WARNING TO MANNY PACQUIAO

3 Negros Boxers

Among Marquez’s KO Victims

A stern warning to Manny Pacquiao. Just be cautious with Marquez.

Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez had spent a combined total of 14 rounds in dismantling three highly-rated Filipino fighters since 2000.

First to fall was junior featherweight terror Reynante Jamili who was blasted to smithereens in three rounds on Oct. 22, 2000 at the Peppermill Hotel & Casino, Reno, Nevada, United States.

On April 1, 2001, it was the turn of Baby Lorona Jr. to wipe the canvas of the same venue with his face, absorbing a brutal second round knockout from the Mexican hombre destined to become a superfeatherweight ruler of the world.

The third casualty was Jimrex Jaca who capitulated in nine rounds in the WBO featherweight championship at the Dodge Arena, Hidalgo, Texas on November 25, 2006.

Incidentally, both Jamili, Lorona, and Jaca come from Negros Oriental and are Ilonggo-speaking.

The 34-year-old Marquez will attempt to add the 29-year-old Pacquiao in his list of Filipino victims when they square off on March 16 for Marquez’s WBC superfeather-weight crown at the Mandalay Bay and Resort Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In terms of ring experience, age and height, Marquez has the edge. In his first professional fight on May 29, 1993, Marquez lost by disqualification to countryman Javier Duran in Distrito Federal, Mexico.

So far, he has racked up 48 wins (35 KOs) against 3 losses.

Pacquiao, on the other hand, began his illustrious fistic career on Jan. 22, 1995 with a four-round points win over Edmund Ignacio in Calapan City, Mindoro Oriental. He tots a record of 45 wins (35 KOs) with 3 losses.

Pacquiao has massacred a total of 8 Mexican ring superstars starting with Gabriel Mira who was halted in four rounds on April 24, 1999 at the Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, in Pacquiao’s first defense of the WBC flyweight crown he wrested from Chachai Sasakul (KO8) on December 8, 1998.

Among those who fell from Pacquiao’s murderous binge were Emmanuel Lucero (KO3), Marco Antonio Barrera twice (KO11 and points), Hector Velasquez (KO6), Erik Morales twice (TKO10 and KO3), Oscar Larios (UD12), and Jorge Solis (KO8).

‘IT’S UNETHICAL TO CRITICIZE IN PUBLIC

A veteran international boxing referee who witnessed at the ringside the chaotic Z Gorres-Vic Darchinyan brawl at the Cebu Waterfront Hotel last Saturday evening, Feb. 2 could only shake his head over the negative outcome of the “Now or Never” main event. But said, he would not join the mob that called for the blood of New Zealand referee Lance Revill.

The referee, who requested strict anonymity for obvious reasons, agreed that Revill committed several “terrible” infractions during the 12-round battle for the right to face International Boxing Federation (IBF) superflyweight king Dmitri Kirilov.

“It’s unethical to criticize in public a fellow ring official, so I won’t dwell on Lance’s mistakes. Rather, may that fight serves as a lesson for everyone concerned,” said the towering referee who flew back to Luzon the morning after the fight.

He said, the fight was even in the first seven rounds “until Gorres started to decline in the 8th round.”

“That gave Darchinyan the confidence to force the issue and pile up points in the process,” he said. “I think Gorres was over trained.”

Asked about his opinion of the controversial knockdown Revill had called against Gorres in the first round which was severely lamented by experts, the referee, admitted that “it was not a knockdown, of course.”

He said some of the “slips” were supposed to be called as “knockdowns” while some of the “knockdowns” were supposed to be “slips.”

Both the camps of Gorres and Dar-chinyan protested the split draw verdict while co-promoter Gary Shaw had sought for the banning for life of Revill who was acting as third man on the ring for the first time outside the New Zealand.

While Revill was slandered and called names by irate fans and supporters of both boxers, Jonathan Davis, the Filipino judge who saw Darchinyan the winner at 114-112, earned praises from some quarters and fellow ring officials, including former Games and Amusement Board commissioner Emmanuel Palabrica.

Win Or Lose To Marquez, Pacquiao
To Fight Again June 28 In Macau

Even if Manny Pacquiao (45 W, 35 KOs, 3 losses) will suffer a knockout defeat, which is beyond imagination for those who root for him, in his March 16 12-round shootout with World Boxing Council (WBC) superfeatherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, he is still illegible to climb the ring for a possible world title shot at David Diaz’s WBC lightweight crown within the period of three months.

This became apparent after BoxRec.com reported that the Filipino fighter’s next assignment will be on June 28, 2008 in Macau, China against an unnamed opponent which, sources said, could be the 31-year-old Diaz, conqueror of Pacquiao’s trilogy partner Erik Morales.

Diaz (33 W, 17 KOs, 1 loss) will himself risk his WBC jewels on March 16 in the Marquez-Pacquiao aperitif versus Ramon Montano (14 W, 0 loss). Win or lose to Montano, Diaz could still fight after a period of three months—even if he will kiss the canvas.

Under the rules of the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) boxing division and probably the Nevada State Athletic Commission, a fighter who suffers a knockout (KO) cannot fight for the next 60 days or two months.

Promoters of the supposed Pacquiao-Diaz setto must have anticipated this possible “technical glitch” in the megabuck showdown in China’s gambling capital in advance, the reason why they chose June 28 as the date of the possible title clash.

Aside from Diaz, promoters of the 29-year-old General Santos City phenom is also eyeing the voracious but extremely dangerous Edwin Valero, the unbeaten Venezuelan who has been banned from fighting in the United States for his failure to secure necessary brain test. /MP