Confident Marquez plods on

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by Nick Giongco

AT 8,793 feet above sea level in the Mexican city of Toluca on Wednesday, Juan Manuel Marquez was in a jolly mood looking as though in a little over two weeks he would be coming face to face with a bum and not against one of the sport’s’ most feared stars.

Asked by the Mexican media on his thoughts about being listed as the underdog against Manny Pacquiao on March 15 in Las Vegas, Marquez hardly showed signs that he is starting to feel the creeps but instead spoke with the bravado associated with somebody who was training his sights on a land conquest.

"I am not worried about the odds," Marquez told the sports daily ESTO. "That doesn’t make any difference. What’s important is what we will do on top of the ring. It doesn’t even affect my confidence and my preparation."

Oddsmakers have pegged Pacquiao the huge favorite in the scheduled 12-rounder that will see Marquez defend his World Boxing Council (WBC) super-featherweight crown for the second time before an expected overflow crowd at the Mandalay Bay.

Marquez wakes up as early as 4 a.m. everyday and is driven to Toluca, which is 63 kilometers southwest of his home in Mexico City, to jog and build up his stamina, a trait that he intends to employ in trying to stop the ultra-aggressive Filipino lefty dead in his tracks.

To get used to Pacquiao’s daredevil style, Marquez regularly works out with three sparmates — Venezuelan Rafael Hernandez, Nicaraguan Eusebio Osejo and Japanese Norio Kimura — at the Romanza Gym, where he will train until the week before the fight.

Marquez will then travel to Los Angeles before heading to Las Vegas where the co-promoters — Bob Arum’s Top Rank and Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions — will lay out grand welcomes for the two fighters on March 11 at the Mandalay Bay.

Pacquiao will make his formal arrival with all the fanfare at 11 a.m., while Marquez will follow at 11:30.

The press conference will be held on Wednesday (March 12) at the House of Blues inside the Mandalay Bay and the weigh-in will be at the Events Center at 2:30 p.m. on Friday (March 14).

Source:mb.com.ph

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