Marquez makes strong case for third Pacquiao bout

LOOKING BACK...

If you haven't had a chance, find a way to watch the nine-round TKO win Juan Manuel Marquez recorded over rugged Australian Michael Katsidis on Nov 27. Doesn't matter how you find it. HBO on Demand it, YouTube it, download it. However you have to do it, find that fight, watch it and savour master craftsman Marquez in all his bruising brilliance.

Of course, Marquez did go down in the third round -- hard -- thanks to a Katsidis left hook, but his early vulnerability is part of what makes his fights so compelling. He hits the canvas early and when he rises he's usually more angry than hurt, and from there he blends technique with controlled rage and more than a touch of machismo to produce something special.

In 2004 Marquez survived three first-round knockdowns against Manny Pacquiao to rally for a draw, and Saturday night he regained his feet and his composure against Katsidis to conduct a clinic and offer emphatic proof that size only matters so much when you counteract it with skill.

You only needed to glance at the two fighters Saturday night to figure out which of the two men was stronger. Marquez, at 5-foot-7 looked like exactly what he is -- a smaller man who grew into the 135-pound division as he matured.

Katsidis, meanwhile, rippled with more muscles than you ever expect to see on a lightweight and entered the ring with the game plan his physique dictated. From the opening bell he pressed forward, muscling the smaller Marquez around the ring winging punches with his massive arms.

But while Katsidis was clearly the stronger man it became apparent, even after he scored a knockdown, that Marquez was landing more damaging blows, placing precise shots between Kastidis' arcing blows, bruising the Australian's face with head shots, deadening his momentum with hooks to the body.

By the ninth round Katsidis could only lurch forward while Marquez peppered him with lefts and rights, prompting referee Kenny Bayless to step in and stop the fight. The stoppage sealed the 52nd win of Marquez' career, cemented his status as one of the sport's premier counterpunchers, and proved that at 37 he remains a favourite against nearly any fighter in the world who faces him at 135 pounds.

LOOKING AHEAD...

Does that list of prospective opponents include current pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao?

Hard to say.

Just about every top fighter between 135 and 154 pounds wants the Pacquiao payday, but how many of them can make a matchup that's worth the Pac Man's time and effort?

Middleweight champ Sergio Martinez made plain his desire for a Pacquiao matchup after his one-punch destruction of Paul "The Punisher" Williams and conceivably could meet Pacquiao at junior middleweight, where Pacquiao is the WBO champ.

The the same titanic roundhouse left that felled Williams may also have convinced Pacquiao's camp to keep their man at welterweight and below.

 

When undefeated welterweight Andre Berto similarly starched Freddy Hernandez on the Marquez undercard, he too lobbied for a Pacquiao matchup and his résumé says he deserves one. But for all Berto's speed and strength he lacks the one key ingredient Pacquiao and his people need in a pay-per-view opponent.

Popularity.

It's not that anybody hates Berto. They just don't know who he is. Not even in his native Miami, where in April he defended his title against Carlos Quintana and donated the proceeds to Haitian earthquake relief.

Total paid attendance: 972.

Clearly he's not ready.

And with the Mayweather camp facing more showdowns in court than in the gym these days Marquez re-emerges as Pacquaio's most compelling opponent.

Granted, Katsidis doesn't offer anywhere near the speed or savvy Pacquiao does, but Saturday's win proved that Marquez isn't just comfortable counterpunching when he appears outgunned.

He's devastating.

And nearly three years after dropping a close split decision in a rematch with Pacquiao he remains the last opponent to seriously rattle the Pac-Man, a bit of unfinished business Pacquiao might want to settle for good.

Anyone who loves fights would drool over this one but we still don't know if it will come together, first because of the long-running beef between Golden Boy (Marquez' promoter) and Top Rank (Pacquiao's promoter).

The fact also remains that these two men compete two, and sometimes three weight classes apart and we don't know how much interest Pacquiao has in dropping back down to lightweight. Losing the weight should be easy for a fighter who has to force-feed himself to stay at welterweight, but he at least has performed spectacularly at higher weights. Marquez, meanwhile looked small and slow -- especially in contrast to Mayweather's mastery -- when he jumped two weight classes in September 2009.

But at 135 Marquez is still dynamite, and if he can manage to meet Pacquiao at lightweight he can provide something we haven't seen in a Pacqiuao fight since 2008.

Drama.

 

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Sizing up Rampage, the Prodigy and, ahem, "Mr. Wonderful"

Saturday night UFC 123 lands in metro Detroit -- I stress the "metro" because as a guy who spent six months interning at the Detroit News I can tell you the only thing Auburn Hills has in common with Detroit is that people in both places claim they're from the D.

I loved that the UFC brought their pre-fight events to Detroit's MGM Grand Casino, and staged public workouts at the Detroit Athletic Club. A beautiful show of support to a city that can surely use a boost.

But instead of staging the main event in downtown Detroit, where steam gushes from manhole covers, the People Mover moves next to nobody and where there's a massive statue of Joe Louis' right arm and fist, Saturday's card moves about 20 miles north to Auburn Hills.

A mild disappointment, but I digress.

I'm not here to talk about the land of Coney Islands and Kwame Kilpatrick.

I'm here to talk about fights -- three of them in particular -- and invite you guys to join the discussion.

1. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida

In 2006 or 2007 I would have chosen Jackson over any light heavyweight in the world but right now I don't know who wins this matchup of former 205-pound champs.

Nearly four years after strongarming his way to a UFC title Jackson's aura of menace still sells. More than just about any other fighter in the UFC Jackson looks the part of bad-ass street brawler, and still talks a great game.

But can he still back it up against top fighters?

Possibly.

You can attribute Jackson's lacklustre performance against Rashad Evans in May to the 40-plus pounds he gained while filming the A-team. Losing his gut essentially turned his training camp into a fat camp, so if he looked lost as Evans outworked him to win a dull decision it shouldn't surprise you.

But what if Jackson's problem is more fundamental than a few extra pounds?

Over Jackson's seven-fight run in the UFC we've seen him flatten every fighter who dared trade punches with him but struggle against fighters who refuse to meet force with force, losing to Forrest Griffin in July 2008 and again to Evans in May.

Machida's one-punch destruction of Evans proves he has the firepower to go toe-to-toe with the division's best, but he's far too tactical and technical to meet Jackson on Jackson's terms.

So how does the brawler turn Saturday's main event into a street fight? And if he can't do that how in the world does he win a decision.

I don't know if he can do either.

2. Matt Huges vs. B.J. Penn, Chapter III

These two are meeting for the welterweight championship of each other, I guess.

Otherwise, why fight?

To move closer to a title shot?

Does Hughes appear any closer to handling Georges St. Pierre now than he did three years ago, when GSP nearly wrenched Hughes' arm out of its socket in a submission win?

Like Hughes, Penn has a pair of losses to St. Pierre, each more decisive than the one before. And since dropping a second decision to GSP Penn has also lost twice to Frankie Edgar, placing him a long way from a title in two weight classes.

What can either man look forward to if he wins?

Another beating from GSP?

A late-career run as a welterweight gatekeeper?

Yet another rematch?

I understand that sometimes great matchups come in threes, and that a third bout should provide us with a winner for the Hughes-Penn series. But not all grudge matches need trilogies and this match holds about as much intrigue for me as Molitor-Ndlovu III.

3. Phil Davis vs. TIm Boetsch

One big issue with this light-heavyweight showdown.

Davis' name.

It's bad enough when MMA fighters co-opt boxing nicknames, as if Rashad Evans really deserves the title "Sugar."

Ugh.

But now MMA fighters are biting wrestlers too.

Memo to Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis: You better find a new handle quick, lest you wind up on the wrong end of a piledriver.

 

 Phil Davis, are you really ready to wind up six inches to a foot shorter?

Didn't think so.

So find a new nickname.

Please.

 Follow the Star's Morgan Campbell on Twitter

 

 

 

Mayweather next? Pacquiao wins biggest if they don't fight

Saturday night at Texas Stadium Manny Pacquiao faced the most daunting challenge of his career and conquered it with style.

You could argue (And I would -- loudly) that Antonio Margarito deserved neither the shot at the WBC super welterweight title nor the $3 million payday that came with it, not after attempting to enter the ring with with plaster-reinforced hand wraps for his January 2009 title bout with Shane Mosley, and not after the California commission shot down his attempt at reinstatement.

When Floyd Mayweather declined the opportunity to meet Pacquiao on Nov. 13 he gave Bob Arum (who promotes both Pacquiao and Margarito) the room to do an end run around the California commission's suspension, get Margarito licensed in Texas and give him the pay-per-view date with Pacquiao.

But even if Margarito's main event credentials rested on a flimsy premise -- specifically that he belonged in any ring after what he tried to pull against Mosley -- he presented a credible threat to Pacquiao. At 5-foot-11 he's huge for his weight class and has built a career on crushing smaller fighters' spirits with his concrete chin (and gloves?) and relentless pressure, and Saturday night he entered the ring with a 17-pound weight advantage.

Pacquiao still made him look like a sparring partner, survivng tense moments in the second and sixth rounds but overall dealing the bully a massive beatdown. Margarito left that bout with a career-high paycheque, a fractured oribital bone and swelling on his face that won't subside for days.

And Pacuiao left the ring with a world title in an unheard-of eighth weight class and a familiar question facing him:

Is Floyd Mayweather next?

The answer?

Who knows.

We asked the same question this time last year when Pacquiao dismantled Miguel Cotto, but after 11 months of bickering boxing's two brightest stars have sparred at the negotiating table still haven't squared off.

And that's a shame because before Saturday Mayweather was the only other fighter in the world with a legitimate claim to the pound-for-pound crown, and remains the only fighter alive with the skill set to cause Pacquiao problems. Pairing those two in 2011 would produce the most important fight of our generation and the biggest single sports event of the year.

But if it never happens I won't be surprised, and if Pacquaio's the one who refuses to fight I won't blame him.

It's not just because, after Saturday's lopsided win, Paquiao's legacy in more than set. With titles in eight world classes he doesn't need a Mayweather win to vault him into the all-time top 10.

Instead it's because if Mayweather is honest with himself he knows he needs to beat Pacquiao, both for the $50-million payout and to cement his status as the top fighter of his era. And the best way for Pacquiao to ensure a resounding victory over Money May -- and repay Mayweather for 11 months of insults, delays and drama -- is to never face him.

Not duck him.

Just leave him alone.

Move on to other things while Mayweather scrambles for a big payday and a career-defining win.

Saturday night HBO analyst Max Kellerman pointed out that Pacquiao absorbed more punches -- 229 -- than he normally does. Citing that stat compared Mayweather to a mid-1980s Ray Leonard, who had a standing invitation to face middleweight king Marvelous Marvin Hagler but waited for Hagler to endure grueling bouts with Thomas Hearns and John Mugabi before emerging from retirement to make the fight. 

But unlike Hagler, Pacquiao doesn't have to rally to salvage wins. He took punches because he always takes punches, but he's still winning by wide margins.

So instead, picture Mayweather as Leonard circa 1990, coming off a draw in a rematch with Hearns that most people felt he lost and looking to remain relevant with a big money bout against another old foe.

Hagler.

Leornard wanted Hagler to end his three-year retirment, but Hagler was happy doing what he was doing -- living in Italy and making straight-to-video feature films.

 

He stayed retired, and instead of another superfight Leonard settled for a February 1991 bout with Terry Norris, and absorbed more punches for less money than he would have against Hagler.

This isn't to suggest that Mayweather's skills are about to abandon him, or that Pacquiao should retire to concentrate on his singing career.

But Pacquiao has never had more clout than he has right now after thrashing Margarito, while Mayweather's declining profile is a fact he needs to face. 

Over the summer Pacquiao's camp decided to comply with Mayweather's request for Olympic-style drug testing and boxing fans worldwide thought the fight of the decade was finally on.

Yet rather than accepting the fight Mayweather let the opportunity lapse, refusing to explain the move and leaving his girlfriend to hint without elaborating that Pacquaio situation is more complex than it seems.

Instead of beginning training camp for a megafight Mayweather spent September butting heads with his ex-girlfriend, a confrontation that netted him nothing but a string of charges.

And instead of facing Pacquiao in the ring Mayweather blindsided him in a racist rant on Ustream.

As Mayweather's behaviour becomes increasingly bizarre the profile he gained by dominating Shane Mosley in May bleeds away, and so does the leverage he needs to compel Pacquiao to face him on fair terms.

Do you see Mayweather facing Paquiao for the short end of a 60-40 purse split?

Neither do I, but with their stocks rocketing in opposite directions Mayweather might need to accept it because he needs a win over Pacquiao to answer lingering questions about his ability to handle a hall-of-famer in his prime.

Pacquiao, meanwhile, knows his legacy is set, and could decide not to fight at all, leaving Mayweather with 40 percent of nothing.

Against a guy nicknamed "Money" what better revenge is there?

 

Follow the Star's Morgan Campbell on Twitter