RECENT SLIDESHOWS: Comparing Nonito Donaire and Juan Manuel Lopez / A look back at the legendary career of Erik Morales / A look back at the wild 'Star Power' event in Las Vegas
Last weekend I had a lengthy talk with WBO female bantamweight champion Ana Julaton, who defends her title tonight in Yucatan, Mexico against Jessica Villafranca. While I definitely appreciated Julaton taking me through the steps of her life that lead to this point in her career, I was also interested in the 31-year old’s take on another key matchup in the sport.
On November 12th, WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao will meet Juan Manuel Marquez for a third time inside of the squared circle at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Julaton and Pacquiao share the same trainer in Freddie Roach and when speaking on the matchup she instantly flashes back to the first two encounters between the them.
“I think it’s exciting,” Julaton stated of Pacquiao-Marquez III. “It has a great history behind it. Everyone will always remember Pacquiao knocking down Marquez three times in the first round and Marquez coming back and taking the fight to a draw. The second was still controversial where the scorecards were close and what most people think is that the knockdown made the difference. For me, I’m a big Manny fan and I really believe in Manny and I feel like he won the first two fights.”
Marquez surely has the right to feel he won the first two bouts, as each contest was extremely close to call with several rounds that could have gone either way. Julaton feels that Pacquiao needs this fight to get some type of closure from his connection to his Mexico City rival.
“I think Manny and Freddie really want to have this fight out there so they can settle this once and for all,” said Julaton. “I think it’s great, I think they need to have this fight so they can settle this once and for all. So I think it’s great, I think it’s something that will make Manny train hard and will make him motivated for this fight.”
Related Slideshow: Check out the Pacquiao-Marquez Timeline for a look back at the two fighter's careers at the men they had to defeat to get to this trilogy bout
Julaton was privileged to have gotten to know Pacquiao before his crazy ride of fame was heightened following his December 2008 defeat of Oscar De La Hoya and she has always been able to appreciate how his personality has never seemed to change.
“I remember when I first met him, it was the craziest thing,” Julaton continued of the Filipino star. “Me and my team got to go into his apartment in L.A., with his team. He was so down to earth, where Manny wasn’t even there and there was this cardboard sign where it said he’s been taken by the police, it was a joke. I found out later he was coming and he came into the apartment and he started shadowboxing like you see over at Wild Card when you see at the media day practices. It was fierce and just being able to see that live, where he wasn’t at the stage he was at where he was going up to the De La Hoya up to now, it’s pretty neat to still see him be the same.”
As a Filipino-American in the sport of boxing, Julaton considers Pacquiao much more than just a stable mate and can relate to his struggles in the sport. The General Santos City fighter gives her someone to look up to in knowing that the path of one's vision of greatness can be attainable.
“For me, personally, I think it’s a great example where you come from a certain position and you end up rising and you still become the same. It can be tricky when you are juggling all these different elements but still be yourself. For me, I feel very lucky where I can have someone where I can relate to if I ever aspire to that level.”
More Slideshows
Mercito 'No Mercy' Gesta - A look in and outside of the ring at one of Philippine Boxing's rising stars
HBO Fight Gallery - A ringside look at some of the more memorable HBO bouts from the past five years including shots of Pacquiao, Mayweather, Marquez, Khan, Cotto, Maidana, and several others
Open Media Workout - Go behind the scenes in this exclusive gallery from photgrapher Naoki Fukuda as he covers boxing's biggest names during their open media workouts
Photographer Howard Schatz - An uncanny look at the sport of boxing through the unique photographs of the New York photographer
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at Trimond@aol.com
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