"This is great for the fans to be honest with you. People who say, "Man, who wants to see Marquez IV," well guess what? After seeing what I'm seeing now, I want to see it. The fans should be excited, you know, because you know what? Now you got two guys that are in tip top shape; you got another guy who's done everything underneath the sun, and he's coming to war. You don't put on armor like that to do the waltz. You put on armor like that man to go to war. Marquez looks like he's ready to go to war to me," stated world-class Strength & Conditioning coach Alex Ariza, who shared his opinion on the type of condition that 4-division world champion Juan Manuel Marquez has prepared his body for when he steps into the ring for the fourth time with ring-rival Manny Pacquiao on December 8. Recently, some have questioned if the chiseled physique of Marquez may be due to the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Ariza, however, believes the real concern is that his ripped and ready body is proof of just how seriously Marquez has dedicated himself in his preparations to finally achieve the victory that has eluded him.
"Am I little worried? Am I a little concerned? Fuck yeah! These guys took shit serious and it shows me. What did I tell you in the very beginning? With all of our past opponents, I knew that I was bringing science and I was bringing research and I was bringing a comprehensive program to a sport that was still in the dark ages of training. The other guys were still doing it the old school way. That was my advantage. Now I've got a guy who's doing the same thing that I'm doing on the other side and now the playing field is level," Ariza explained, giving a lot of credit to Strength & Conditioning coach Angel Heredia for the results he's achieved with Marquez. "So what are my advantages? I gotta be smarter than the other guy. I gotta hope my guy follows my program. I gotta hope he does everything that I say; the same way that Memo is thinking about his guy. So now you just got another guy on the other side who's as smart, as knowledgeable, as educated, has the credentials as well, and he's applying his craft and his trade, and doing a great job."
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