The battle to decide the better fighter between universal featherweight champ Manny Pacquiao and WBA/IBF king Juan Manuel M?rquez will happen in February of 2005, following a failed negotiation to pit the two fighters once again following their epic battle last May 8 which ended in a draw.
There were initial negotiations to pit M?rquez and Pacquiao right after their first battle, but talks bogged down after the parties failed to agree on the economic aspect of the rematch.
Pacquiao and Marquez figured in a 12-round draw last May 8 in Las Vegas despite three knockdowns suffered by the Mexican in the first round of the bout.
Promoter Bob Arum, in an interview with the Mexican press, has already expressed interest for the February play date. Arum promotes Marquez.
Legendary trainer Nacho Berist?in, who also manages Marquez, informed that his ward is already scheduled for a September 18 defense against compatriot Orlando Salido, as an undercard to Fight of the Decade candidate featuring Oscar De la Hoya against middleweight king Bernard Hopkins.
Pacquiao, for his part, has just resumed training in General Santos City, doing light workouts at the gym of businessman Rey Golingan inside the latter?s City Country Homes Hotel. The Filipino southpaw is slated to fly to the United States in the first week of September to hook up with trainer Freddie Roach in preparation for a planned November rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera.
Pacquiao is reportedly bent on putting an exclamation point to his first win over Barrera last November 15 where he stopped the erstwhile pound-for-pound king in the 11th-round of their scheduled 12-rounder.
