MANNY PACQUIAO is going to make a tough decision this week.
Top Rank chair Bob Arum is inclined to pit Pacquiao with lightweight champion David Diaz of the US, while trainer Freddie Roach is batting for super-feather titlist Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico as far as the choice of the Filipino?s opponent for March 15, 2008.
Pacquiao is scheduled to spend Thanksgiving Day at Arum?s Las Vegas residence where the top-notch lawyer will lay the financial terms of both fights.
Diaz is under contract with Top Rank, while Marquez fights under the banner of Oscar De La Hoya?s Golden Boy Promotions.
Arum and Roach both agree that Diaz and Marquez are the leading candidates to land a lucrative Pacquiao fight following the unattractive showing of Joan Guzman of the Dominican Republic a few days ago in New Jersey.
Arum had told the Bulletin over the weekend that while Marquez appears to be the frontrunner, the 33-year-old reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) 130-lb titleholder faces a tough task in beating Diaz, the WBC 135-lb ruler, to the draw.
“It is not imperative for Manny to do it (fight Marquez),” Arum said. “But, again, Manny is serious about fighting three times next year. Then he can fight David Diaz and win the WBC lightweight championship, very prestigious. And then give Marquez a rematch when Manny is the champion,” said Arum in a radio interview.
“Manny deserves to go into the ring as the champion in fighting Marquez. And since Manny is having trouble making the 130-lb limit, this is the perfect opportunity to fight in the lightweight and win another championship,” added Arum.
But Roach, who has been Pacquiao?s cornerman since mid-2001, has a diferent perspective in an interview that was ran by boxingtalk.net yesterday.
“It?s the most logical, we fought to a draw last time. If we don?t fight Marquez next we could move up to 135 lbs. and fight David Diaz. People want to see the Marquez rematch and Pacquiao wants to fight the best guys out there,” said the 47-year-old tactician.
Money is the stumbling block to the realization of a Pacquiao-Marquez rematch, Roach admits that if the Mexican insists that he gets the same amount of money, the fight will not push through.
“There is no way we will give parity when Pacquiao is the draw. Ninety percent of the people that will come to the fight will be Pacquiao fans. Marquez is a great fighter, but he?s a counter puncher and he?s a little but boring sometimes. The only time he really, really looked good is when he fought Pacquiao because Pacquiao made him fight. I don?t think Marquez has looked all that sharp since his last fight against Pacquiao.”
Still, Roach said that Marquez is the most attractive fight out there at the present time.
“With the guarantee and the PPV numbers, he?s bigger than Diaz, Guzman and (Joel) Casamayor.”
