Fourth Time Lucky? Marquez Gets Another Crack At Pacquiao

Fighter of the Decade Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao of the Philippines and four-division world champion Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez of México will go mano a mano and toe-to-toe once again in a 12-round welterweight battle between two of this era’s top pound for pound and evenly matched fighters.

Pacquiao-Márquez 4, the eagerly anticipated fourth act of their fistoric rivalry that has had fans and media standing on their feet for 36 action-packed rounds, will take place Saturday, December 8.

It will be produced and distributed Live by HBO Pay-Per-View from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nev.

“Our previous fights against each other brought out the best in us,” said Pacquiao. “Of all the opponents I have fought, Juan Manuel Márquez is the only one who was able to anticipate many of my moves and effectively counter a lot of them.

“I underestimated him in our last fight but I will not make that mistake this time. Freddie Roach and I will make the most of every training day to prepare for Juan Manuel which is why my all my training will take place at Wild Card in Hollywood.

“No days will be wasted traveling between training camps in the Philippines and California. When I walk into the ring on December 8, it will be another opportunity to bring honor and glory to my country and to my fellow Filipinos in the Philippines and around the world.”

“I am very excited to be fighting Manny again,” countered Márquez. “I beat him the first three fights but did not get the decision; this time I will beat him again and I also will get the victory officially. It’s an election year and I am going to win by a landslide.”

“This fight I truly believe will be the best of the four that these two great warriors have engaged in. After Pacquiao won a close decision from Márquez, both Pacquiao and Márquez want to win decisively to erase any doubts,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.

“Fight fans everywhere love rivalries and the competition between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Márquez has been intense and furious since day one and still is unresolved,” said Mark Taffet of HBO Pay-Per-View. “We are delighted to work once again with both of these future Hall of Famers.”

“The third battle between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Márquez was one of the biggest fights of 2011 and we look forward to another sensational event in December,” said Richard Sturm, president of Entertainment & Sports for MGM Resorts International. “It is an honor to host this international championship event as we end another successful year of boxing at MGM Grand.”

Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs), the lone congressional representative from the Sarangani province in the Philippines, returns to the Fight Capital of the World as the only fighter to win eight world titles in as many weight divisions.

A three-time Fighter of the Year and the Boxing Writers Association of America’s “Fighter of the Decade,” Pacquiao’s resume features victories over future Hall of Famers, including Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley and Márquez.

From 2008 to 2010, five of his seven victories were world title victories in five different divisions, where he dethroned super featherweight champion Márquez, lightweight champion David Diaz, junior welterweight champion Hatton, welterweight champion Cotto and he annihilated three-time world champion Antonio Margarito for the vacant super welterweight title.

Pacquiao’s seven-year, 15-bout winning streak came to an end on June 9, when he lost his WBO welterweight crown to undefeated WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, Jr. via a controversial split decision.

Pacquiao’s knockout victories over Cotto and Hatton in 2009, his victories over Joshua Clottey and Margarito in 2010, his wins against Mosley and Márquez in 2011 as well as his disputed loss to Bradley in June have combined for more than seven million pay-per-view buys making Pacquiao a pay-per-view king.

No boxer sold more live tickets in the U.S. than Pacquiao in 2010 and 2011, making him a pound-for-pound monarch in the ring and at the box office.

Márquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs), of México City, is one of only a rare few fighters from México to have won world titles in four different weight divisions. He captured his first world title – the vacant IBF featherweight championship – with a seventh-round stoppage of three-time featherweight champion Manuel Medina in 2003.

He unified the title that same year with a decisive victory over WBA featherweight titlist Derrick Gainer. Márquez successfully defended the titles three times during his three-year reign, which included unanimous decision victories over Victor Polo and Orlando Salido and a Draw with Pacquiao.

After losing the crown to Chris John and winning the WBO interim featherweight crown, all in 2006, Márquez moved up in weight to dethrone the legendary Marco Antonio Barrera and claim his WBC super featherweight championship belt in 2007.

After successfully defending the title, by a unanimous decision over Ricky Juarez, he lost the title in his 2008 rematch with Pacquiao by the slimmest of margins – a one point split decision. Since that fight, Márquez has won six of his last eight fights, including knockout victories of Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis — the latter two in WBA / WBO lightweight championship fights. In his last fight, on April 14, Márquez won his fourth world title in as many divisions, capturing the WBO interim junior welterweight championship with a dominant 12-round unanimous decision over Serhiy Fedchenko.

The Pacquiao vs. Márquez telecast, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 92 million pay-per-view homes.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions, Zanfer Promotions, Márquez Boxing, Tecate and MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, tickets to Pacquiao-Márquez 4 will go on sale Friday, September 28 at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT.

Tickets are priced at $1,200, $900, $600, and $400 and are limited to 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.