Claiming that he won all three fights unofficially, Juan Manuel Marquez has vowed to put a closure to the never-ending debate on Dec. 8 when he meets Manny Pacquiao for the fourth time at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
"I want to win the fight officially," Marquez told the LA Times on Friday, noting that he will rely mainly on his "intelligence and counter-punching" to finally score a win over his fearsome Filipino foe.
But not just an ordinary win, according to Marquez, who wants no less than a stoppage victory.
"I will try to knock him out because if I don't, you know what will happen if it's a decision," Marquez said in another interview.
Marquez battled Pacquiao to a split draw the first time they met in May 2004 and was heartbroken after dropping a split decision in the rematch in March 2008. In their supposed grudge match in November last year, Pacquiao escaped with a majority decision.
Marquez, who turned 39 last August, has been begging for a fourth fight and was delighted that Pacquiao chose him over a second meeting with Tim Bradley, who had beaten Pacquiao on a hotly-contested split verdict last June.
The two fighters will size each other up on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) when they kick off a three-city promotional tour at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. This will be followed by a stop at Times Square in New York on Wednesday and finally in Mexico City on Friday.
The Pacquiao-Marquez IV won't have any major title at stake but will be fought at the welterweight maximum of 147 lbs, according to Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, who will be the master of ceremonies in the duration of the tour.
Arum said Pacquiao is guaranteed $23 million, an amount that he won't get had he decided to do a rematch with Bradley.
Bradley got $5 million when he beat Pacquiao last June and was guaranteed $10 million in the event of a rematch.
Bradley lashed out at Pacquiao for the snub, saying Pacquiao chickened out for fear of being humiliated although 99 percent of those who saw their fight thought Bradley was more than fortunate to get the judges' nod.
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