the PPV? Boxing isn't the UFC in terms of selling PPV's for the full card experience, but the days of Don King's loaded PPV cards and even just a few weeks ahead we have an absolutely loaded Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito card. Even the Mayweather vs. Ortiz show that you mentioned had a Saul "Canelo" Alvarez fight and an Erik Morales bout which was set to be much better before some injuries and other factors causing an opponent change. This seems like a step in the wrong direction for a sport that has made a move in the right-ish direction in terms of PPV undercards. Or am I being unfair?

Scott Christ: This is closer to the bad reputation of boxing undercards than the King days, or the Cotto vs Margarito show, or even the Mayweather vs Ortiz show, which wound up having a really fun undercard as all three fights were good. But it's really not that terrible. Bradley vs Casamayor is a garbage fight and there's no way around that, but Cruz vs Burgos is a good matchup, and Alvarado vs Prescott is a sleeper fight that could turn out to be solid, and also could turn out to be a pretty forgettable fight. The price of the pay-per-view is too much anyway, as they're sticking with $70 in a bad economy to watch this thing in HD, which is absurd. One has to wonder whether they'd be doing this if the revenue generated with the $10 hike hadn't turned out to be so big for the Mayweather fight in September. But it's boxing, and greed almost always wins, so that's what they're doing. But in plain terms, it's not an undercard likely to produce true thrills, and the fights aren't "significant," really. Too much money is generated by having what used to be undercard pay-per-view fights in their own HBO main events these days, but they can do better than they did here, and chose not to go that way.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. knew exactly what he was doing when he put the idea that he wanted to fight Manny Pacquiao on May 5, 2012 out into the world. First, he was taking attention off Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez by reminding people that it wasn't Pacquiao vs. Mayweather. But he was also forcing Manny and Top Rank to address the issue while making it seem like he was the one that actually wanted the fight to happen.

Top Rank's Bob Arum was predictably annoyed and dismissive of Floyd's talk, pointing out that the Mayweather camp had already put feelers out to Erik Morales. 

After maybe going a bit overboard in his reaction, Arum seems to be settling down. First, telling Lem Satterfield of The Ring Magazine that they could talk about it after Manny deals with Marquez and even including a willingness to discuss Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. vs. Saul "Canelo" Alvarez at the same time:

"You know, conversations are never bad. Conversations, that's what adults do," said Arum. "They discuss business and they don't do it through the media. They do it face to face."

... "Both guys, Manny and Chavez, have difficult fights coming up in the next couple of weeks, and if one or both are successful in winning those fights, then I would be very pleased to sit down and talk to Schaefer about those subjects," said Arum. "That's all very good, and I'm in favor of it, and that's all that I've got to say. I'm not going to comment any further."

Of course, there's only so much that Arum is willing to bend as ESPN pointed out:

"It's not a question of him making it difficult. He's making it impossible, because he's not making it," Arum asserted. "I thought to myself: ‘OK, maybe he's got a point, even though I think it's baloney, on this doping/drug test thing.' So Manny and I discussed it, and I said, ‘Manny, even though they can, they're not going to go into the dressing room on the night of the fight to take blood, and if they do, let ‘em take it from your ass, not your arm. So he said, ‘OK, OK, no conditions.' None . And then [Mayweather]'s on [TV] this weekend, saying, ‘I'll fight him, take the test.' What is he saying? And why doesn't the press take him up on it? How many times are we supposed to say that that is not an issue?"

The answer to "how many times?" is "as many as it takes until the fight is done." It doesn't matter if Arum and Manny say they'll take a test three times a day, every day for a year. Floyd has made "take the test" his rallying cry and a portion of the fanbase believes that it is still an issue that Top Rank and Floyd won't buckle on.

Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook adds one more statement to relax anyone who thinks that Marquez is being treated unfairly by any talk of a fight other than his battle with Pacquiao:

And before anyone thinks this is particularly insulting to Marquez, remember that this same situation came up earlier this year, basically, when Pacquiao was preparing to fight Shane Mosley. Information leaked that they'd already been talking about fighting Marquez on November 12, before Manny and Shane were ever in the ring. So it's not particularly insulting, just normal insulting.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Oscar De La Hoya took a massive beating at the hands of Manny Pacquiao in 2008, it was enough to put Oscar out of boxing as he clearly couldn't compete at the top anymore. So if anyone has the ability to speak about what Pacquiao brings to the table, it's him.

Still, it's difficult for me to get on board with Oscar's reasoning for why Manny is so far beyond Saturday opponent Juan Manuel Marquez after he stopped by Wild Card Gym:

"Manny is on a whole different level," the 38-year-old former boxing poster boy said. "Manny has been fighting [the likes of] Shane Mosley, myself [and] Miguel Cotto. Marquez has been fighting ordinary fighters [and] that could be the difference."

For starters, Marquez fought Pacquiao in their rematch in 2008, the same year that saw Manny step in the ring with Oscar. In that same year Marquez took the Ring Magazine lightweight championship from Joel Casamayor in a great battle. In 2009 (the year Manny fought Cotto), Marquez fought Floyd Mayweather, Jr. who one would not exactly call an "ordinary fighter."

A trip back through Marquez's career shows no shortage of great fighters and great fights. If there is any factor that plays into the result of Marquez vs. Pacquiao it isn't some sort of lack of big fights for Marquez.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Juan Manuel Marquez did not fare well in his last trip up in weight to face one of the sport's most elite fighters. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. dominated and picked apart Marquez, even tasting the canvas at the hands of a Floyd punch. The results of that fight have many wondering why anything different should be expected when Marquez meets Manny Pacquiao this Saturday night.

Marquez and Pacquiao have met twice previously, both fights were great and very competitive. The difference this time is the added strength and size of Pacquiao.

Juan says that, in the end, it's about styles, not size (via ESPN):

"The biggest difference, obviously, is that Mayweather doesn't come to fight," he told a small group of reporters at the MGM on Monday. "He's a defensive fighter, he's not going to give you anything." By contrast, "Pacquiao is a great fighter, a spectacular fighter who's coming for you. We're going to be ready for him, and if he makes a mistake, we're going to make him pay for it. The other guy wouldn't make a mistake. He wouldn't fight."

...

"They always say that styles make fights, and I think my style happens to be difficult," he said. "All boxers have a difficult opponent, and I guess my style is the most difficult for Pacquiao."

One can only hope that he is right. After a string of disappointing boxing pay-per-view main events it would be great to see Pacquiao and Marquez bring the same fire from their first two meetings. 

Marquez is a truly great fighter and one of the best of his generation, if his style really just is the right one to trouble Pacquiao even at this bigger weight, we might just see something special.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Juan Manuel Marquez is fully aware of the power punching of Manny Pacquiao. The two men have fought twice, once with Manny weighing in at 125 and the rematch with Manny at 129. Marquez was knocked to the mat three times in the first round of their first battle and once in the rematch. In the four years since the second bout, Manny has gone up in weight going as high as welterweight.

Given the troubles of Marquez in dealing with the bigger Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in 2009, it's only natural to wonder how Marquez will handle the new, bigger Pacquiao.

Shane Mosley is a naturally bigger man than either fighter and he told Fight Hype that Pacquiao's power is legit:

"He has some different hitting power. He's not physically strong, but he hits pretty good, like he has a good snap or something. He's got something in his hands where he just, pop, and you can wobble. He can hurt you. ... It must be the way he throws his punches. he's not that fast... He has decent speed, but it's not like, 'Oh my God, this guy is so fast.' I felt Mayweather was faster than Pacquiao. ... With Pacquiao, he just touches you and you're already wobbling."

To his credit, Marquez said to the Manila Bulletin that "The first round is going to be tough for me because Pacquiao will be looking for the knockout."

Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook drills down into the real story of the fight and how the history and changes in each fighter is setting up:

Marquez can still box his ass off and is tougher than nails, but he's a lot less mobile than he was three years ago when he and Pacquiao last met. At one time, his style was the perfect counter to Manny. But they've both changed: Marquez has lost a step, and Manny has gotten stronger. If Pacquiao has lost just a hair, that has come against big welterweights in Mosley and Margarito. Marquez is not a big welterweight. He's a tiny welterweight, and a small lightweight.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

Manny Pacquiao's camp as he prepares for the third meeting with Juan Manuel Marquez has been drawing stars from various sports and media forms. Basketball star Kobe Bryant, actorsGiovanni Ribisi, Mark Wahlberg, Sylvester Stallone, Jeremy Piven, Mario Lopez, Michael Pitt and Robert Duvall have all stopped by the Pacquiao camp.

The latest star to stop by is a legend in Manny's own sport. Evander Holyfield stopped by to talk to Pacquiao in the first meeting between the two men. Holyfield talked about what he feels makes Manny special in an ABS CBN aticle:

"The big thing is faith. Faith is the key to anything. Faith is part of having that confidence. The person who has confidence, they use what they have. They never complain about, I don't have this, I'm not tall enough, I'm not strong enough," Holyfield said. "They just go out there and put their best foot forward."

"What he has done, he's been able to do the things that people tell him he couldn't do," Holyfield said of Pacquiao.

Holyfield may be damaging his own reputation as one of the sport's greats through his desperate and repeated attempts to continue fighting, but he is a man familiar with greatness. Regardless of your feelings on faith and its role in athletic success, the way that Evander transitions faith into more than a religious aspect and more of a faith in one's self and the ability to overcome perceived shortcomings.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.

When Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather, Jr. prepare to fight any opponent, there's a large amount of focus shifted to the bout between the two that seems like it will never happen. Now, with Pacquiao set to face Juan Manuel Marquez for a third time talk of a bout between the two men is surfacing again.

It started when Mayweather announced that he wanted to fight again on May 5, 2012 and made it sound like he wanted a bout with Pacquiao (via ESPN):

Mayweather's opponent has not been determined but [Leonard] Ellerbe said, "We're looking to make the biggest fight possible and everyone knows what that fight is, the little fella."

... "Floyd made it very clear that he wants to give the fans the biggest fights that are out there. He wants to stay active," Ellerbe said. "We're going to do everything in our power to make the biggest fight out there for the fans and we all know what the fight is."

Pacquaio promoter Bob Arum wasted no time in shooting holes in the idea when talking to Sports Illustrated:

"They are playing games. You don't negotiate this way. This is Floyd trying to move Manny out of the spotlight. This is no way to negotiate a fight. The MGM on May 5th? Who the hell is Floyd to say that? I know they are not serious. We put Floyd in a corner when we made it crystal clear that the issue of drug testing is over. So he comes out and makes this statement? Nobody even knows if he is going to be around in May."

If that wasn't enough, Arum continued firing at Floyd yesterday in an article on the Manila Bulletin:

"You know the little fellow that they already approached? Erik Morales," declared Arum.

... "Erik will confirm it, absolutely. Erik has been approached to make the fight. He'll take it for the money. I'm sure he'll take it for the money. Why wouldn't he? But I don't know who's gonna buy it. But that's (what) the whole non-sense is all about."

There's no real long-term point to fretting over the public posturing by either party. Once the bout is signed, it'll be time to start fully embracing the idea of it actually happening. For now it's just a lot of movement to see who can get the better of the PR battle.

Floyd says he wants to make the fight so that when it doesn't happen, people remember him saying he wanted it. Arum points out that Mayweather's people have already reached out to a shot Erik Morales to make it seem like they weren't being honest. And the nonsense goes on.

Follow our coverage of Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 here at MMA Nation and at our boxing blog Bad Left Hook.