Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3: Pacman's Personal Approach to Big Bout a Welcome Change

It's hard not to like Manny Pacquiao. When he's outside the ring, he's a genuinely cool dude. When he's inside the ring, he makes Hollywood fight scenes look like slapping contests.

This being said, I do have one small gripe to make about Pac-Man. As awesome as he is, he's not exactly the most colorful character the sport of boxing has ever known. In fact, compared to greats like Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and even bitter rival Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Pac-Man is kinda bland. He prefers to take a very businessman-like approach to his craft.

That is, he usually does. Right now, Pac-Man is taking his upcoming bout with Juan Manuel Marquez a little more personally.

And for good reason. This will be the third fight between Pac-Man and Marquez, and the first two were hotly contested bouts that resulted in controversial finishes. Their first fight in 2004 ended in a draw, the second ended in a split decision in favor of Pac-Man.

Marquez insists that he won both fights, even going so far as to proclaim as much in T-shirt form.

In Pac-Man's eyes, those are fighting words. Here's what he had to say recently, via ESPNLosAngeles.com:

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He's been claiming that he's won the last two fights. I need to go in and end all these issues. This fight will be the answer to all the doubts and all the issues he's been screaming for.

"

Per an Associated Press report, Pac-Man's strength trainer, Alex Ariza, has definitely noticed a change in Pac-Man's approach to next Saturday's bout:

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I don't think I've seen him more focused, and I think it's because it's personal, for sure. When something is personal, it's a lot different. He knows that he has to make a statement in this one. With everyone having questions about the first two, he has to make sure in this one that there's no doubt. … We're going through sparring partners like you change underwear. I'm surprised that these guys are still coming back.

"

When it comes to boxing, talk like this is nothing out of the ordinary. Hyping up a fight by claiming it's personal is a trick as old as time itself, and one that boxers never tire of using.

But Pacquiao has always been different. He has always preferred to let his fists do the talking, and he doesn't win fights because he truly wants to beat the other guy to a pulp. He wins fights because he's a better fighter than everyone he goes against.

Yet here is Marquez claiming he is better than Pac-Man despite the fact he hasn't actually beaten him. That would rub any fighter the wrong way. Even, apparently, Manny Pacquiao.

If you're a fan of Pac-Man, you have to love this. A third fight between Pac-Man and Marquez would have been good enough without all the conventional boxing banter. But to hear it coming from Pacquiao (and to a lesser extent, his camp) is pretty cool.

Now all he has to do is make good on his words. Seeing as how he's the best pound-for-pound boxer in the known universe (and likely some unknown universes), that shouldn't be too much to ask.

That is, unless Marquez's T-shirts speak the truth...