Evidently, Manny Pacquiao is taking his November showdown with rival Juan Manuel Marquez more seriously than any other fight he's been in thus far. According to a statement on his official website, MP8.ph, the eight-division world champion plans on starting his training 3 days before he embarks on a 25,000-mile, four-city media tour to promote the fight. "Training starts tomorrow," Pacquiao would remark, making it clear that he's extremely motivated to make this the final time he has to see Marquez standing across from inside the ring.
This will be the third time that Pacquiao will square off with Marquez. The first fight, which took place 7 years ago at 126 pounds, ended in a draw despite the fact that Pacquiao floored Marquez three times in the first round. It would be another 4 years before the two would meet again, this time at 130 pounds. Again, Pacquiao would drop Marquez, but after 12 furious rounds of action, there was still no clear-cut winner in the eyes of many fans, although Pacquiao was awarded the razor-thin split decision on the scorecards. In November, they'll step into the ring once and for all to finally decide who truly is the better fighter of the two.
Considering that, thus far, Marquez has been his toughest competition to date, Pacquiao isn't leaving anything to chance and will begin light workouts on his own without the help of his world-class trainer Freddie Roach or his strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza. According to reports, Roach and Ariza won't be arriving to the Philippines until mid-September. In the meantime, Pacquiao plans on beginning his own cardio sessions, including jogging, shadowboxing, ab exercises. As early as tomorrow, fans will get an opportunity to view exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of Pacquiao's training during the build-up of the fight as MP8.ph will feature a weekly series entitled The Road to Marquez.
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