Pacquiao faces old nemesis in Marquez

Associated Press

las vegas

In the cavernous lobby of the MGM Grand hotel, they were hawking cologne Wednesday that had not only passed Manny Pacquiao’s smell test, but had his name on it.

For $50 you could get a small bottle of “Scent of a Champion,” though on this afternoon no one was lining up for Pacquiao’s latest commercial venture.

Inside the resort’s Hollywood Theater, they were selling something else: The opportunity to bring Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez into your living room Saturday night for $64.95.

That deal figures to sell much better than the cologne, especially with a $25 rebate for anyone buying a 12-pack of a certain beer. And pay-per-view is all that’s left to sell for a fight that sold out within two weeks of being announced.

The hype is on for the return of boxing’s most exciting fighter, who was last seen headed back to his duties as a congressman in the Philippines after dominating Shane Mosley in a 12-round decision in May. And, while he’s not fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. as fight fans have hoped for a long time, he will be in the ring against a man who has given him more trouble than any other fighter in recent years.

They’ve gone 24 rounds together, with not much separating them. Pacquiao escaped in a draw in their first fight seven years ago, then won a decision by the narrowest of margins in the 2008 rematch.

That, however, was before Pacquiao exploded into the public consciousness with dominating wins over Oscar De La Hoya and others. And it was before Pacquiao grew big enough to fight comfortably as a welterweight, where he is not only bigger but stronger.

That’s a big reason the bookies in this gambling city make Pacquiao a 7-1 favorite in a fight between two boxers who like nothing better than to mix it up. There aren’t too many guarantees in boxing, but one is that both Pacquiao and Marquez will end up at some point in the center of the ring slugging it out.

Marquez showed that in both of his two previous fights with Pacquiao, the first one fought at 125 pounds and the second at 130.

That’s fine with the congressman from the Sarangani province.

“I think this fight Marquez will fight me toe-to-toe,” Pacquiao said. “We know the style Marquez likes to fight and that’s his style.”