‘Stronger’ Marquez eager to make up for lost time

Four years can be a long time to wait. But Juan Manuel Marquez is a patient man.

That's how long it has taken Marquez to get another crack at Manny Pacquiao. Tonight at Mandalay Bay Events Center, the two boxers are expected to pick up where they left off on May 8, 2004, when their first fight ended in a controversial draw.

Now 34, Marquez (48-3-1, 35 knockouts) said he's ready to beat the 29-year-old Pacquiao (45-3-2, 35 KOs) and retain his WBC super featherweight title.

"I've made a lot of changes since then," said Marquez, a 2-1 underdog. "I'm a stronger fighter. I want to show my power. I'm going to try to fight him toe to toe."

He's a tough man, too. Marquez survived being knocked down three times by Pacquiao in their first meeting, getting up each time to swing momentum back his way. His courage was exemplary that night at Mandalay Bay, and his warrior mentality earned him legions of new fans.

"He got me with three great punches," Marquez said. "I went down three times, but I got up because of the great condition I was in at that time.

"Also, I was defending two titles, two titles that cost me a lot to win them. And I wasn't letting them go in three minutes, just like that."

He's also a proud man. Marquez, who was being promoted at the time of the first fight by Top Rank's Bob Arum, spurned Arum's offer of $750,000 to fight Pacquiao right after their first meeting. Arum upped the offer by $100,000, but Marquez said no to that as well.

So the long wait began. Eventually, they settled on $1 million for Marquez, who is currently being promoted by Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions. However, even though he is the champion, Marquez is making far less tonight than Pacquiao. The challenger is getting a career-high $3 million.

"The $100,000 was an insult to me and to boxing," Marquez said of the bump Arum offered. "Why should I fight for that? I wanted to show that my pride is first and nobody is going to step on me."

Arum said the problem was Marquez's management team.

"The only reason the rematch didn't happen four years ago is because Marquez had an idiot manager (Nacho Beristain)," Arum said. "I mean, that's the only reason because, at that point, Manny wasn't a pay-per-view star. So we were going on HBO, and we took the HBO money and divided it equally between the fighters.

"Marquez and Beristain wanted 100 percent of the money, and obviously that couldn't be done because Manny wasn't going to fight for nothing."

Besides financial pride, Marquez will be fighting for national pride when he enters the ring at about 8 tonight. Pacquiao has defeated two great Mexican fighters in Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, though both were past their primes when they faced Pacquiao the past two years. Marquez vows not to be the next Mexican fighter to be conquered by the Filipino star.

"This is a fight for my country," Marquez said. "I'm going to put everything out there."

Pacquiao plans to do the same. This is expected to be his final fight at 130 pounds. He weighed in at 129 Friday, and Marquez weighed 130.

But if Marquez wins and retains his title, there is a stipulation for a third fight. That means a proposed bout June 28 at Mandalay Bay between Pacquiao and David Diaz for Diaz's WBC lightweight title would be postponed.

Marquez said this is the fight that matters, not the third leg of a trilogy. In their first fight, judge Burt Clements scored it 113-113, and John Stewart had Pacquiao winning 115-110. Guy Jutras had it 115-110 for Marquez.

"I need this fight to fulfill my career," Marquez said. "In 2004, I won that fight, and they gave me a draw. I want to prove I'm the best fighter."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@ reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2913.