Moment of truth in Vegas

LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez revisit a rivalry that has seethed with controversies spanning seven years and 24 rounds, both wanting a decisive end to what has become a personal war that spawned boxing’s latest trilogy.

Pacquiao puts his WBO welterweight crown and his reputation as the world’s pound-for-pound king on the line when he faces Marquez before an expected sell-out crowd at the MGM Grand Saturday evening (Sunday noon in Manila).

They’ve fought twice in the past, the first one ending in a controversial draw in 2004, and the second in an equally intriguing split decision for the sensational Filipino boxer in 2008. Three years after the last one, here they go again.

It could be the last. It should be the last.

There’s so much interest in this fight, not because their styles are certainly made for each other, and the fireworks they’ve provided inside the ring, but more for its emotional content. By their actions, it’s easy to see that they hate each other.

After Pacquiao’s one-point victory in 2008, where he floored Marquez once in the third round, and actually for the fourth time in two matches, the Mexican counter-puncher brainwashed himself and those around him that he won both fights.

With Mexican bravado, he flew to the Philippines in 2009, and verbally challenged Pacquiao to a third fight. After knocking out Michael Katsidis and keeping his world lightweight crown in November 2010, Marquez wore a t-shirt saying, “I beat Pacquiao twice.”

“To me that’s disrespectful,” said Pacquiao, a 32-year-old congressman back home. But he said he will not carry his emotions inside the ring because “sometimes it may be a mistake,” especially against Marquez, the best counter-puncher out there.

Wearing that yellow shirt, yellow being the symbol of democracy in the Philippines, helped Marquez earn the third fight with Pacquiao, and his biggest paycheck ever. He’s guaranteed $5 million, with a couple more to come once all the revenues are counted.

Marquez, now 38, will do everything to win this fight because if he does, there could be a fourth match where he will be guaranteed $10 million. With his brand-new frame, he said he will go for the knockout. Or he can get knocked out trying.

Pacquiao, the sport’s biggest draw today, is guaranteed $22 million but may end up with $30 million. It’s also his biggest earning in a single fight. But to him, money only comes next to the importance of this fight, and the chance to finally silence Marquez.

“I hope this fight answers all the questions,” said Pacquiao.

After the draw in 2004, Pacquiao’s business manager then, the late Rod Nazario, told him “never fight that guy (Marquez) again.” But he did, and despite his close win four years after, Marquez was like the itch that won’t go away.

Another victory over Marquez, and it must be very convincing, will close the book.

Marquez can’t figure out why Pacquiao feels disrespected, saying he himself felt disrespected when he failed to get the decisions the two times they met. He said he’s hoping that Saturday’s judges will score the bout the way they see it.

“Without a doubt, it’s personal for me too because I feel I won the first two fights,” said Marquez who agreed to go up in weight and challenge Pacquiao at a catchweight of 144 lb or three pounds shy of the welterweight limit.

While Marquez thinks that he’s not just bigger now, but also faster and stronger, through the help of a conditioning coach once linked to steroids use, experts say it may have been too soon for him to face Pacquiao, now a legitimate welterweight.

Pacquiao, a 9-1 favorite, has fought the biggest welterweights out there, including Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto, and took the heaviest punches from them. Marquez fought and lost a lopsided decision to Floyd Mayweather in 2009 also at 144 lb, at his heaviest ever.

Pacquiao has changed a lot since his two fights with Marquez at 126 lb and 130 lb because as he moved up, he also found ways to improve on his right hand. He’s now a complete package, a boxer who can easily knock an opponent out with either hand.

Marquez is bigger, yes, but the one that should be going for him is that his counter-punching style perfectly suits Pacquiao.

“In the past, he didn’t use his right hand, and now I see that uses it a lot, with speed also, throwing hooks and uppercuts with the right hand, and we need to be careful about that. That’s why it’s going to be a tremendous fight because I am going to be able to connect very hard, and I think he is going to be surprised,” he said.

Marquez is more used to fighting smaller guys like Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis. He fought Likar Ramos at 138 lb last July, but didn’t get the tune-up he wanted for this fight because Ramos went to sleep right in the first round.

“I trained hard for this fight. This is the most important fight because I want to fight the best pound-for-pound. I need to win every round clearly and do my job inside the ring. And win convincingly,” Marquez said during Friday’s official weigh-in.

Marquez tipped the scales at 142 lb flat while Pacquiao came in at 143. Both fighters may climb the ring dead even at 147 or 148 lb, according to their respective trainers, Nacho Beristain and Freddie Roach.

“There will be fireworks so don’t miss it,” said Roach, who predicted days ago that the fight won’t last the distance, and told everyone not to be surprised if it ends in the first round.

He said Marquez bulked up because their plan is to engage early, in the hope that they get their best punches in early as well. Marquez said if he gets the opportunity, he will go for the knockout.

“This time was very different. We did things we haven’t done before and we felt very, very good. This time is going to be different. We’re going to combine intelligence with speed, and we’re going to be very, very intelligent in the ring,” he said.

Marquez knows he has the ability to hurt Pacquiao with his right straights and uppercuts.

“You have to know how to land your punches and when to land your punches, and I think that I’ve always been able to do that against Manny Pacquiao. It’s all in my technique as a technical fighter that I’m able to do against him what others are not able to do that. Boxing is about styles.”

Marquez said his fans always tell him he won the two fights.

“That’s why we’re doing this third fight, to shed any doubts,” said the Mexican underdog.