In what is becoming one of boxing's best rivalries, Manny Pacquiao will draw hands with Juan Manuel Marquez for the fourth time tonight in Las Vegas for their highly-anticipated rematch.
The hype around this fight has been sweltering as a result of their previous trilogy of closely-fought bouts.
Their first fight ended in an even draw between the Filipino southpaw Pacquiao and the hard-hitting Mexican four-division champion Marquez. However, Pacquiao won the next two bouts by decision, although many felt that Marquez could have easily gotten the better of Pacquiao in those fights.
Pacquiao, 33, is sporting a 54-win, 4-loss, 2-draw record heading into tonight's match with Marquez, with a 54-6-1 win-loss record. Both will be battling each other in the welterweight class.
Betting odds for the main event, from the gambling site Bovada, read as the following: Manny Pacquiao -225 , Juan Manuel Marquez +175.
Predictions
After a controversial loss--which even the World Boxing Organization disagreed with--to Timothy Bradley this past June, Pacquiao, the first-ever eight-division world champion, needs a win tonight to bounce back, or else he would really add fuel to the fire for critics who say that his time as an elite fighter is at an end.
Dan Rafael of ESPN.com, who picked Marquez to win his previous bouts with Pacquiao, is going with the Mexican counterpuncher again in this fight, saying that the law of averages is finally due to work in Marquez's favor.
"I wish for a knockout, but alas, I have a hard time imagining a truly definitive outcome," Rafael writes. "And why wouldn't I? I was ringside for the first three bouts, and the fighters are essentially even-up after 36 rounds, with the only rounds that were truly decisive being those in which Marquez got knocked down and probably the second round of the first fight, when he was still clearing the cobwebs.
"So based on my theory that we're going to see another tight fight, I think it's a law-of-averages thing," he adds. "Eventually, Marquez is going to get the nod, whether he deserves it or not."
However, fellow ESPN columnist Brian Campbell says Pacquiao has been at his best in their trilogy of fights when taking the lead and getting off first, which he noted has earned Pacquiao four knockdowns in their first two fights.
And with the chance to quiet any critics who still have doubts after the last two fights between these two boxing stars, Campbell believes Pacquiao will leave the results unquestioned this time.
"Marquez is too proud and too tough to see his final chance at defeating Pacquiao end in a knockout defeat, as Roach has predicted," Campbell writes. "But in his own way, the old warrior will go out on his shield just the same, losing a decision that, for the first time in the rivalry, will come without dispute or controversy."
Undercard matches and odds
Super Featherweight Title: Yuriorkis Gamboa (-1100) vs. Michael Farenas (+650)
Lightweight Title: Miguel Vazquez (-150) vs. Mercito Gesta (+120)
Featherweight Title: Javier Fortuna (-1000) vs. Patrick Hyland (+600)
Fight Time
Fight time starts at 9 p.m. EST
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