IF EVER Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez meet for the second time, the Filipino hotshot should get the lion?s share of the prize money since he is the attraction, trainer Freddie Roach told a leading website over the weekend.
“We are the draw, not him (Marquez),” Roach told boxingtalk.net. “They had to put the fight last night (Saturday against Rocky Juarez) in a 7,000-seat arena because there?s no draw with him.”
Roach said he agrees with Pacquiao?s stand on the fact that he will “take the fight that makes the most money, and most sense.”
Even Top Rank chief Bob Arum once said that while Marquez is a top fighter, “he doesn?t have a fanbase and he couldn?t draw a fly.”
In the event a rematch with Marquez is not made, Roach said it would be advisable for Pacquiao to go up in weight and challenge Juan Diaz, the reigning World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation lightweight king.
Roach even took the time out to lash out at the rugged Diaz, who has been calling out Pacquiao?s name the past few weeks.
“Juan Diaz is talking about how Manny fights old washed up fighters. Well, who has Juan Diaz beaten? Who has he fought? I will say this though, he is an up and coming fighter, and I give him a lot of credit.”
“He might be more marketable than Juan Manuel Marquez is at this point, so we?ll see. I think that if Manny does move up to 135 lbs, everyone will too, everybody wants to fight Manny, he makes the most money. We need to see the numbers first before deciding on Juan Diaz. If it makes sense, we ?ll move up and take his belt,” said Roach.
And should Pacquiao rumble with Diaz, what?s going to happen? “I think it would be a great fight because both guys throw a ton of punches,” said Roach. “We have the upper edge on the power. Juan takes a good shot, so it looks like a great fight, on paper at least.”
Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) head honcho Oscar De La Hoya said the date March 15, 2008 has already been earmarked for the Pacquiao-Marquez rematch although contracts have yet to be signed by the two parties.
GBP promotes Marquez, while Pacquiao is with Top Rank.
