Age has nothing to do with it. Even at 38 years of age, Dinamita remains a sensational fighter who shows no signs of the wear and tear that sometimes plagues boxers who are in such an advanced stage of their careers. Marquez’s age will not be a factor in his fight against Pacquiao, but the latter’s superior skills will be.
The Skill Factor:
The great Mexican warrior seems oblivious to the fact that Pacquiao has ascended to an entirlely different level since the two met previously in May of 2004 and again in March of 2008. Both matches ended with great controversy; the first resulting in a draw and the second in a split decision loss.
Marquez feels that he won both fights. Following his November 11, 2010 TKO victory over Michael Katsidas, he showed up at the post fight press conference sporting a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Marquez Beat Pacquiao Twice”.
Both fights were close, but Pacquiao simply isn’t the same fighter he was back in those days. Knockout victories over bigger men like Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Miguel Cotto with unanimous decision wins over Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, and the much bigger though shopworn Shane Mosley stand as testament to the fact.
Over the course of these fights it is clear that the Pacman has improved exponentially.
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The Weight Factor:
Pacquiao could have easily made the 140 to 142 lbs catchweight that was first proposed by Marquez, but both teams settled on a catchweight of 144.
Marquez weighed in at 134 and rehydrated to 145 against Katsidis. His official weight against Ramos was 138, and he likely weighed around 145 again on fight night.
Pacquiao has weighed in at 144.5 and 144.6 respectively against Margartio and Mosley, rehydrating to 148 for both fights.
As far as fighting weight, we’re only talking about a disparity of 3 lbs.
If Team Pacquiao had agreed to a 140 lb catchweight it would have been to Marquez’s advantage, but would it have been enough to give him THE advantage? Boxing trainer Stacy Goodson of Paris, Arkansas doesn’t think so.
“It doesn’t matter,” Goodson said. “You’ll see. It’s a new and improved Pacman. The ghost of his past will stay in his past, and in six rounds you’ll have another mangled Pacman victim.”
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