Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

LAS VEGAS – Distractions and Manny Pacquiao have been inseparable for at least a year. But it’s beginning to look as if he has discarded that piece of troublesome baggage.

The distracted Pacquiao was gone Thursday. In his place, there was the engaging personality remembered for entering the ring with the smile of a kid headed to a few rounds on the playground.

“He’s having fun,’’ Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said before a formal news conference at the MGM Grand. “When he’s having fun, he’s hard to beat.’’

Little about a rivalry just a few days from a fourth fight, also at the MGM Grand, looks like much fun. Through 36 rounds, Pacquiao has the edge with two controversial decisions and a draw. But instead of celebration, there’s been controversy. Marquez argues the ledger should read 3-0 in his favor.

“He claims he won,’’ Pacquiao said. “He needs to prove something. I wanted to give him that chance. Maybe he can prove something.’’

The momentum, at least, seems to be on Marquez’ side, especially if the rivalry stretches to 48 rounds in an HBO pay-per-view bout. Much of the public agrees with Marquez, enough perhaps to finally swing the scorecards in his favor.

“My motivation is that I want them to raise my hand in the ring,’’ said Marquez, who showed up at the interview session in a crowded lounge off the casino floor looking edgy in a down jacket that was zipped all the way up to his scarred chin. “I don’t want people to just say, ‘You really beat him.’

“I want them to know that I beat him.’’

For Pacquiao, there might be only one way to do that:

By knockout.

But can he? In 2004, Pacquiao knocked Marquez down three times in the first round. Yet, Marquez managed to recover, rally and fight to a draw. Both have moved up the scale, from featherweight to lightweight for the first rematch and 144 pounds for the third fight. Along the way, there’s speculation that Pacquiao lost some power, or at least enough of it to cut his chances at stopping Marquez from good to negligible.

But Roach says Pacquiao was still an evolving fighter in 2004, meaning he didn’t possess the right hand he developed against David Diaz in 2008. Before their third fight in November, 2011, there were Pacquiao’s well-documented distractions, including marital problems and political campaigns.

“I still say Marquez hasn’t seen the best Manny,’’ Roach said. “This time he will.’’

Evidence of that, Roach said, came in training at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif. Pacquiao knocked down sparring partners four times. There were zero knockdowns in training for Pacquaio’s controversial loss to Tim Bradley. There were none in camp for his majority decision over Pacquiao about 13 months ago. Pacquiao hasn’t knocked down a sparring partner since training for his 12th-round stoppage of Miguel Cotto in 2009.

“Manny said he wanted to go back to the Manny of 2004,’’ Roach said. “I wasn’t sure that was possible. But he’s had four knockdowns in training. He’s on fire right now.’’

But Marquez has found a way to cool that fire with counter-punching that interrupts pace and prevents the instinctive Pacquiao from getting into a rhythm, an unstoppable roll. There’s also the simple issue of Marquez’ muscle-bound upper-body, thanks to controversial strength coach Angel Heredia.

Heredia, who joined Marquez for the third fight, testified in the Balco case that he provided performance-enhancers to Olympic track-and-field medalists. Heredia’s presence raises inevitable questions. They were there in 2011 and they are back a year later. Marquez, annoyed at all of the questioning, has told the media he is prepared to undergo testing. In the PED swamp, however, there are always rumors and suspicions. Ask Lance Armstrong.

Mexican promoter Fernando Beltran introduced Marquez in a way that only makes you wonder about the relationship with Heredia.

“Built like Hulk,’’ Beltran said.

It might be hard to knock down Hulk. It’ll be harder to knock him out.

But Roach has his own theory.

“You put on a lot of muscle for a reason,’’ Roach said. “If he wants to exchange, that’ll be better for us.’’

ESPN is presenting comprehensive multi-platform pre- and post-fight coverage of the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez 4 bout scheduled for December 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. ESPN Deportes and SportsCenter are on site to provide daily news and information.

As part of ESPN and HBO Sports’ multi-year boxing programming and marketing agreement, ESPN news and information platforms will have access to key content, including post-fight, in-ring interviews, HBO’s behind-the-scenes four-part series 24/7 Pacquiao-Marquez 4, and Marquez-Pacquiao non-televised undercard fights (ESPN3).

Pacquiao-Marquez 4 Coverage Across ESPN Platforms:

· ESPN Deportes’ Una Semana Desde Las Vegas (one week from Las Vegas)

Television:

o Golpe a Golpe: Wednesday, Dec. 5, at 8 p.m. and through the week, David Faitelson, Jose Ramon Fernandez, Bernardo Osuna, Jorge Eduardo Sanchez, and Kary Correa anchor from Las Vegas.

o Cronometro: Wednesday, Dec. 5 through Friday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m., Faitelson and Fernandez discuss the latest news in sports from Las Vegas, with special segments around the bout.

o Raza Deportiva & Nación ESPN: Wednesday, Dec. 5 through Friday, Dec. 7 at 10 a.m. & 10 p.m. respectively, Faitelson to host both shows from Las Vegas through the entire week.

o A Los Golpes: Monday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m., Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., David Faitelson and Osuna provide in-depth analysis and discussion of the results.

ESPN Deportes Radio: Miguel Angel Cebreros hosts radio boxing talk show A Los Golpes from Las Vegas and reports for ESPN Deportes Radio’s SportsCenter.

ESPNDeportes.com: Carlos Nava reports from Las Vegas. Content includes: historical analysis of both fighters, video blogs and podcasts from Vegas, press conference coverage, interviews, opinion, fight preview, post analysis, video recap and live updates.

24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4 (ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Classic, ESPN.com and online through WatchESPN.com, and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, see schedule below): HBO Sports’ all-access reality series, follows both fighters as they prepare for their fourth meeting.

Pacquiao-Marquez non-televised undercard fights (ESPN3; Saturday, Dec.8, 7 p.m.): ESPN’s multiscreen network accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold members.

· ESPN Boxing: Friday Night Fights Special Edition (ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN, Thursday, Dec. 6, at 10 p.m.): Studio host Bernardo Osuna will be on site at the Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas when Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas describe the action between ESPN.com’s No. 8 ranked Lightweight contender Ray Beltran (26-6, 17 KOs) and former Lightweight title challenger Ji-Hoon “Volcano” Kim (24-7, 18 KOs) in the 10-round main event. Alex Pombo and Delvin Rodriguez will call the fights for ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates (Friday Night Fights) with Leopoldo Gonzalez and Pablo Viruega in the studio.

Pacquiao-Marquez I-II-III (ESPN Deportes, ESPN Classic, see schedule below): re-airs of their first three fights.

· On-Site Presence Dec. 5-9 (SportsCenter): ESPN’s Friday Night Fights’ studio host Osuna and ESPN.com boxing writer Dan Rafael report.

· 1-on-1 with Pacquiao (SportsCenter): Jeremy Schaap interviews Pacquiao.

· Pacquiao-Marquez Press Conference (SportsCenter, ESPN3, ESPN Deportes, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 3 p.m.): will include Osuna interviews with each fighter.

· Live Interviews (SportsCenter Thursday, Dec. 6): Pacquaio 3:20 p.m.; Marquez 4:20 p.m.

· “Atlas Fight Plan” (ESPN’s Friday Night Fights; SportsCenter) analyst Teddy Atlas will illustrate what each fighter needs to do to win.

· Pacquiao-Marquez Weigh-In (SportsCenter, ESPN3, ESPN Deportes, Friday, Dec. 7, 6:15 p.m.): will include Osuna 1-on-1 interviews with each fighter and a Rafael “Instant Analysis.”

· Teddy Atlas Analysis (SportsCenter, Dec. 7-8) The Friday Night Fights analyst and former trainer will appear on shows previewing the fight.

· Pre-fight Reports (SportsCenter, ESPN Deportes’ Golpe a Golpe, Saturday, Dec. 8,): Osuna and Rafael report live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena; in-locker room reports.

· Round-by-Round Scoring (SportsCenter, throughout the fight): Rafael’s scoring at the end of each round.

· Post-fight Coverage (SportsCenter, ESPN Deportes’ Golpe a Golpe): will include a Rafael “Instant Analysis”; Osuna interviews with each fighter; live press conference coverage; expanded highlights.

· #TeamPacquiao vs. #TeamMarquez (@ESPN Twitter and ESPN Facebook; Fight week): ESPN will ask its Twitter followers why they’re for #TeamPacquiao or #TeamMarquez, and re-Tweet the best replies; share Facebook cover images and Twitter avatars that announce someone as either #TeamPacquiao or #TeamMarquez.

· ESPN The Magazine (newsstands Friday, November 30): Schaap’s interview with Pacquiao is featured in ESPN The Magazine’s “Interview” issue highlighting 2012 newsmakers. Schaap discussed his interview with Pacquiao in detail with The Mag’s Editor in Chief Chad Millman on his weekly podcast.

· ESPN Radio and ESPN Los Angeles 710: ESPN Radio will present news leading up to the fight, as well as SportsCenter updates during the fight and immediate results; 710’s Max & Marcellus (3-7 p.m. PT, M-F) will originate from Las Vegas Thursday and Friday.

· ESPN.com

o Fight reviews: Pacquiao and Marquez provide analysis of their first three fights, and then look ahead to No. 4.

o Fight Credential: An all-access pass to ESPN.com’s prefight, live and postfight coverage.

Cover It Live: ESPN.com’s live blog of fight-night action from the MGM Grand on Dec. 8.

· Marquez 1-on-1 (ESPNFrontRow.com, December 7): Marquez discusses (In Spanish) the fight and doubling as an ESPN Deportes analyst for ESPN’s blog site.

Schedule of Pacquiao-Marquez 4 Coverage Across ESPN Platforms:

Date
Time (ET)
Coverage
Platform

Wed, Dec 5
3 p.m.
Pacquiao-Marquez Press Conference
ESPN3, SportsCenter, ESPN Deportes

7:30 p.m.
24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4

Episode 2
ESPN Deportes

8 p.m.
24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4

Episode 1
ESPN Classic

8:30 p.m.
24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4

Episode 2
ESPN Classic

9 p.m.
Pacquiao vs. Marquez I
ESPN Classic

Thur, Dec 6
3:20 and 4:20
Live Pacquiao-Marquez Interviews
SportsCenter

7 p.m.
24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4

Episode 2
ESPN Classic

7:30 p.m.
24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4

Episode 3
ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes

8 p.m.
Pacquiao vs. Marquez II
ESPN Classic

10 p.m.
ESPN Boxing: Friday Night Fights Special Edition
ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN

Fri, Dec 7
12 a.m.
Pacquiao vs. Marquez III
ESPN Classic

1 a.m.
24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4

Episode 2
ESPN Classic

1:30 a.m.
24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4

Episode 3
ESPN Classic

4 a.m.
24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4

Episode 1
ESPN Deportes

4:30 a.m.
24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4

Episode 2
ESPN Deportes

5 a.m.
24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4

Episode 3
ESPN Deportes

In the morning
Marquez 1-on-1

ESPNFrontRow.com
ESPNFrontRow.com

12 p.m.
Pacquiao vs. Marquez I
ESPN Deportes

1 p.m.
Pacquiao vs. Marquez II
ESPN Deportes

2 p.m.
Pacquiao vs. Marquez III
ESPN Deportes

6 p.m.
Pacquiao- Marquez Live Weigh-In
ESPN3, SportsCenter

7 p.m.
Pacquiao vs. Marquez III
ESPN Classic

Sat, Dec 8
12:30 a.m.
24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4

Episode 3
ESPN2, WatchESPN

1 a.m.
24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4

Episode 4
ESPN2, WatchESPN

3 p.m.
Pacquiao vs. Marquez I
ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes

4 p.m.
Pacquiao vs. Marquez II
ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes

5 p.m.
Pacquiao vs. Marquez III
ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes

6 p.m.
24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4

Episode 1
ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes

6:30 p.m.
24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4

Episode 2
ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes

7 p.m.
24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4

Episode 3
ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes

7 p.m.
Pacquiao- Marquez Undercard
ESPN3

7:30 p.m.
24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4

Episode 4
ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes

7:30 p.m.
Pre-Fight Reports
SportsCenter

8 p.m.
Golpe a Golpe live pre-fight show
ESPN Deportes

Throughout the fight
Round-by-Round Scoring
SportsCenter

Sun, Dec. 9
Following the fight
Post-Fight Coverage
SportsCenter

2 a.m.
Golpe a Golpe live post-fight show
ESPN Deportes

Hollywood, Calif.– Congresswoman-Elect Tulsi Gabbard today presented World Boxing Champion and Philippines Congressman Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao with a flag that was flown over the Hawaii State Capitol, along with an honorary certificate.

“We have many tough challenges that our respective countries are facing, and our commitment to working together is a symbol of the unity that is necessary in order for our country and global community to move forward,” Gabbard said during an appearance at Wild Card Boxing Club, Pacquiao’s training facility in Hollywood, California.

“I was proud to support Tulsi during her campaign because she stands for the people and will fight for their interests,” Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao appeared in print and radio ads for Gabbard during the weeks leading up to the August primary.

“I was impressed with her record of service and her deep ties to the Filipino community,” Pacquiao said. “I wasn’t surprised by her landslide victories, because she’s also a fighter. I am convinced she will make Hawai’i proud.”

Gabbard said she was humbled by Pacquiao’s early endorsement because he is both a national hero and someone who has also chosen to serve the public in elective office.

“As Congressional members in our two allied countries, we are committed to working together on issues that are of concern to both of our communities – issues like eliminating human trafficking, immigration reform, and creating jobs to increase the economic prosperity and quality of life for the people in our communities,” Gabbard said.

About Tulsi:

As a member of the Hawai‘i National Guard, Tulsi Gabbard served two tours of duty in the Middle East. She was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for her service and currently serves as a Captain.

A Democrat, Tulsi was the youngest person elected in Hawai‘i history, when in 2002 at the age of 21, she won a Hawai‘i State House seat. Two years later, Tulsi gave up her position in the Legislature to voluntarily join her fellow soldiers being deployed to a war zone in Iraq. Between her two deployments to the Middle East, Tulsi served as an aide to U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka. In 2010 she was elected to the Honolulu City Council where she chaired the Safety, Economic Development, and Government Affairs committee. On November 6, 2012, she was elected by the people of Hawaii to represent Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District, and is one of the first female combat veterans to ever be elected to Congress.

I did not expect to look forward to this week’s fourth match between Filipino Manny Pacquiao and Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez. I submitted my credential request, booked my flight to Las Vegas and reserved my hotel room for Dec. 8 under a spell of grim determination, not euphoria; this would make a tetralogy of the rivalry for which this era of prizefighting will be remembered, and I should witness it if I am able. I am now excited, though, because of an unlikely source – the third episode of HBO’s “24/7” program – and its subversion of a usually reliable imperviousness to hype. We’ll return.

What is likeliest to happen Saturday is another close fight, but one Pacquiao rightfully wins with hustle, followed by a set of scorecards that give Marquez a comfortable decision. Pacquiao has lost his novelty in Las Vegas, and while Marquez ever had little, the Mexican has at least gone to the trouble of reengineering his body in a Vegas-like way, erecting in just 15 months a breathtaking spectacle nature will raze in five years (or at least by the time Marquez arrrives in Canastota). That and previous scoring shenanigans make Marquez, for once, a more appealing figure in Las Vegas than Pacquiao.

In his exhaustive reevaluation of art history, British writer Paul Johnson opines of this week’s host city: “Nothing in Las Vegas is built to last except the roulette wheels. It is a city which, architecturally, is always in the immediate present, never in the past or future. It is Ephemeropolis.” In Johnson’s sense, neither Pacquiao nor Marquez is very much an Ephemeropolis fighter. Both have, in their ways, endeavored to be more permanent figures than Las Vegas generally appreciates; their careers cannot be divided in chapters named after trainers the way Oscar De La Hoya’s can be, they haven’t the shamelessness or salesmanship of American heavyweights, and they both lack Floyd Mayweather’s capacity for reinvention. Both are for the most part beneficiaries of a meritocracy, and while each now comes to the logical ends of his meriting millions of dollars to fight, both have, with very few exceptions, deserved the fortunes they’ve amassed as entertainers who combat honestly the men put in front of them.

If you did not see Saturday’s episode of HBO’s “24/7” program, if after the preceding week’s absurd Filipino donut-vending and Mexican jumpy-jump partying, you vowed never to watch another moment of the “24/7” franchise, you are, of course, forgiven, though also surprisingly unfortunate. Saturday’s episode was an unpredicted return to what camp footage made the series’ 2007 introduction compelling. It wasn’t choreographed handpad tricks and portentous stretching, either, but actual punching in combination, with the camera acting more as reporter than novelist.

Saturday’s episode did an uncharacteristically good job of examining the relationships between the fighters and their monkish trainers, with Freddie Roach admitting and then recanting that Pacquiao has become the boss of his camps, a degree of control, one can extrapolate, inversely proportionate to the quality of Pacquiao’s fighting since his 2009 stoppage of Miguel Cotto. More interesting still was a very short clip of Nacho Beristain giving Marquez, whom Beristain has trained for more than 20 years and made this generation’s master of efficient motion, a direct instruction:

“Throw right uppercut, hook, straight right,” Beristain said, and then he raised his finger as an instructor. “But parallel, Juan, the shoulders, principally (when throwing) the hook.”

There was no question who was the boss so long as Marquez wore gloves, a supplicant position in which Marquez voluntarily and fully places himself and Pacquiao once did more than he does today. Roach, by episode’s end, committed to restoring balance in his gym, but one could see Pacquiao’s annoyance with interruptions of his private rhythm and strategizing. Roach, in an enthusiastic pursuit of wealth and celebrity, has seen his relationship with Pacquiao revised while taking on charges like Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., unwilling to submit long to privation, and Amir Khan, unable to succeed with any punch-to-hurt curriculum, such that aficionados, and Roach himself, now openly question Roach’s primacy among trainers.

While there is little doubt Roach understands what Pacquiao must do to beat Marquez well as Beristain does, there does not appear a same technical fluency between Roach and Pacquiao as between Beristain and Marquez. Some of that is inevitable, with Roach and Pacquiao not sharing a native language like Beristain and Marquez do, but much of it is this: Roach did not teach Pacquiao how to box; he took a physical prodigy and improved him. Beristain, conversely, can query from his mind’s database the exact image of a teenage Marquez learning where to put his feet on the blue mat, and phrase precisely a problem whose solving will have Marquez position Marquez how Beristain wishes him.

Expect little new from either man Saturday. Though Pacquiao’s reflexes and conditioning will not be what they were in 2009 they will remain superior enough to outbusy Marquez if he so chooses, and that is Pacquiao’s best way of winning a third decision, on an objective scorecard. Marquez will be exactly what he was in fights I, II and III, and if he repeats his performance from 13 months ago, it says here, he’ll win comfortably on official scorecards. The only possibility for novelty this match holds is if Marquez, now physically enhanced enough to redden all faces at the Nevada State Athletic Commission, hurts Pacquiao. There is no better closer in boxing than Marquez – and a tetralogy that ended with Pacquiao felled thrice would be historic in its symmetry first of all.

That is too unlikely. So I’ll take Pacquiao, this time, in a fight the judges score for Marquez.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com.

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (November 29, 2012) – With the Manny Pacquiao – Juan Manuel Márquez 4 welterweight rumble projected to be a sellout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Top Rank announced today that the pay-per-view portion of the card would be available in Las Vegas via closed-circuit at the following MGM Resorts International properties: ARIA, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo, New York-New York and Circus Circus.

Closed circuit tickets to Pacquiao-Marquez 4 priced at $50, not including applicable service charges, go on sale This Monday! December 3 at 10 a.m. PT. All seats will be general admission and will be available at each individual property’s box office outlets.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions, Zanfer Promotions, Márquez Boxing, Tecate, Wonderful Pistachios, Cinemax ‘Banshee,’ Smart Communications, Universal Pictures ‘Django Unchained’ and MGM Grand, remaining MGM Grand Garden Arena tickets to Pacquiao-Márquez 4 are priced at $1,200, $900 and $400. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at all MGM Resorts box offices and online at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

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All-new editions of HBO’s all-access reality series 24/7 PACQUIAO/MARQUEZ 4 debut on Saturday, December 1 (9:30-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) – while the finale debuts Friday, December 7 (8:00-8:30 p.m. ET/PT), the night before the high-stakes welterweight showdown. All four episodes will have multiple replay dates on HBO, and the series will also be available on HBO On Demand and HBO GO®.

Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs), of the Philippines, and Juan Manuel Márquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs), of México, who have won world titles in 12 weight divisions between them, will go mano a mano and toe-to-toe, for the fourth time, in a 12-round welterweight battle, Saturday, December 8, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

The Pacquiao vs. Márquez 4 telecast, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 92 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. Follow HBO Boxing news at www.hbo.com and at www.facebook.com/hboboxing. Use the hashtag #PacMarquez to join the conversation on Twitter. For Pacquiao vs. Márquez updates, log on to www.toprank.com or www.hbo.com.

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. (November 28, 2012) – He came, he starred, he conquered. And This Friday! November 30, at Midnight ET/PT, on ABC, he will be RERUN! Fighter of the Decade and boxing’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter and box office attraction Congressman MANNY “PacMan” PACQUIAO took time from training for his upcoming rumble with three-division world champion Juan Manuel Márquez to make another boffo appearance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! last Wednesday night. The response by fans and the word of mouth on the interview and especially the spectacularly funny spoof of HBO’s all-access reality series 24/7 — Pacquiao/Rodriguez 4 24/7 — spurred the show’s unusually fast encore airing of the episode. (Photos of Pacquiao and Kimmel attached. Please credit: ABC)

After catching up with Manny on his life and training for his upcoming high-stakes welterweight battle against Márquez, Kimmel announced Manny’s next fight — against sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez — with his own all-access unreality segment, Pacquiao/Rodriguez 4 24/7, which also featured Rodriguez’s trainer Yehya, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum and Hall of Fame trainer World-Famous Freddie Roach.

Pacquiao-Rodriguez 4 24/7 Clip: http://youtu.be/r0qVfibFdmo

This was Manny’s seventh consecutive appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in as many pay-per-view promotions, dating back to November 3, 2009, when he knocked out Miguel Cotto to claim the welterweight title. That 2009 appearance also marked Manny’s U.S. network TV debut, which has since led to a multitude of network television, radio and magazine features, including, CBS’ 60 Minutes, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, ABC’s Nightline, FOX News Channel’s On The Record With Greta Van Susteren, CNN’s America Morning, NPR’s Morning Edition and Weekend Edition, Playboy, Sports Illustrated and cover stories in TIME and Newsweek.

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Pacquiao and Roach are in deep training for Act Four of their exciting and fistoric rivalry with Juan Manuel Márquez. Pacquiao and Márquez, who have won world titles in 12 weight divisions between them, will go mano a mano and toe-to-toe in a high-stakes welterweight showdown, Saturday, December 8, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions, Zanfer Promotions, Márquez Boxing, Tecate, Wonderful Pistachios, Cinemax ‘Banshee,’ Smart Communications, Universal Pictures ‘Django Unchained’ and MGM Grand, Pacquiao-Márquez 4 will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®.

All-new editions of HBO’s all-access reality series 24/7 PACQUIAO/MARQUEZ 4 debut on Saturday, December 1 (9:30-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) – while the finale debuts Friday, December 7 (8:00-8:30 p.m. ET/PT), the night before the high-stakes welterweight showdown. All four episodes will have multiple replay dates on HBO, and the series will also be available on HBO On Demand and HBO GO®.

Remaining tickets to Pacquiao-Márquez 4 are priced at $1,200, $900, $600, $400, and $200. Ticket sales at $1,200, $900, $600 and $400 are limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $200 are limited to two (2) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

The Pacquiao-Márquez 4 telecast, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 92 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. Follow HBO Boxing news at www.hbo.com and at www.facebook.com/hboboxing. Use the hashtag #PacMarquez to join the conversation on Twitter. For Pacquiao vs. Márquez updates, log on to www.toprank.com or www.hbo.com.

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (November 26, 2012) — The Manny Pacquiao-Juan Mánuel Márquez 4 pay-per-view undercard will feature three world championship battles, the professional debut of the gem of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team, and a little Snooki on the side.

Promoted by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, who will be making his promotional debut, undefeated former World Featherweight Champion YURIORKIS GAMBOA, of Cuba, will take on Top-10 contender MICHAEL FARENAS, of the Philippines, for the World Boxing Association (WBA) interim super featherweight title; JAVIER FORTUNA of the Dominican Republic will rumble with Snooki-promoted PATRICK HYLAND of Ireland, in a battle of undefeated contenders, with the WBA interim featherweight title at stake; International Boxing Federation (IBF) lightweight champion MIGUEL VAZQUEZ of México will defend his crown against undefeated Top-Five contender MERCITO GESTA of the Philippines; and the highly-decorated Méxican-American amateur sensation and 2012 U.S. Olympian JOSE RAMÍREZ, of Avenal, Calif, will be making his professional debut in a four-round lightweight bout.

The six professional warriors boast a combined record of 159-6-5 (95 KOs) – a winning percentage of 94%.

Gamboa (21-0, 16 KO), the former world featherweight champion who won Olympic gold in 2004 for his native Cuba and now resides in Miami, Fla., will make his 2012 debut having won eight of his previous 11 fights by stoppage. He boasts world title victories over Orlando Salido, Jonathan Barros, Jorge Solis and Rogers Mtagwa. Farenas (33-3-4, 25 KOs), of Paranque City, Philippines, is managed by former two-division world champion and Filipino icon Gerry Peñalosa, trained by Pacquiao’s assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez and promoted by Pacquiao’s MP Promotions. With only one loss in his previous 29 bouts, 17 of his last 24 victories have come by way of knockout. Farena enters this fight after challenging undefeated WBA super featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama, on July 16, in a hotly-contested fight was stopped in the third round when the defending champion suffered a bad cut over his right eye due to a head butt. This was declared a technical draw.

Fortuna (20-0, 15 KOs), of La Romana, Dominican Republic, has won five of his last seven bouts by knockout. The former WBC Youth featherweight champion, who is promoted by Sampson Boxing, enters his first world championship fight rated No. 2 by the WBA.

Hyland (27-0, 12 KOs), of Dublin, Ireland, is promoted by MTV “Jersey Shore” star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and her company Team Snooki Boxing. A former Irish and IBF International featherweight champion, The Pride of Ireland has won all three of his fights this year en route to his career-high No. 6 rating in the WBA.

Vazquez (32-3, 13 KOs), of Guadalajara, México, captured the vacant IBF lightweight title in 2010 winning a unanimous decision over Ji-Hoon Kim. He has successfully defended his crown four times during his two-year reign, most recently against Marvin Quintero on October 27. Gesta (26-0-1, 14 KOs), of Cebu, Philippines, has been touted as the boxing heir-apparent to Pacquiao. He hasn’t gone the distance in a fight in over a year having won all his 2012 bouts by knockout. He is currently world-rated No. 5 by the IBF.

Ramírez, 20, who began boxing when he was 8, surpassed Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Shane Mosley to become USA Boxing’s all-time lightweight record holder. The No. 1-rated amateur lightweight in the U.S., Ramírez’s resume boasts 145 victories and 11 National titles. His trophy case glistens with gold including: U.S. Olympic Team Trials Champion (2012), National Champion (2010-2011), Junior Olympic National Champion (2010-2011) and USA Boxing National Champion (2011.)

All-new editions of HBO’s all-access reality series 24/7 PACQUIAO/MARQUEZ 4 debut on Saturday, December 1 (9:30-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) – while the finale debuts Friday, December 7 (8:00-8:30 p.m. ET/PT), the night before the high-stakes welterweight showdown. All four episodes will have multiple replay dates on HBO, and the series will also be available on HBO On Demand and HBO GO®.

Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs), of the Philippines, and Márquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs), of México, who have won world titles in 12 weight divisions between them, will go mano a mano and toe-to-toe, for the fourth time, in a 12-round welterweight battle, Saturday, December 8, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions, Zanfer Promotions, Márquez Boxing, Tecate, Wonderful Pistachios, Cinemax ‘Banshee,’ Smart Communications, Universal Pictures ‘Django Unchained’ and MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, remaining tickets to Pacquiao-Márquez 4 are priced at $1,200, $900, $600, $400, and $200. Ticket sales at $1,200, $900, $600 and $400 are limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $200 are limited to two (2) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

The Pacquiao vs. Márquez 4 telecast, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 92 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. Follow HBO Boxing news at www.hbo.com and at www.facebook.com/hboboxing. Use the hashtag #PacMarquez to join the conversation on Twitter. For Pacquiao vs. Márquez updates, log on to www.toprank.com or www.hbo.com.

One loss, perhaps a single punch, might be all that separates Manny Pacquiao from a full-time political career.

If – and it’s a very big if – he prevails for a fourth time against Juan Manuel Marquez on Dec. 8, however, the Filipino Congressman figures to fight two more times.

“Yes, I will continue to fight through next year,’’ Pacquiao said during a conference call a couple days before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Without any unforeseen changes in a schedule that has included one bout in spring and another in autumn, Pacquiao might be retired a year from now on a day when he can say thanks for no more questions about Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The Mayweather question was there, as it always is, during the international call. There’s not much more that Pacquiao can say. His quick response about his plans for 2013 with or without Mayweather, however, left little doubt. If victory continues to elude Marquez in a third rematch, chances at Mayweather-Pacquiao are down to two. The blueprint for boxing’s version of a fiscal cliff is there.

It looks as if Pacquiao, who already offered to take the lesser share of a 45-55 split, has two options if Mayweather finds another reason to say no. Amend that. Mayweather hasn’t said much of anything lately.

Miguel Cotto and Brandon Rios look to be the leading candidates for Pacquiao’s farewell year. Like Pacquiao, Cotto also has to win. He faces a problematic fight with Austin Trout, who could derail hopes for a rematch of his TKO loss to Pacquiao.

“Yes, there is a chance,’’ Pacquiao said of the rematch possibility with Cotto, whom he picks to beat Trout on Dec. 1 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. “I think Cotto will win the fight. Not sure if by decision or knockout. Better chance for knockout, but not sure.’’

Then, there’s Rios, whose energy and go-for-broke style in his victory over Mike Alvarado in the likely Fight of the Year moved him to the front of the line. It also would be an easy one to make. Bob Arum promotes both Rios and Pacquiao.

Another option might be there if Pacquiao-Marquez IV at Las Vegas MGM Grand ends in more controversy, which might be the best bet of all. Anybody ready for a fifth? Arum called it unlikely, yet did recall that Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta fought six times.

“I don’t know,’’ Pacquiao said. “It’s hard to imagine a fourth one.’’

But not as hard to imagine as Pacquiao-Mayweather.

HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. (November 21, 2012) – Rocky Balboa, eat your heart out!

In a battle of pound for pound box office attractions, eight-division world champion and Fighter of the Decade CONGRESSMAN MANNY PACQUIAO (@MannyPacquiao) and television’s late-night comedy king JIMMY KIMMEL (@JimmyKimmel) will go mano a mallo for the seventh time – more than any other active fighter — in their series of entertaining appearances together dating back to November 3, 2009. Pacquiao will appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (@JimmyKimmelLive / #JKL) Tonight ! Wednesday, November 21, on ABC, beginning at Midnight ET/PT. Sold out for weeks, Wednesday’s episode will feature comedian/actor Tim Allen and a musical performance by Flo Rida.

Kimmel, the self-proclaimed “lucky rabbit’s foot” of Pacman, has had the Filipino icon on his show before every fight for the past three years, with the first appearance taking place just one week before Pacquiao’s successful challenge of then-WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto. It also marked Pacquiao’s late night network television debut. It was on that night that Pacquiao unveiled his singing chops, belting out a rendition of the Dan Hill-penned hit ballad “Sometimes When We Touch,” a song Hill and Pacquiao later remade. The single rose to No. 7 on the Secondary Adult Contemporary Chart as measured by the Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report (FMQB), where it spent four weeks in the Top-10 during the summer of 2011.

Pacquiao (53-4-2, 38 KOs), the lone congressional representative of the Sarangani province in the Philippines, is in deep training for Act Four of his exciting and fistoric rivalry with Márquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs), of México City. Pacquiao and Márquez, who have won world titles in 12 weight divisions between them, will go mano a mano and toe-to-toe in a high-stakes welterweight showdown, Saturday, December 8, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions, Zanfer Promotions, Márquez Boxing, Tecate and MGM Grand, Pacquiao-Márquez 4 will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®.

All-new editions of HBO’s all-access reality series 24/7 PACQUIAO/MARQUEZ 4 debut on Saturdays – November 24 (12:15-12:45 a.m. ET/PT), and December 1 (9:30-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) – while the finale debuts Friday, December 7 (8:00-8:30 p.m. ET/PT), the night before the high-stakes welterweight showdown. All four episodes will have multiple replay dates on HBO, and the series will also be available on HBO On Demand and HBO GO®.

Remaining tickets to Pacquiao-Márquez 4 are priced at $1,200, $900, $600, $400, and $200. Ticket sales at $1,200, $900, $600 and $400 are limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $200 are limited to two (2) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

The Pacquiao vs. Márquez 4 telecast, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 92 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. Follow HBO Boxing news at www.hbo.com and at www.facebook.com/hboboxing. Use the hashtag #PacMarquez to join the conversation on Twitter. For Pacquiao vs. Márquez updates, log on to www.toprank.com or www.hbo.com.

BOB ARUM: The reports we are getting from the closed circuit exhibitors and the foreign broadcasters are very enthusiastic so we’re anticipating a tremendous event on December 8th. It will be a fight that will go into the annals of boxing history because these gentlemen that fought three previous times and over the course of the timeline, this fourth fight will be the best fight of all.

FREDDIE ROACH: We have a tough fight ahead of us. We know that Marquéz in a great counter-puncher. We are working on things to defeat that counter-puncher style. Manny is looking great in training. I like what I see. He is where I want him to be right now. His focus is where it has not been for some time. He is very focused for this fight and I think it’s going to be the best fight yet.

MANNY PACQUIAO: Training camp has been going great. I have really been training hard for this fight.

Do you plan on going for the knockout in this fight?

MANNY PACQUIAO: Right now my mind is focused on being more aggressive for this fight. If there is a chance in the ring during the fight, why not make the fight easy (knock him out) if I have the opportunity?

FREDDIE ROACH: The thing is Marquéz fought the fight at a slow pace the last time. We plan to fight the fight at a much faster pace this time like we did in the first fight in the early rounds – that’s where we had the most success. Going by all the tapes we have watched, we do our best when we are more aggressive. More hand speed. We are going to use a lot of that.

What do you think if the referee just would have stopped that first fight after the three first-round knockdowns?

FREDDIE ROACH: The thing is, the referee was very experienced and he made a good call. Now we are in the fourth fight, and Nacho Béristain is my big rival and we need a big win here.

Do you have any kind of relationship with Márquez outside of the ring?

MANNY PACQUIAO: No, we are just doing our job in the ring. We have a job to do, to do our best and make the people happy. I never hate my opponent outside of the ring. It is just my job to fight and there is nothing personal. I guess we are kind of friends because I look at all of my opponents as a friend.

Did the two of you sing a duet in México?

MANNY PACQUIAO: Yes, we did sing a song together at TV Azteca for a live show in México City. I remember that I was more on key than he was.

Are you worried about Márquez being stronger?

MANNY PACQUIAO: Our strategy for this fight is to be more aggressive. Develop strength more and focus on speed. I am not worried about his strength.

FREDDIE ROACH: I don’t think it is a factor. I don’t think muscle-men have a better chin. If anything, I think if you put a lot of muscle he will be a little slower than he used to be and we are going to take advantage of that.

Do you feel extra pressure considering [recent losses during] the last couple fights?

FREDDIE ROACH: No, I just do the job the best I can to get Manny ready for this fight. I thought Manny won the last fight [against Timothy Bradley] 11 rounds to 1 so I don’t really consider that a loss. So it’s just business as usual.

MANNY PACQUIAO: NO.

If you can’t get Floyd Mayweather into the ring next year will you continue to fight?

MANNY PACQUIAO: Yes, I will continue to fight through next year.

What is your motivation to fight Márquez?

MANNY PACQUIAO: I am giving him a chance. I am giving him a chance to prove he can win the fight because he thought he has won all three and he keeps talking about it. So it is very important to me, to win this fight, especially since Márquez really wanted this fight.

What is the difference in the two of you between the first fight and now?

MANNY PACQUIAO: We are much more experienced now. But it is not harder because we know each other so well in the ring.

Will you be able to be as aggressive now as you were a few years ago?

MANNY PACQUIAO: Right now I am training with more aggression and more intensity in the ring and that is our focus right now.

How do you plan to be more aggressive?

MANNY PACQUIAO: Yes, that’s why I train hard for this fight. More action, more condition in the ring, which I have been doing in all of training camp. I always train hard, but this time is a little harder. Harder and more punches, and some changes. We have been throwing more combinations, and changing our strategy – in movement. So it will be a little different than the last one.

Do you see a future fight against Cotto? Who will win Cotto vs. Trout?

MANNY PACQUIAO: Yes, there is a chance. I think Cotto will win the fight. Not sure if by decision or knockout. Better chance for knockout but not sure.

What are the best attributes of Márquez?

He is a good counter-puncher. He is very patient and sits back and waits for action. If I waited for him to throw the punches first, the fight would be boring. That’s why I have always been the one to make the fight between us.

Why have these fights been so close?

BOB ARUM: They are close because they are close. There was controversy after the last fight and they are matched very well together. Both of them will be looking for different strategies this time so that the winner will be more conclusive. That’s what they are saying – each of them will be more aggressive and each of them will be taking the fight to the other. That may be a disadvantage for Juan Manuel whose biggest advantage is counter-punching but he’s going to be a lot more aggressive as well.

Can you envision a fifth fight?

MANNY PACQUIAO: I don’t know. It’s hard to imagine a fourth one.

BOB ARUM: There is a possibility. Not likely but a possibility. Robinson and LaMotta fought 6 times.

Is there any strategy you want to change from the last three fights?

MANNY PACQUIAO: I will try not to fight as slow at the end of this fight as I did in the last three fights. That is my focus now. I want to finish stronger in this fight.

Do you feel added pressure to be better than the last couple of fights?

MANNY PACQUIAO: I don’t feel any extra pressure for this fight. I chose to fight him.

Juan Manuel is nervous about the judges…

MANNY PACQUIAO: I don’t have any say in the judges. I don’t pick the judges. I am an athlete and train hard to fight well in the ring. Selecting the referee and the judges is the job of the commission.

In closing…

BOB ARUM: I am certain that we will see a fight that is different from the other three.

MANNY PACQUIAO: I want to say thank you to all the fans and hope that you watch the fight on December 8 between Juan Manuel Márquez and me and it’s going to be a good fight in the ring.

**************************************

All-new editions of HBO’s all-access reality series 24/7 PACQUIAO/MÁRQUEZ 4 debut on Saturdays – November 24 (12:15-12:45 a.m. ET/PT), and December 1 (9:30-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) – while the finale debuts Friday, December 7 (8:00-8:30 p.m. ET/PT), the night before the high-stakes welterweight showdown. All four episodes will have multiple replay dates on HBO, and the series will also be available on HBO On Demand and HBO GO®.

Remaining tickets to Pacquiao-Márquez 4 are priced at $1,200, $900, $600, $400, and $200. Ticket sales at $1,200, $900, $600 and $400 are limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $200 are limited to two (2) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

The Pacquiao vs. Márquez 4 telecast, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 92 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. Follow HBO Boxing news at www.hbo.com and at www.facebook.com/hboboxing. Use the hashtag #PacMarquez to join the conversation on Twitter. For Pacquiao vs. Márquez updates, log on to www.toprank.com or www.hbo.com.

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (November 9, 2012) – Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum and Todd duBoef announced the signing of Méxican-American amateur sensation JOSE RAMÍREZ to an exclusive long-term promotional agreement with Top Rank today. Ramírez, arguably the crown jewel of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team, will make his professional debut, in a four-round lightweight bout, on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao – Juan Manuel Márquez 4 welterweight event, Saturday, December 8, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Pacquiao-Márquez 4 will be produced and distributed Live on HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

“I feel very blessed to have the team that I have around me and that Top Rank will make my team even stronger,” said Ramírez. “I feel I’m in great hands with Top Rank and they care about their fighters.”

“We are ecstatic to sign Jose Ramírez to a promotional contract,” said Arum, Top Rank’s founder and CEO. “We considered Jose to be the leading prospect among the fighters comprising the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team.”

“After structuring one of the most complex and detailed agreements, we are thrilled to include the premier 2012 U.S. Olympian to our Top Rank stable,” said duBoef, president of Top Rank. “We have followed Jose’s highly-decorated amateur career and look forward to paving and developing a path for his professional career.”

“I am excited about our relationship with Top Rank because they believe in Jose and they have faith that Jose will excel in the sport,” said Armando Mancinas, coach and co-manager of Ramírez. “Their history of developing fighters should prove beneficial for Team Ramírez.”

“After countless meetings, months of research and preparation it was decided that as Top Rank raised boxing’s superstars in the past that they are poised to do the same with the next generation of the sport’s elite,” said Rick Mirigian, Ramírez’s co-manager and deal agent. “The structure, stability, partnerships and experience To Rank has in place is second to none. They stepped up and showed they share the same belief in Ramírez as we do and historically they don’t just sign anyone as they deal in quality, not quantity. I look forward to working close with them to create the sport’s next superstar and usher in a new generation of boxing.”

Ramírez, 20, who began boxing when he was 8, and hails from Avenal, Calif., surpassed Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Shane Mosley to become USA Boxing’s all-time lightweight record holder. The No. 1-rated amateur lightweight in the U.S., Ramírez’s resume boasts 145 victories and 11 National titles. His trophy case glistens with gold including: U.S. Olympic Team Trials Champion (2012), National Champion (2010-2011), Junior Olympic National Champion (2010-2011) and USA Boxing National Champion (2011.)

“Jose’s fan-friendly style of fighting – always on the attack and throwing lots of punches – is a perfect fit for Top Rank,” said Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler. “We have very high expectations for him.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com former world champion Yuriorkis Gamboa will take on Miguel Beltran Jr. for a vacant Jr. Lightweight title.

Other bouts to be shown on the HBO PPV undercard will be IBF Lightweight champion Miguel Vazquez taking on Mercito Gesta as well as Javier Fortuna battling Snooki Promoted Patrick Hyland for a vacant Featherweight bout

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

LOS ANGELES (October 27, 2012) – Pacquiao Nation Unite!

Boxing’s Commander-In Chief and Fighter of the Decade, Congressman MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO, arrives in the U.S. Tonight! Saturday, October 27. Pacquiao and his team are scheduled to land at LAX International on Philippine Airlines Flight 102 at 8:05 p.m. PT.

Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs), boxing’s only eight-division world champion and the lone congressional representative from the Sarangani province in the Philippines, will begin his six-week U.S. training camp, on Monday, October 29, at Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif. Pacman will be gearing up for the eagerly anticipated fourth act of his fistoric rivalry with professional nemesis and four-division world champion Juan Manuel Márquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs), of México City.

The Pacquiao vs. Márquez 4 welterweight collision will take place Saturday, December 10, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nev., and will be produced and distributed Live by HBO Pay-Per-View®.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions, Zanfer Promotions, Márquez Boxing, Tecate and MGM Grand, remaining tickets to Pacquiao vs. Márquez 4 are priced at $1,200, $900, $600, $400, and $200. Ticket sales at $1,200, $900, $600 and $400 are limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $200 are limited to two (2) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets also will be available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

The Pacquiao vs. Márquez 4 telecast, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 92 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. Follow HBO Boxing news at www.hbo.com and at www.facebook.com/hboboxing. Use the hashtag #PacMarquez to join the conversation on Twitter. For Pacquiao vs. Márquez updates, log on to www.toprank.com or www.hbo.com.

Manny Pacquiao has signed a contract extension with promotional gian Top Rank through 2014 according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“Manny’s contract with Top Rank runs out on Dec. 31, 2013, and we’ve extended the contract for yet another year, to Dec. 31, 2014,” Arum said before the weigh-in for Saturday’s Nonito Donaire-Toshiaki Nishioka junior featherweight championship fight.

“I’ll confirm that Manny has signed an extension,” Michael Koncz, Pacquiao’s adviser, told ESPN.com. “The extension was done very quickly. A few phone calls back and forth, and it was done. It was a 10-minute thing at the most.

“Manny and I went through the contract before he flew home to the Philippines (after the media tour), but the discussions were between me and Arum, and then maybe two or three phone calls between me and Manny, and the extension was done in a matter of 10 minutes. It was not a lengthy process.”

“I never comment on Manny’s money. There was a bonus involved, but I’m not going to disclose the amount,” Koncz said.

“He said he’s happy for the deal and happy for the bonus, but there was no way he was going to leave me until his career was over,” Arum said. “It wasn’t like he was putting any pressure on me (for the extension). I don’t want to give that impression. He certainly wasn’t.”

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (October 1, 2012) – Congressman MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO and JUAN MANUEL MÁRQUEZ, two of boxing’s top pound for pound fighters, are proving to be two of boxing’s top pound for pound box office attractions too!

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum announced today that over 13,000 tickets were sold during the opening weekend making Act 4 of their fistoric rivalry the biggest seller of their amazing series.

“We are ecstatic with the response,” said Arum, who noted that less than 3,000 tickets remain.

Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs), of the Philippines, and Márquez (54-6-1 (39 KOs), of México, who have won world titles in 12 weight divisions between them, will go mano a mano and toe-to-toe in a 12-round welterweight battle, Saturday, December 8, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions, Zanfer Promotions, Márquez Boxing, Tecate and MGM Grand Hotel & Casino tickets to Pacquiao-Márquez 4 are priced at $1,200, $900, $600, $400, and $200. Ticket sales at $1,200, $900, $600 and $400 are limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $200 are limited to two (2) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

The Pacquiao vs. Márquez 4 telecast, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 92 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. Follow HBO Boxing news at www.hbo.com and at www.facebook.com/hboboxing. Use the hashtag #PacMarquez to join the conversation on Twitter. For Pacquiao vs. Márquez updates, log on to www.toprank.com or www.hbo.com.

Talk about Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. is back like a bad hangover. Everybody seems to have an interpretation, if not a prediction, in the wake of a settlement to Pacquiao’s defamation suit and his offer to give Mayweather the lion’s share in a 55-45 split.

It’s as if Pacquiao’s rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez in their fourth meeting on Dec. 8 doesn’t matter. Maybe, it doesn’t, which is good reason for Marquez to worry about Robbery IV. The public and media fixation on Pacquiao-Mayweather won’t go away and perhaps won’t let anything stand in its way

That said, there’s been a shift in public sentiment and in Pacquiao himself. Combine the two, and only Marquez matters – or should – in any talk about Pacquiao-Mayweather. If Pacquiao loses, the Filipino Congressman becomes a full time politician. He has talked about leaving the ring. Marquez could hasten that departure.

Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach is concerned on a couple of levels.

First, there’s sympathy for Marquez and his argument that he was robbed in the narrow decisions, split and majority, that went against him in the first and second rematches. Scorecards can be like ballots. They’re subjective.

“I think we go into the fight three to four rounds down already,’’ Roach said about the Marquez bout when it was still being negotiated a couple of days before he worked Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.’s loss to Sergio Martinez on Sept. 15 at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center.

That means Pacquaio has to win by knockout. That would be a first. Marquez, who has six losses, has never been stopped. Given the narrow 36 rounds that already have transpired and Pacquiao’s record of no stoppages in five fights since a 2009 TKO of Miguel Cotto, Pacquiao by KO is a very tall order.

Roach says the task in camp at the Wild Card Gym will be to rediscover Pacquiao’s old aggression, which has withered for reasons that aren’t clear.

Compassion, perhaps the born-again expression of Pacquiao’s return to a Catholic lifestyle, has lessened the ferocity for which there was no refuge for so many of his fallen foes, Roach says. It was evident in 2010 when Pacquiao almost begged referee Laurence Cole to stop what he wouldn’t in a brutal decision over Antonio Margarito at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex.

Then again, it wasn’t enough in 2004 when Pacquiao, then at his ferocious best, knocked down Marquez three times in the first round, but never out during the next 11 in a bout that ended in a draw.

Roach says Pacquiao’s physical skills are as sharp as ever, although there seemed to be a missing gear in the hand speed throughout his controversial loss by decision to Timothy Bradley on June 9. From Erik Morales to Oscar De La Hoya, Pacquiao threw punches at a rate that overwhelmed. Against Bradley, that rate proved pedestrian.

But Roach is convinced that those hands will move at a ruthless rate if Pacquiao’s heart still has the streak of larceny needed in a brutal business.

Will it?

“I don’t know,’’ Roach said. “That’s the challenge.’’

The only one.

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (September 27, 2012) – Fighter of the Decade MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO of the Philippines and four-division world champion JUAN MANUEL “Dinamita” MÁRQUEZ of México will go mano a mano and toe-to-toe once again in a 12-round welterweight battle between two of this era’s top pound for pound and evenly matched fighters. Pacquiao-Márquez 4, the eagerly anticipated fourth act of their fistoric rivalry that has had fans and media standing on their feet for 36 action-packed rounds, will take place Saturday, December 8. It will be produced and distributed Live by HBO Pay-Per-View from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nev.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions, Zanfer Promotions, Márquez Boxing, Tecate and MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, tickets to Pacquiao-Márquez 4 will go on sale Tomorrow! Friday, September 28, at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT. Tickets are priced at $1,200, $900, $600, $400, and $200. Ticket sales at $1,200, $900, $600 and $400 are limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $200 are limited to two (2) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs), the lone congressional representative from the Sarangani province in the Philippines, returns to the Fight Capital of the World as the only fighter to win eight world titles in as many weight divisions. A three-time Fighter of the Year and the Boxing Writers Association of America’s “Fighter of the Decade,” Pacquiao’s resume features victories over future Hall of Famers, including Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley and Márquez. From 2008 to 2010, five of his seven victories were world title victories in five different divisions, where he dethroned super featherweight champion Márquez, lightweight champion David Diaz, junior welterweight champion Hatton, welterweight champion Cotto and he annihilated three-time world champion Antonio Margarito for the vacant super welterweight title. Pacquiao’s seven-year, 15-bout winning streak came to an end on June 9, when he lost his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown to undefeated WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, Jr. via a controversial split decision. Pacquiao’s knockout victories over Cotto and Hatton in 2009, his victories over Joshua Clottey and Margarito in 2010, his wins against Mosley and Márquez in 2011 as well as his disputed loss to Bradley in June have combined for more than seven million pay-per-view buys making Pacquiao a pay-per-view king. No boxer sold more live tickets in the U.S. than Pacquiao in 2010 and 2011, making him a pound-for-pound monarch in the ring and at the box office.

Márquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs), of México City, is one of only a rare few fighters from México to have won world titles in four different weight divisions. He captured his first world title – the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight championship – with a seventh-round stoppage of three-time featherweight champion Manuel Medina in 2003. He unified the title that same year with a decisive victory over World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight titlist Derrick Gainer. Márquez successfully defended the titles three times during his three-year reign, which included unanimous decision victories over Victor Polo and Orlando Salido and a Draw with Pacquiao. After losing the crown to Chris John and winning the WBO interim featherweight crown, all in 2006, Márquez moved up in weight to dethrone the legendary Marco Antonio Barrera and claim his World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight championship belt in 2007. After successfully defending the title, by a unanimous decision over Ricky Juarez, he lost the title in his 2008 rematch with Pacquiao by the slimmest of margins – a one point split decision. Since that fight, Márquez has won six of his last eight fights, including knockout victories of Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis — the latter two in World Boxing Association (WBA) / WBO lightweight championship fights. In his last fight, on April 14, Márquez won his fourth world title in as many divisions, capturing the WBO interim junior welterweight championship with a dominant 12-round unanimous decision over Serhiy Fedchenko.

The Pacquiao vs. Márquez telecast, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 92 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. Follow HBO Boxing news at www.hbo.com and at www.facebook.com/hboboxing. Use the hashtag #PacMarquez to join the conversation on Twitter. For Pacquiao vs. Márquez updates, log on to www.toprank.com or www.hbo.com.

New York – Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez took to New York City as part of their three city tour to announce their upcoming showdown set for December 8th in Las Vegas. This would be their fourth time meeting each-other in the ring. All three of their bouts were closely contested and hotly debated, with two of the fights being fight of the year candidates.

To put things into perspective, combining all of the judges’ scorecards from all three fights, Pacquiao has a slight advantage on points over his rival by a margin on 1024-1017.

On Wednesday at the Edison Ballroom in Times Square, Pacquiao took to the podium and stated, “I’m looking forward to winning impressively and to make the fight as short as possible. We need to get back to the aggressiveness and hunger from when I was twenty-five years old.”

In his always improving English, Marquez stated, “December 8th I have a new challenge again. I don’t need to prove nothing, because I won the last three fights!.”

Kerry Davis took to the podium to briefly announce a the ongoing strategic alliance between HBO and ESPN, and to stay tuned for more in the future.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions, Zanfer Promotions, Márquez Boxing, Tecate and MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, tickets to Pacquiao-Márquez 4 will go on sale Friday, September 28 at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT. Tickets are priced at $1,200, $900, $600, and $400 and are limited to 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

The Pacquiao vs. Márquez telecast, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View

Photos by Ed Diller / Top Rank