Marquez insists on Pacquiao rematch

At all costs.

While recognizing the importance of his mandatory defense of the IBF crown against fellow Mexican Orlando Salido in September, IBF/WBA featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez yesterday said he wants a rematch with Manny Pacquiao even if it means fighting the Filipino fighter ahead of Salido.

In his first press statement since escaping with a controversial split draw decision against Pacquiao last May in Las Vegas, Marquez expressed his desire to take on Pacquiao first, either in August or September, and vowed to fight in his best form — mentally and physically — while guaranteeing to inflict the Filipino boxing hero more harm than the first time out.

"In this next fight, I’m going to be more careful of his left hand and believe me, this next bout is going to even harder for him. I’m going to prepare just as hard for tip-top shape and then box as I know how to box, technically throwing lots of combinations. I’m more focused now," said Marquez in an interview with Boxingscene.com.

This came a day after Marquez’s promoter Bob Arum has earlier ruled out an immediate rematch of his ward with Pacquiao, citing Marquez’s mandatory fight with Salido, which has been penciled as an appetizer to the pay-per-view showdown between Oscar dela Hoya and Bernard Hopkins on Sept. 18 in Las Vegas.

Marquez, who bucked three knockdowns in the first round to salvage a split draw with the power-hitting Pacquiao, has just returned from a short holiday and will start training for Pacquiao at the Gilberto Roman gym on Monday.

In recalling his fight with Pacquiao, Marquez said: "I was a bit cold and Manny did surprise me. With the first one he feinted and caught me with a left right combination. With my Mexican fire, I got mad, exchanged some leather with Manny and he caught me again. I got up well and felt physically fine. With the third, Manny caught me on the ropes connected well with his left, but he hit me again when I was down and the referee didn’t pull him up for that.

"I really should have been more intelligent after the first knockdown and used the ring more, but I adapted and learned fast."

Like Pacquiao, Marquez also hit the disparity of two of the judges’ scorecards that saw one make him winner by 115-110, while the other saw it exactly the opposite. The third gave it as a draw after the controversy of the first round points tally for the knockdown.

The Mexican champ then commented the first two must have been at different fights, and he’s convinced that he won by a minimum of two points with more consistency and more accuracy.

But Marquez wants to forget that fight and instead vows to concentrate on the rematch, saying: "Virtually all of my training and preparation recently has been for southpaws. First there was Derrik Gainer and then there was Manny, so I’m currently much more focused on the lefties."

Pacquiao’s feet took a real bashing in the fight, apparently due to some cheap socks bought in a cut price store, which brought up some soup plate blisters. But in jest, Marquez said: "I also ended the fight with some pretty impressive blisters on my feet, but I did not complain. Manny also complained that he hurt his left hand. Next time I hope he doesn’t get any more blisters or hurt his hand.

"My message to Manny is to buy some quality really comfortable socks for our next fight…or I’ll buy a pair for you, and for his trainer to bandage his hands well so he does not hurt them."