Is Manny Pacquiao slipping? The answer for many is a resounding yes.
Pacquiao,
who lost a disputed decision to Tim Bradley in his last bout, would
never admit that his skills are waning. However, his actions suggest a
change was required. Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs) has let it be known that
his entire training camp for his fourth go around with Juan Manual
Marquez (54-6, 39 KOs) on Dec. 8 will be at the Wild Card gym in Los
Angeles. In the last few years, where huge distractions lurked, he's
always opened camp in the Philippines.
Though Pacquiao has been victorious in two of their three bouts (the other was a draw) many pundits feel that Marquez could easily have won all three fights. Marquez’s ability to counter Pacquiao, has turned the
eight-time titleholder into a mass of uncertainty. Pacquiao doesn't agree.
During a media stop in New York City , he morphed into “The Greatest” and predicted he would knockout Marquez.
"My focus this time is to go for the knockout," Pacquiao said.
He’s also apparently heard enough about Marquez’s counter-punching ability.
“I’m a good counter-puncher, too,” said Pacquiao. “But that makes for a boring fight. I want to make the fight exciting.”
A
few years ago, the Filipino icon was a non-stop punching machine. His
blows came often and from many angles. His destructive knockouts of
Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Miguel Cotto, climaxed with a
fearful beating of the much bigger Antonio Margarito in 2010. What
followed was an uninspiring victory over Shane Mosley, a controversial
split decision victory over Marquez, and an equally controversial lost
to Bradley.
Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach will try to
rekindle their past intensity. Pacquiao is confident that the missing
link is within reach.
‘I want to erase the last fight and any doubts in No.4,” said Pacquiao.
Can Pacquiao find the fire in his belly? Only time will tell.
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