Most fight fans are keen on seeing if Manny Pacquiao can bounce back from the KO loss to rival-for-the-ages Juan Manuel Marquez last December. But that fifth scrap between the Congressman and the Mexican counter-punching ace hinges on Marquez. He’s either negotiating skillfully, and actually wants the tussle, while pretending to be uninterested, or is truly set on conquering other territory. I asked Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach if he thinks we’ll see Pacquiao-Marquez 5, in September.
“My gut instinct on what is next? I want it to be Marquez, Manny wants Marquez, but Marquez wants a lot, lot, lot of money,” Roach (seen with Pacquiao in above Chris Farina-Top Rank photo, before the fourth bout) told me. “I think it’s a little outrageous. It may not happen. We might have to go to Mike Alvarado or Brandon Rios or a Tim Bradley rematch could be made. I want Marquez right away, Manny and I both want it. But Marquez wants just about a 50-50 split. Manny brings butts in seats, pay-per-view-wise, Manny is the guy. Obviously Manny deserves more. I think a rematch will make a lot more money than the last fight. I think both sides can ask for more and Marquez deserves something, but not 50-50.”
The fourth fight between the rivals did about 1.15 million buys on HBO Pay-Per-View, generating around $70 million in revenue. Pacquiao became the first boxer to do more than a million buys a year for five straight years, beating Mike Tyson.
Does Roach think its Marquez’ ego growing larger is he playing negotiating mega-hardball? “They’re both at the end of their careers, they want as much as possible, you can’t blame them. But where else will Bradley get that kind of money? Nobody else in the world…Does he have any other place to go? For a Tim Bradley fight he’d get two million at the most.”
Follow Michael Woods on Twitter. deepwater says:
Marquez can call all the shots because he has bragging rights and can walk away with bragging rights. he probably does not want the fight. a 50-50 is his way of getting out of the fight. Radam G says:
Ditto Deepwater! Marquez is haggling his way out of the fight. It a Mexican pride thing. A lot of machismo over mucho dinero. Marquez is indeed a prizebytch — I mean pridefighter. He went to Indonesia and fought and lost to John Chris for $30,000 when he could have fought Da Manny in a second rematch for $800,000.
Now he may just fight the Cali Cranium Crusher/Big Foot for $2mil and get shafted in Cali or Sin City when he can fight Da Manny and get his arse KAYOED — as he did Da Manny — for $15mil to $30mil for the most watched fight in the history of World professional pugilism. Half of the 7mil of peeps on the planet would be eyeballing the live event. Da Manny would get $60mil plus.
How much money will Showtime pay Money May for six fights? That is what I thought! Not as much as Da Manny is getting in his next two fights in ASIA, BABEE! See! The truth always comes out.
The haters ought to halt the May Money LIES of being King of PPV. What has Da Manny done for USA’s PPV in the last five years? That is what I THOUGHT? He is the true KING of PPV stateside. Now he is taking it GLOBAL and smashing the mythology of superiority of haters and bigots. Get out of the cacoon of xenophobism. It’s Asian TIME, BABEE! Don’t be MAD! Holla! amayseng says:
Jmm took a beatin to land a few changing shots and get PAC out of there
It’s not worth going thro again.
He will knock tim Bradley out.
Then Floyd will only fight him at 154. Haha
RG who do u think PAC fights next?
