• Fight Insight: Manny Pacquiao v Juan Manuel Marquez, November 12

Pacquiao primed for punishment - but Money matters

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez have met twice before, with Pacquiao winning one and one draw © Getty Images

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• Profile: Manny Pacquiao

In the build-up to a fight obsessed by the past, Floyd 'Money' Mayweather Jnr stepped out of the shadows to offer a tantalising glimpse into the future. With Manny Pacquiao putting the final touches to his preparations for Juan Manuel Marquez, he was confronted by the news Mayweather wants to fight him on May 5.

Mayweather has been accused of trying to steal the limelight from his great rival, of being so ravaged by jealousy that he had to make a statement. And sure, talk is cheap - people will only believe the super-fight is actually happening when the first bell sounds.

But even if Mayweather's gesture was born out of dishonourable motives and showed disrespect to Marquez, then it cannot be said to have appeared from nowhere, for Mayweather has long hovered over all of Pacquiao's actions. The feeling is that both men are treading water at present; if they're not going to face each other, what is there left to prove? Why are other opponents worth fighting?

And so we are forced to journey into the past to find a convincing reason why Pacquiao, who hasn't lost since March 2005, may be tested against Marquez. The pair have met twice before: first in 2004 at featherweight, when Marquez survived three first-round knockdowns to earn a draw. The judges couldn't make their mind up: two 115-110 scores, one to each fighter, and then a 113-113.

Four years later, the pair went to war again, this time at super-featherweight. Pacquiao was the winner via split decision, but was forced to slog through treacherous waters before recording an unconvincing victory.

So here we are, with Marquez portrayed as the man who has worked Pacquiao out, the only one to have really tested him over the past few years. Many revered names have tried - Shane Mosley, Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton - yet it is Marquez who left the battlefield with his head held highest of all.

Marquez still has the heart of a lion - but will his body let him down? © PA Photos

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But time waits for no man, and it certainly won't be hanging around for 38-year-old Marquez, who is leaping up two weight classes to meet a legitimate, comfortable welterweight. It seems like a bridge too far for a respected warrior now past his prime - just as was the case when Mosley found himself bamboozled by Pacquiao during May.

Even in his favoured lightweight division, Marquez didn't look too clever 12 months ago when he scraped himself off the canvas to beat Michael Katsidis. Worryingly for Marquez, earlier this month Katsidis went flat-out against Ricky Burns - a decent fighter, sure, but not an all-time great - and didn't appear to hurt him once. While Marquez is slowing and out of his comfort zone, Pacquiao is better than ever - definitely better than he was when they last fought - and thus should get the job done in style.

These are inconvenient truths glossed over in all the pre-bout hype, for this is a backwards-looking fight made necessary by the barren present, where Pacquiao has all but exhausted the list of marketable, legitimate challengers. Talking about Pacquiao's potential opponents for 2012, trainer Freddie Roach said: "I don't see any challenges."

As well as providing tactical guidance, Roach has whipped up the fury within the normally-placid Pacquiao by reminding him of Marquez's dissent. Taped to a wall at the Wild Card Gym there is a picture of Marquez wearing a T-shirt that reads "I beat Pacquiao twice".

So Pacquiao will be as lethal as ever - and also, for once, frothing with rage. Plus you sense he'd love to finish the job quicker than Mayweather, who conquered Marquez on points in 2009. You wouldn't want to be the Mexican.

It would be a fitting tribute for boxing to produce a classic bout in the days after Joe Frazier's death, but you sense this won't be it; thus far it's been more smoke and mirrors than Smokin' Joe.

Prediction
Pacquiao by stoppage in the middle rounds

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