http://www.presstelegram.com/sports/ci_19220611

Manny Pacquiao sat in his closet of a dressing room Wednesday at Wild Card Gym in Hollywood. Surrounded by a handful of reporters and one annoying photographer who rarely stopped clicking away, Pacquiao patiently answered questions put to him.

What he didn’t do was come clean about how upset he was with Juan Manuel Marquez, who Nov. 12 will challenge Pacquiao for his welterweight championship at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (HBO pay-per-view).

They have fought twice before, in 2004 for a featherweight title and in 2008 for a super featherweight belt. Marquez got up from three first-round knockdowns in the first fight to earn a draw. Marquez complained he had won.

Pacquiao won a split decision in the second fight and Marquez and his entire camp whined in the post-fight news conference as if Marquez had beaten the daylights out of Pacquiao.

That was utterly ridiculous.

Marquez, taking it a step farther, had the temerity to display his feelings on a t-shirt in Pacquiao’s native Philippines during the recent media tour for this third fight.

Marquez just doesn’t want to give Pacquiao any credit, and that would infuriate most fighters. According to Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, his fighter is angry. He just won’t say it.

“One hundred percent yes,” said Roach, when asked if this fight is personal for Pacquiao. “The biggest slap in the face was when he came to the Philippines and wore a t-shirt that said, `I beat Pacquiao twice.’ He started campaigning in the Philippines and he had some followers in the Philippines also that were on his side.

“That was a real slap in the face for Manny Pacquiao.”

But Pacquiao was all smiles Wednesday. He had reporters laughing and vice versa. Pacquiao was asked several times in different ways to describe his displeasure with Marquez. He took only a small bite.

“I almost forget that moment,” said Pacquiao, when asked about the post-fight news conference in 2008. “Well, he has the freedom to make some alibis and reasons and complaining that he won the fight.”

Marquez at the time was promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, which had a loud voice in that 2008 snivel-fest.

“I’m not (upset) at them or Marquez,” Pacquiao said. “But, you know, I’m very motivated for this fight because the question is, what more do I need to prove just to make them satisfied that I won the fight?”

That was about as close as Pacquiao came to disclosing his feelings. Roach knows what his man really is thinking.

“When Manny hits the speed bag I put the picture of him (Marquez) wearing that t-shirt, just to remind Manny,” Roach said.

“I said to Manny, `You don’t like this guy, do you?’ He just smiled at me and walked away. He will not answer me.”

They say actions speak louder than words, and Roach buys that in this instance.

“He’s really extra motivated in this fight,” Roach said. “He’s been a little harder on his sparring partners than usual.”

Roach said Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, has expressed concern that Pacquiao is going too hard in training.

“He (Arum) said, `Freddie, you gotta slow him down a little bit,”’ Roach said. “He’s been on fire. Usually in sparring he’ll give me about 50 percent because he’s saving it for the fight.

“But now he’s giving me about 70 percent because he’s been rough on his sparring partners, until he hurts them and then he backs off.”

Arum, like Roach, believes this fight has extra meaning for Pacquiao.

“I think it’s very personal for Manny because both fights were so close and I think the whining after the second fight didn’t do Marquez any good,” Arum said.

Arum said it wasn’t like all the crying was going to get Marquez an immediate third fight.

“Really the (third) fight was going to happen now anyway,” Arum said. “In other words, it was senseless. All it did was make Marquez, who is a nice guy, look like a sore loser.”

Arum is right about Marquez. He is a good guy. But everything he has done to take away from what Pacquiao has done against him is more than likely going to end up going poorly for him.

Perhaps the way Pacquiao was smiling is the key. The guy who smiles usually is more confident than the guy who is doing all the talking, whether in the ring or in a street fight.

Take, for example, the Oscar De La Hoya-Fernando Vargas junior middleweight title bout in 2002. Vargas went berserk and started a fight with De La Hoya at a pre-fight news conference.

Vargas’ veins were bulging out of his neck as the the fighters were being separated. De La Hoya simply smiled and said, “I’m going to kick your (butt).”

De La Hoya was calm during the promotion and stopped Vargas in the 11th round. Pacquiao has been equally composed, at least on the outside.

“I’m always cool,” Pacquiao said. “I never have bad feelings for my opponent before the fight. But in the ring I have to change my aura, or myself and turn into a warrior.”

This is not good news for Marquez.

Manny Pacquiao, boxer; congressman; singer; actor; Filipino icon. The man known to most as “Pac-Man” has been a dominant force in the sport of boxing for over a decade. Despite some losses early in his career, Manny has risen to the top of the sport, and is considered by some as one of the greatest to ever lace up the gloves. However, getting to this point in his Hall of Fame career has not been without controversy and allegations.

Floyd Mayweather, who many believe has been ducking Manny Pacquiao and a slew of other boxers for years, alleges that Manny has been using Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED) and refuses to fight him unless Manny takes “the test”. So far, no evidence whatsoever about the use of steroids has ever been associated to Pacquiao. “If they have any evidence, they should present them. My conscience is clear that it’s all hard work that led to my success.” Pacquiao said shortly after the Shane Mosley fight.

Bob Arum has stated that Manny Pacquiao is willing to go undergo random drug testing in the event that a fight with rival Floyd Mayweather presents itself. However, Arum has refused to allow the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to be in charge of the testing. Mayweather’s testing authority of choice is the USADA, but Arum indicated that he would favor the Olympic Organization to conduct the tests instead.

“We don’t believe USADA is a neutral organization,” Arum explained, “I don’t think anybody’s test is as vigorous as the test administered by the Olympic Organization. And we can arrange for the Olympic Organization to handle the test under the supervision of the Athletic commission respective of the state where the fight is going to be held.”

Is this not enough for Floyd? Would Floyd Mayweather pass on the highest payday in boxing history because of who administers the tests? Would you?

Manny Pacquiao has already made it perfectly clear, Mayweather has to either fight him in 2012 or never fight him, and miss out on one of the richest paydays in the history of sports. Pacquiao’s legacy appears to be already intact with or without fighting Floyd Mayweather. Floyd on the other hand – in the public eye at least – needs to fight Pacquiao to solidify his career, even at 42-0.

Mayweather has stated on a few occasions that a boxer doesn’t become great at the age of 25 and that Pacquiao “came out of nowhere”. While some of this may be true, Pacquiao was already a legitimate world champion in the Philippines at the age of 19, by knocking out lineal and WBC flyweight champion Chatchai Sasakul. At the age of 24, the heavy underdog Manny Pacquiao destroyed Mexican boxing legend Marco Antonio Barerra until Barerra’s corner threw in the towel in the 11th round. This was the fight that put Manny on the map as a legitimate contender in the boxing world.

Mayweather also contests that Pacquiao’s rise in weight is unnatural. However, at the age of 16, Floyd Mayweather was a 106 pound amateur boxer and Golden Gloves Champion. At age 16, Pacquiao was already a professional boxer fighting grown men, also fighting at 106 pounds. At the age of 17 both boxers were in the 113-116 pound range.

Comparing the two fighters is pretty much like comparing apples to oranges. On one hand you have Floyd Mayweather, a tactician in the ring and defensive genius with some of the quickest hands you will ever see. He embodies the “sweet science” of boxing and although this doesn’t win him any style points, it has made him one of the most successful boxers ever. On the other hand you have Manny Pacquiao, a Tasmanian devil of sorts in the ring with a whirlwind of punches from virtually every angle. Manny has much more power than Mayweather and the proof can be seen on the faces of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosely, Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito.

I – like most of the boxing fans in the world – would love to see this fight happen one day, but I just don’t see it happening.

I can see why Floyd wouldn’t want to fight Manny. First off, his record is unblemished at 42 wins 0 loses. He doesn’t neccesarrily need the $50 million, and could easily pick up a quick $25 million fighting guys with far less talent than Pacquiao. I believe that the 0 on his record is far more important to him than an extra $25 million in his pocket. Why fight a guy that you think you might beat for $50 million, when you have the option to fight a guy you know you can beat for $25 million? It’s understandable though, because 10, 20 or even 30 years down the road, boxing purists and fans will only see 42-0 in the books. It won’t show you who had the most money or who ducked who. Just your win loss record. That’s historic, but what’s more important to Floyd?

Floyd also had a falling out with boxing promoter Bob Arum after Arum was unable to guarantee Mayweather $20 million to fight Oscar De La Hoya. The pair parted ways in 2006 after Mayweather bought out of his contract for $750,000. It doesn’t appear that things have been rectified, and I doubt that Floyd Mayweather wants to put any money in to Bob Arums pockets.

Manny Pacquiao already has plans for himself after boxing. He is currently the congressman of the Sarangani province in the Philippines, and plans to run for vice president of the Philippines in 2016. Pacquiao may need to put his vice presidential dreams on hold a few years, as you have to be at least 40 to run for vice president in the Philippines. Pac-Man will only be 37 in 2016. In my opinion, Manny fights once maybe twice in 2012, calls it quits and concentrates on his political career.

If you ask me, even if Manny Pacquiao were to meet all of Floyd Mayweather’s demands, I truly believe Floyd will come up with new demands. There is no question that Floyd is the one holding up this fight. The question remains though, is he too scared to lose and blemish his flawless win-loss record, or will he take on the challenge – along with a massive payday – in an attempt to secure his boxing legacy as the greatest of all time.

There is only one way to stop all the talking, tweets, debates, and countless blog entries… FIGHT!