LAS VEGAS — Juan Manuel Marquez walked briskly down an empty hallway in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the swishing sound of his mesh pants echoing against the walls. It was quiet today. On Saturday, when more than 16,000 fans are expected to file into the building for his WBO welterweight fight with Manny Pacquiao (HBO PPV, 9 p.m.), it won’t be.
He opens the door to a ballroom where a few dozen reporters are waiting. He answers questions about his weight. He answers questions about his training. He answers question after question until a P.R. rep says he will answer no more. Marquez doesn’t mind. He has been dreaming of a third fight with Pacquiao for three years, since the moment the judges in Nevada announced that he had lost a split decision to Pacquiao in 2008. He has been thinking about it. He might as well talk about it.
“I’ve thought about this fight for so long,” Marquez (53-5-1) said. “I wondered why there was no rematch. I wondered why his promoter wouldn’t give me another fight. But the fight is here, and I feel ready.”
Beating Pacquiao (53-3-2) consumes Marquez. Not for the money, though his career-high $5 million payday is considerable. Not for the prestige, though a win over Pacquiao would undoubtedly elevate him to, at worst, the third-best fighter in the world. But because he believed he beat Pacquiao in 2004, when he got up off the mat three times in the first round of a fight that ended in a draw. Because he believed he won in ’08, when he lost the closest of split decisions. He worked hard, he fought hard and he won, Marquez reasons. The judges took it away from him.
