Manny Pacquiao has to get past David Diaz first, but a third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez already looks a certainty.
Filipino superstar Pacquiao steps up to lightweight in Las Vegas on Saturday night to face Diaz for the WBC crown after outpointing Marquez in a thrilling rematch at super-featherweight in March.
Many fans would rather the Pacman was going toe-to-toe with Marquez again than facing Diaz, and it looks like a third meeting will happen soon.
“It’s up to my promoter,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “But, yeah, I’ll fight him again.
“It was a good fight. I’ve watched the tape several times, and it was a very tough fight, one of my toughest. But I think I won.”
Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum didn’t want a third fight with Marquez immediately as he believes it will be an even bigger event given more time to build up.
But he says if the Pacman beats Diaz and Marquez beats Joel Casamayor in his first bout at lightweight, then the trilogy could completed some time early next year.
He said: “It makes sense to wait because we’ll have new elements to promote. With both fighters at 135, there’s a lot more conjecture. Now, it’s a real story.”
