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Lem’s latest: Third 24/7 Pacquiao-Marquez 4 airs Saturday

Fighters Network
29
Nov

The continuing preparation of Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez for their fourth bout on Dec. 8 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas will be chronicled in the third episose of 24/7: Pacquiao-Marquez 4 which will be aired on Saturday on HBO at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT.

In November, Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 knockouts) escaped with a highly disputed majority decision over Marquez (54-6-2, 39 KOs), with whom he has also battled to a draw and won a previous split decision.

Pacquiao floored Marquez three times in the first round of their initial meeting as featherweights in May of 2004, and dropped him once in the third round of their second as junior lightweights in March of 2008.

Pacquiao, who turns 34 on Dec. 17, chose to face Marquez over a return bout with Tim Bradley, whose controversial split decision in June dethroned Pacquiao as the WBO’s 147-pound titleholder and ended his 15-bout winning streak that included eight stoppages.



Marquez, who turned 39 in August, nearly retired following the last bout with Pacquiao, but rebounded with April’s unanimous decision over Sergei Fedchenko for the WBO’s junior welterweight belt.

In facing Marquez at the MGM, Pacquiao returns to the site where he won his second crown by knocking out Lehlo Ledwaba in six rounds for the IBF junior featherweight belt.

MARCOS MAIDANA COULT RETURN OPPOSITE ANGEL MARTINEZ ON DEC. 12

Marcos Maidana (32-3, 29 KOs) is slated to return to the ring on Dec. 12 against Mexico’s 21-year-old Angel Martiinez (13-3-1, 9 KOs) at Luna Park in Buenos Aires, in his native Argentina, according to reports.

Maidana lost his welterweight debut by unanimous decision to Devon Alexander in December of last year, but rebounded with September’s eighth-round stoppage over Jesus Soto Karass in his first fight under trainer Robert Garcia.

LOU DIBELLA SIGNS JO JO DAN, AVTANDIL KHURTSIDZE

ESPN.com is reporting that promoter Lou DiBella has signed Romanian-born, Montreal-based welterweight Jo Jo Dan (29-2, 16 KOs) and middleweight Avtandil Khurtsidze (27-2-2, 16 KOs), a native of the former Soviet republic of Georgia who lives in Ukraine.

Photos by Chris Farina, Top Rank

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]

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