The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Marquez seeks vindication from third fight with Pacquiao
- Azlan thinking of calling it quits after painful defeat
- Azizul tackles Track World Cup after long lay-off
| Marquez seeks vindication from third fight with Pacquiao Posted: 02 Nov 2011 07:00 PM PDT Nov 2 (Reuters) - Vindication is the buzzword for Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez as he prepares for the concluding chapter in his trilogy of bouts with Manny Pacquiao next week. On Nov. 12, the two fighters will step into the ring at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas where Pacquiao's WBO welterweight title will be on the line, along with final bragging rights from their encounters. The boxers have met twice before, fighting to a draw in May 2004 before Marquez lost his WBC super-featherweight title to the Filipino in a controversial split decision in March 2008. On both occasions, though, Marquez felt he had triumphed. "Now it's time to shed doubt over who the best fighter is," Marquez said on a conference call on Wednesday while wrapping up his training camp in Mexico. "I want to win this fight because I believe I won the first two fights. "We are not the only ones saying that we won those first two fights. A lot of people out there, a lot of fans and a lot of the media, agree. So we will be ready and prepared." Marquez gave southpaw Pacquiao extra motivation for the fight by wearing a T-shirt bearing the legend: "We Were Robbed" when their Nov. 12 showdown was promoted recently in the Philippines. While Pacquiao claims he was insulted by that fashion statement, Marquez believes he has just as much incentive for their third and final meeting. "It is personal for me too," said the 38-year-old Mexican, who has a career record of 53-5-1 with 39 knockouts said. "If he is upset about me saying that I won the first two fights, I am upset that I haven't got the decisions. "I am just as motivated as he is. We all have our opinions. That's his opinion and my opinion is that I didn't get the decisions that I deserved. I think this fight is going to be great because we both want it so bad." Marquez, a three-division world champion, is in the twilight of his glittering career and will go into next week's bout as a 9-1 underdog against one of the best offensive fighters of all time. ODDS MEANINGLESS FOR MARQUEZ "(Odds) don't do anything for me," said the Mexican, who recovered from three knockdowns in the opening round to earn a draw when they first clashed in May 2004. "People can bet what they want, people can put the odds how they want them. If they like the 9-1 odds, that's fine with me. It has nothing to do with the fight. "I am just going in with the mentality that I have to win the rounds. If the opportunity comes, if I hurt him, then I will go for the knockout. I am not going to hesitate if the opportunity is there to go for it." Pacquiao, who has won world titles in an unprecedented eight weight divisions, has become a far superior fighter to the somewhat raw, all-action Filipino who faced Marquez in 2004 and 2008. "Pacquiao has definitely become a better technical fighter than he was," said Marquez's trainer Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain. "He has become a more complete boxer. "His punches are now more clinical, he is not as wild as he used to be. He looks like he knows what he is doing and that's directly the effect that Freddie Roach, his trainer, has had. He has learned a lot of techniques and a lot of new things and he is doing them better, especially the right hook." Beristain knows Marquez can no longer simply focus on the Filipino's lethal left hand. "When we fought the first couple of times, his (Pacquiao's) left hand was always the big one, the one we had to worry about, the one that we tried to nullify," Beristain said. "We see that he has a better right hand now. I think you just go up into the ring with the mentality that you must be ready for both, stay focused on what you need to do. "We have always won the 'comeback zone', as I like to call it. It's important that we do it again but we know it's not going to be easy. We have to be smart enough to know how to do it and when to do it. That's what Juan is capable of doing." Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Azlan thinking of calling it quits after painful defeat Posted: 02 Nov 2011 04:45 PM PDT ROTTERDAM: The disappointment of a second round exit at the World Squash Championships had a fatigued Mohd Azlan Iskandar contemplating the unthinkable yesterday. Slamming into the wall didn't help either. The Malaysian No. 1 and world No. 14 hurt his right shoulder after running into the wall in the second set against Alister Walker of Botswana. He had taken the opening set 10-12 and led 5-0 in the second before the mishap. His game suffered as a result and Azlan lost the next three sets 11-8, 11-7, 11-5. A despondent Azlan, who had beaten compatriot Ong Beng Hee in the opening round, hinted that he may be calling it quits when he turns 30 next year. "I started well in the second set but tripped up by changing tactics," said Azlan. "I should have continued with the long rallies rather than going for a quick kill." Azlan feels that, more than the injury, he lost because he was mentally tired as he had not had a break since the Malaysian Open in July. "I need a rest and might withdraw from next week's Macau Open," said Azlan, whose defeat ended the Malaysian challenge in the men's competition. World No. 20 Walker will take on second seed Ramy Ashour of Egypt in the third round. Ashour, the world champion in 2008, came back from the brink to beat Nicholas Muller of Switzerland 8-11, 9-11, 11-3, 11-8, 11-5. Defending champion Nick Matthew of England gained revenge for his loss last week in the Qatar Classic to young Egyptian Tarek Momen. This time Matthew triumphed 11-4, 11-9, 11-4, knocking the ball around with great control and moving well. Matthew plays another Egyptian, former world junior champion Mohamed El Shorbagy, next. Thierry Lincou, the only Frenchman ever to have become world champion, produced a timeless display of skill and organisation. The oldest man on tour survived a draining 66-minute battle to earn a meeting with his fellow 35-year-old David Palmer, the former two-time world champion from Australia who is playing his final world championship. Lincou quelled a late push from Stewart Boswell, the former world number four from Australia, to get home 11-5, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7. Palmer prevailed 11-6, 11-13, 11-5, 11-5 against fellow Aussie, Ryan Cuskelly, ranked 42. Results > MEN Second round: David Palmer (Aus) bt Ryan Cuskelly (Aus) 11-6, 11-13, 11-5, 11-5; Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Stewart Boswell (Aus) 11-5, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7; Borja Golan (Esp) bt Omar Mosaad (Egy) 6-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7; Karim Darwish (Egy) bt Wael El Hindi (Egy) 11-9, 11-3, 11-4; Nick Matthew (Eng) bt Tarek Momen (Egy) 11-4, 11-9, 11-4; Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egy) bt Simon Rosner (Ger) 12-10, 11-7, 12-10; Cameron Pilley (Aus) bt Chris Ryder (Eng) 11-9, 11-3, 11-5; Peter Barker (Eng) bt Steve Coppinger (Rsa) 9-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-8; James Willstrop (Eng) bt Shahier Razik (Can) 11-1, 4-1 (rtd); Marwan El Shorbagy (Egy) bt Daryl Selby (Eng) 11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 4-11, 14-12; Hisham Ashour (Egy) bt Martin Knight (Nzl) 11-3, 11-8, 16-14; Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) 5-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-9; Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt Cesar Salazar (Mex) 11-3, 11-9, 11-5; Laurens Jan Anjema (Hol) bt Saurav Ghosal (Ind) 11-4, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5; Alister Walker (Bot) bt Azlan Iskandar (Mas) 10-12, 11-8,11-7, 11-5; Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt Nicolas Muller (Sui) 8-11, 9-11, 11-3, 11-8, 11-5. > WOMEN First round: Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt Lauren Selby (Eng) 11-7, 11-4, 11-5; Samantha Teran (Mex) bt Tesni Evans (Wal) 11-5, 11-3, 11-7; Dipika Pallikal (Ind) bt Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl) 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7; Kanzy El Dafrawy (Egy) bt Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) 12-10, 11-9, 12-10; Laura Massaro (Eng) bt Yathreb Adel (Egy) 11-9, 11-7, 11-6; Annie Au (Hkg) bt Joey Chan (Hkg) 13-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-6; Joelle King (Nzl) bt Gaby Huber (Sui) 11-7, 11-6, 11-6; Jenny Duncalf (Eng) bt Line Hansen (Den) 11-9, 12-10, 11-7; Raneem El Weleily (Egy) bt Sarah Kippax (Eng) 11-9, 11-9, 11-5; Kasey Brown (Aus) bt Orla Noom (Hol) 11-6, 11-5, 11-4; Natalie Grinham (Hol) bt Aisling Blake (Irl) 11-5, 11-3, 11-9; Madeline Perry (Irl) bt Emma Beddoes (Eng) 11-8, 11-4, 7-11, 7-11, 11-3; Camille Serme (Fra) bt Nour El Tayeb (Egy) 12-10, 11-7, 2-1 rtd; Low Wee Wern (Mas) bt Latasha Khan (US) 11-6, 11-9, 11-8; Nicol David (Mas) bt Delia Arnold (Mas) 11-3, 11-6, 11-5; Nour El Sherbini (Egy) bt Donna Urquhart (Aus) 10-12, 11-8, 13-11, 9-11, 11-2. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Azizul tackles Track World Cup after long lay-off Posted: 02 Nov 2011 06:52 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: A fierce scrap awaits Azizulhasni Awang on his return to competitive action, after a long enforced lay-off, in the opening round of the 2011-2012 UCI Track World Cup season in Astana, Kazakhstan, this weekend. Azizul and seasoned campaigner Josiah Ng will compete in the individual sprint and keirin to fight for ranking points to boost their hopes of qualifying for the London Olympics next year. But Azizul can expect tougher hurdles in his bid to pick up a fourth consecutive overall World Cup title in keirin this time as he is up against top class opposition. Four-time Olympic champion Chris Hoy leads a strong British track squad to the first ever World Cup event in Kazakhstan eager to bounce back after a disappointing outing at the World Championships in Holland early this year. Hoy lost his keirin title to Australia's Shane Perkins and was beaten in the battle for the sprint crown by Frenchman Gregory Bauge in Holland. Shane and Bauge will also be on the starting line in Astana and will definitely be sizing up their pint-sized Malaysian rival as well. Azizul won consecutive silver medals at the World Championships but missed out on this year's outing due to the horrific calf injury he suffered in the final leg of the World Cup series in Manchester. His calf was skewered by a 20cm splinter and Azizul went through a long rehabilitation period with the National Sports Institute before returning to his Melbourne base to train under Australian coach John Beasley. Azizul only recently started training on the track as much of his time was spent in the gym working on regaining his fitness, apart from physical conditioning through long distance rides. Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) deputy president Datuk Naim Mohamad said there would be no pressure on Azizul to perform although it is the start of the second part of the Olympic qualification process. "The only rider Azizul has not beaten is Hoy but this should not be his main concern. "It's his first track competition after such a long period and it will be more to gauge where his level is. "In fact, Beasley did not want him to go to the World University Games in China (in August) as he felt Azizul was not ready at that time. "Azizul was ranked number one at the end of the 2010-11 season, so it will be more about strengthening his position as he heads into the Olympic year," said Naim. Joining Azizul and Josiah in Astana is youngster Sofian Nabil Omar Bakri, who will race in the omnium and points race. "The other national riders will be involved in the SEA Games around the same time so it's a good time to launch the 2016 Olympics programme. "Sofian is part of the plan, so he will get his first taste of what it's like at the top level," added Naim. After Astana, there are three more World Cup stops counting towards Olympic qualification in Cali (December), China (January) and London (February) before the finale at the World Championships in Melbourne in April next year. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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