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The debate about which fighter is the best will finally be settled when World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez defends his title against three-division world champion Manny Pacquiao in a 12-round battle for pound-for-pound supremacy. Promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank, in association with Romanza Boxing Productions and MP Promotions, Marquez-Pacquiao II will take place Saturday, March 15 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST.
Marquez vs. Pacquiao Tickets
Boasting near-identical records and professional achievements, it is no question that their first encounter for the featherweight title ended in a draw when they fought May 8, 2004 in Las Vegas. It was a "Fight of the Year"-style rumble that featured furious exchanges, leaving both warriors bloodied and swollen. Marquez, then the defending International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight champion, was forced to dig deep and make the appropriate adjustments after Pacquiao started out fast and sent him to the canvas three times in the first round. Pacquiao had entered the fight coming off an impressive 11-round destruction over then-featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera.
Marquez (48-3-1, 35 KOs), from Mexico City, Mexico, captured his first world title in 2003 when he stopped former world champion Manuel Medina in the seventh round to capture the vacant IBF featherweight title. He unified the title by dethroning WBA champion Derrick Gainer to set the stage for his first mega-fight against Pacquiao. Following his majority draw against Pacquiao, Marquez successfully defended both title belts winning decisions against Victor Polo and Orlando Salido, before traveling to Indonesia to face Chris John where he lost a controversial decision. Marquez successfully advanced to the super featherweight division this year by dethroning the WBC champion Barrera in March and successfully defending that title in November against Ricardo "Rocky" Juarez.
Dubbed "Republica Enemy No. 1," Pacquiao (45-3-2, 34 KOs), from General Santos City, Philippines, has blitzed through the best fighters Mexico has had to offer since 2003 including Barrera (TKO 11, W 12), Erik Morales (KO 3, TKO 10), Oscar Larios (W 12), Emanuel Lucero (TKO 3), Hector Velazquez (TKO 6) and Jorge Solis (KO 8). Pacquiao was named 2006 Fighter of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America and The Ring magazine for his two spectacular knockout victories over Mexican icon and three-division champion Morales, as well as his dominating 12-round unanimous decision against the former world champion Larios. The hard-hitting southpaw has won 21 of his last 22 bouts including his 2007 victories over Barrera and Solis.
Marquez vs. Pacquiao Tickets
Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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