Pacquiao hopes to settle unfinished business with Marquez

Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao hopes to finally settle once and for all whatever unfinished business he and Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez have. The controversy that marred the outcome of their two previous fights still hound one of boxing’s most celebrated rivalries and Pacquiao doesn’t want to leave nothing to chance this time as he and Marquez brawl for the third time in seven years on November 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. "Ito ang kasagutan sa mga katanungan ng lahat kung sino ang nanalo o sino ang natalo sa amin (This will finally answer the question on who really won the fight)," Pacquiao said Saturday before a jampacked Rigodon Ballroom crowd at the Manila Hotel during the kick-off leg of the four-city press tour for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title fight two months from now. "Parang nakakasawa na rin kasi na tatlong beses na kaming maglalaban. So sana pagtapos ng laban na ito, ma-prove na at matanggap ng bawat isa kung sino ang panalo o talo (It’s becoming tiresome since this will be our third time of facing each other. So, I hope it can finally settle the issue once and for all)," admitted the world’s top pound-for-pound king. Marquez claimed that he won his two previous meetings with Pacquiao—an outcome that saw the two warriors drew their first encounter in 2004 and the pound-for-pound king earning a highly-debatable split decision in their rematch four years later. Despite on what he believed in, Marquez accepted to fight the Filipino southpaw again if only to erase all doubts that indeed, he had Pacquiao’s numbers. "I will prepare myself hard for this fight. I really wanted to win," said the 38-year-old Mexican, who came together with his manager Fernando Beltran. On the surface, it appeared the rivalry has gotten a bit personal, although Pacquiao insisted it’s just all about the desire of both fighters to win. "I’m not disappointed or angry to Juan Manuel Marquez," said the fighting congressman from Sarangani. "I expect it to be a good fight because Marquez had declared that he won the last two fights." "But I won’t let that happen (in the third fight)," said Pacquiao. "I will train hard for this fight and give my best." – JVP/ELR, GMA News