Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs) meets Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs) for the fourth installment of their classic rivalry.
They met for the first time over eight-and-a-half years ago, on May 8, 2004. Pacman struck quickly and furiously in the opening round, dropping Marquez a staggering three times. Amazingly, Marquez made it to the bell to finish the round.
Even more amazingly, Marquez proceeded to put the brutal first stanza behind him and give Pacquiao a boxing lesson over most of the rest of the fight. In the end, the fight was ruled a draw.
Their first rematch didn't happen until nearly four years later, on March 15, 2008. This time, the Filipino congressman got the win, via split decision.
Headed into their third installment last November, Pacquiao was viewed as a heavy favorite. He entered the bout riding a string of high-profile beatdowns over much larger foes like Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito.
Marquez, meanwhile, had struggled in his only fight at welterweight, a shutout unanimous decision loss to Floyd Mayweather.
But by the time the final bell had rung last November 12, it was once again the same old story between these two. Another close, hard-fought battle and another contested decision for Pacquiao. The judges gave him a majority decision victory, and once more, a lot of fans and writers disagreed.
I'll be updating all fight long with a round-by-round recap and post-fight analysis. Check back regularly. This should be another classic.
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