In a country where demonstrators resort to histrionics to drive home their sentiments, I find it surprising that eyebrows were raised when boxer Juan Manuel Marquez made the long trip to our shores to squarely challenge WBC superfeatherweight champion Manny Pacquiao to a third match.
Marquez restricted his argu-ments to the razor-close decision loss he suffered at the hands of Pacquiao on March 15. Marquez could have taken the low road and called Pacquiao names just to get into the Filipino?s nerve. The ice-cool former heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis once blew his top when an adversary hinted in a press conference that the Briton could be gay. Roberto Duran drew Sugar Ray Leonard?s ire when the slugger from Panama gave Sugar Ray?s wife Juanita the finger. Mike Tyson, in an attempt to provoke opponent Razor Ruddock, told the Canadian heavyweight bluntly: ?You have such big lips; I?m going to make you my girlfriend and kiss those lips.?
Marquez did not go below the belt with his remarks. He didn?t make any snide remarks about Pacquiao or the champ?s loved ones. He didn?t raise an issue on Manny?s gender. Heck, the dude didn?t spray-paint Pacquiao?s luxury car with the words ?colorum champ.? The Mexican simply wanted Pacquiao to commit to a rubber match.
Pacquiao, fully familiar with the acerbic saliva exchanges in pro boxing, handled Marquez?s tirades pretty well. PacMan in fact displayed a more open mind compared to some local fight experts who were not even the subject of the Mexican?s statements.
Which leads us to the $64 query: Will Marquez?s verbal counters secure him another fight with Pacquiao?
In a perfect world, Marquez and Pacquiao would be squaring off next month to immediately settle the score between them. But we?re talking here of pro boxing where market factors decide and chart a boxer?s path.
Make no mistake, Marquez-Pacquiao II made a whole lot of dough, generating $20.2 million in pay-per-view sales?a record for divisions below the welterweight (147 pounds) class. But here?s the catch: Pacquiao can actually earn a whole lot more in fights that present less risks. Does this make Pacquiao a coward? Nope, just an astute businessman. Lest we forget, PacMan is a professional athlete, which makes him an invest-ment?a walking business port-folio. A sound investment is all about realizing maximum divi-dend at minimum risks.
Pacquiao?s next fight may be a tough sell as American David Diaz is way too inferior compared to Marquez. A devastating win over Diaz, however, would give Pacquiao his fourth world boxing title (WBC lightweight crown) and re-establish his reputation as a big puncher. A fourth boxing title will also give PacMan an additional bargaining chip when he starts to assiduously pursue big money fights against the likes of Ricky Hatton, Joel Casamayor and, yes, Oscar De La Hoya.
Marquez is itching for a third meeting for two reasons: He?s adding up in years (he?ll turn 35 in August) and no pug other than Pacquiao can give him a huge payday. American promoter Bob Arum is dangling WBA super featherweight king Edwin Valero but Marquez is not taking the bait. Marquez stands to earn less money against Valero, an undefeated champ with an intimidating knockout resume. It does not make for a sound investment: huge risk for fewer dividends.
To some extent, Marquez has only himself to blame for the foxhole he is in. After salvaging an exciting draw with Pacquiao in their first meeting in May 2004, Marquez turned down a then career-high offer of $750,000.00 for a rematch. He ended up losing his WBA/IBF featherweight crown for a beggar?s purse.
Whether he likes it or not, Marquez will have to wait for his turn. He can continue to taunt Pacquiao, but the fact remains that Pacquiao can move on because he won the fight. It?s a different thing with Marquez as he has been left to lick his wounds.
Pacquiao has other things in mind and Marquez is clearly in the backburner. Arum arguably put it best when he said: ?I?m not saying they will never fight again, but you have to let it bake for a while.?
