Sports Eye
Meeting Marquez again
By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.
(First of two parts)
I HAD the opportunity of meeting world boxing champ Juan Manuel Marquez three times in the past and after those encounters, I longed to meet him again. Those previous meetings were not good enough for me because I already considered the fellow from Mexico City as a friend. And that wish was fulfilled last September 3 at the Manila Hotel during his first press conference with Manny Paquiao for their third fight scheduled on November 13 (PH time) in Las Vegas, Nevada. I was keen on meeting him personally the first time he came here in Manila in 2008 just after his split decision defeat to Paquiao, but unfortunately I came late. While readying myself for the trip then to Manila, I learned from a radio station that Marquez just stayed for two days.
I was determined to meet him again last week because I was sure that he would remember me and can still recall the three times that we met in McAllen and Hidalgo, Texas prior to and after his World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight title encounter with Cebu-born Jimrex Jaca. After the sensational fight, wherein he knocked out Jaca in the ninth round, the Chicano Marquez was euphoric when I interviewed him for the third time. Accompanying me was my first cousin Dagoberto Garcia Soto and my brothers Rolando and Rogelio.
Before meeting him for the fourth time last week, I first bumped into his chief trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain at the lobby of the hotel. Beristain, whom I also met in Texas, spoke to me in Spanish and I answered him in my broken Español. When I switched to English, he slowly and politely replied in choppy English. Beristain said he’s very confident that his ward will win the much-awaited trilogy clash, via knockout or by decision.
I also bumped into Top Rank Promotions top honcho Bob Arum in the elevator with his macho bodyguards on his tail. Asked about his prognosis on the forthcoming battle, he humbly said it will be another close fight. He declined to predict the winner. I sensed he wanted to stay neutral to avoid accusations of being unfair or favouritism for either of the two world boxing icons as well as not to distract the choice of the bettors. You know Las Vegas is the biggest gambling city of the world.
Thanks to the able assistance of my compadre Recah Trinidad and his son Chino, I and PUNCH colleague Jun Velasco were given accreditation cards. (Unfortunately, JunV was not able to come due to his prior commitment at Camp Aguinaldo and missed the golden and once in a lifetime opportunity. His accreditation pass was reassigned to Claireyenne Malanyaon, one of Paquiao’s artists).
During the presscon, Arum said there were only 50 tickets left to be sold for the chance to watch the fight in flesh, and a day after the presscon, I was told that the remaining 50 were already sold out. Others will just have to watch it on pay-per-view television. Arum also said he’s still sorting out some details of the dream match of the century, the Paquiao-Mayweather match, which he believes will be a mega blockbuster, even better than the Ali-Frazier “Thrilla in Manila.”
Inside the Rigodon Hall, with me standing alongside the emcee for the afternoon, known sports broadcaster Anthony Suntay, I was lucky to be the fourth mediaman called to ask a question, which I addressed to Marquez. With my heart pumping so fast, I asked: “Marquez, in case you win the fight against Paquiao, do you have any plan or intention to fight the winner of the Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz battle scheduled on September 18?” Marquez answered that he doesn’t have any plan yet because he signed a contract with Paquiao and the promoters that in case he beat the pound-for-pound king, there will be a fourth and final showdown for the two. The presscon was covered live by several broadcast stations and my friend, so I wasn’t surprised when Mangaldan election officer Johnny Valencia, an avid boxing enthusiast, said he saw me on TV while I was asking my question! Some of my relatives in Pampanga and friends in Mangaldan also sent text messages saying they saw me. Well, I thought the presscon would be shown on delayed telecast and I had hoped to watch it but it wasn’t.
Something I had observed during the presscon was the two protagonists never looked at each other directly in the eyes, there were no handshakes, no words, and both predicted their own victory. Marquez insisted that he won their last two fights and their coming third encounter will be a clear victory for him. On the other hand, Paquiao countered that to erase any doubts from their last two clashes, he wants to prove on Nov. 13 that he can beat Marquez anew via knockout or by decision. Let’s wait and see.
Next week, I’ll write about my meeting with Marquez at the Mexican dugout, as well as analysis and predictions from boxing analysts Hermie Rivera, Recah Trinidad and Dennis Principe.
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “I won the last two fights and I will prove that this third fight will be a victory again for me.” – WBA and WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez.
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