[Divine Hand]

Marquez, Pacquiao easily make weight for WBC title fight

LAS VEGAS (AP) � Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao both easily made weight Friday before their rematch bout for the WBC super featherweight title.

Marquez weighed in right at the 130-pound limit, while Pacquiao weighed 129 pounds in front of a spirited, pro-Mexican crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Marquez and Pacquiao are the main event on Saturday night, nearly four years after their acclaimed first matchup ended in a draw.

Both fighters appeared to be in exceptionally good shape, even by their own lofty standards. Neither had any evidence of body fat as they flexed and shook hands while the crowd chanted rude slogans in Spanish at Pacquiao, who has beaten Mexican fighters in his last six bouts.

Pacquiao (45-3-2, 34 KOs) could have even a bit more muscle in his next bout. He�s a slight favorite to claim Marquez�s title, but the Filipino champion has said the fight will be his last at 130 pounds.

His next fight is expected to be at Mandalay Bay in late June against WBC lightweight champion David Diaz, who�s fighting Ramon Montano on Saturday�s undercard. After that, Pacquiao hopes for a unification fight in the fall with Nate Campbell, who won the other three major 135-pound belts last week by beating Juan Diaz.

Marquez (48-3-1, 35 KOs) hopes a victory over Pacquiao will lead to a third meeting, since both fighters have rematch clauses in their contracts. Marquez won his title last year with a unanimous decision over Marco Antonio Barrera.

Steven Luevano and Terdsak Jandaeng also made weight Friday before their undercard fight for Luevano�s WBO featherweight title.

[angela_bears]

its was a full 12-round match
Manny Pacquao won.
congrats to him..

[xman150]

i smell part 3 by the end of this year or early next, i hope. can't wait to watch the fight, reading round by round recaps cant do this fight justice.

[Divine Hand]

What a close fight. Manny continues to have great, exciting fights.

[miimisunshine]

i was watching this today... my whole family was going crazy so much screaming at the tv. yay! MANNY won!

[ticteuk.]

^haha Same with my family! It was an exciting match between Marquez & Pacquiao~Congratulations Manny! Did anyone else cringe seeing that really bad cut above Marquez's right eye when they were cleaning it up?

[badstar]

Woohoooo!!! Way to go manny!!
Didn't watch it coz my dad spoiled everything for me already since he watched it live!

[mikeee]

i smell part 3 by the end of this year or early next, i hope. can't wait to watch the fight, reading round by round recaps cant do this fight justice.

I really doubt a rubber match between the two, Pacquiao already stated he was done with this. Of the two, Marquez was the one who seemed more upset about the decision of the match, and rightfully so. Unless the rubber match includes a very large purse for both fighters, I just can't see it happening.

[HERMIT]

Congratulations to Manny for winning a very close split decision.

As for the possibility of a rubber match for Pacquiao-Marquez III, it's not in the cards - at least not for now. Manny seems to have a bigger and better opportunity to prepare for the time being.

Although fans and media naturally would like to see a third fight between them, it isn't going to happen, at least not right away.

"I don't think so, this business is over," Pacquiao said about a third fight. "I'm moving up to 135 pounds."

Indeed, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said he will move forward with his plan to have Pacquiao challenge lightweight titleholder David Diaz, who won a nontitle fight on the undercard. They are slated to meet June 28, also at Mandalay Bay. Pacquiao, however, suffered an abrasion next to his right eye in the fourth round, which Marquez (46-3-2, 34 KOs) cut open in the seventh round. The cut could delay Pacquiao's June bout.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/co...&id=3296049

[WonderGirlYoobin]

manny clearly won the fight.. GO PACMAN..

[tjadl6386]

Pretty late post. I just the HBO PPV vid of the fight and it was a close one. A rubber match would do great for boxing but with the way things are going it doesn't look like Manny will return to the Lightweight division.

[sohothot]

when pacman vs deloya gonna happen..

aint it decemeber something..

[gray]

dec 6 for the dream fight between pac-man & the golden boy at MGM
so excited! it should be a great fight whatever the result is

[sweetlush.]

i think someone ought to make a thread for that one. it's the dream match LOL. i'm actually gonna pay 300 Pesos just to watch it 8D

[cypherpunk]

Who do you think will win this match?

[cypherpunk]

A lot of asian pride, here.

http://teampilipinas.info/2008/12/oscar-de...y-pacquaio.html

^live stream

[cypherpunk]

Holy mini cooper. Manny stopped him.

[sweetlush.]

MANNY WON HAHAHA YAYYYY
i am so proud of him. he seems really humble <3 YAY
GO PACMAAAAANN~

[NO NAME?]

What he won? Is it over already? I was watching it for awhile, but got bored and left.

[ane_108]

woohoo! pacman wins! hehehe.