With a kind of wonderment and bewildered look, the press was about as confused about Manny Pacquiao?s exit in a post fight presentation for a returned rubber match with Juan Manuel Marquez. After all, we have seen Juan?s brother do a trilogy with Israel Vazquez, and it might be the honorable thing to do in this circumstance.
Maybe we want more blood to fill our desires, or perhaps see a bit more zest and zeal. There is a good possibility that there can be another rivalry for Pacman to fill, but David Diaz at lightweight isn?t it. In fact, that skirmish wouldn?t enhance anything now that Juan Diaz (of no relation to the other Diaz) has lost a portion of the accumulative belts to Nate Campbell, dropping a decision.
Maybe Pacquiao is a better businessman than the next, but his total disregard of Marquez was so unnecessary. When a fighter gives such a performance like Marquez did?you would expect him to say that the possibility is strong without further determination and end of story.
I was one of those who thought the older Marquez brother was finished. I?m sure if Manny had knocked him out in the 2nd fight there would have been a gazillion reiterating what I talked about as an afterthought, but I was wrong. I won?t pay to see Manny twinkle toeing against David Diaz, but there are matches on the horizon for Marquez.
I believe that Pacquiao?s plans aren?t geared in the Marquez direction of interest because he?s seeking a fourth world belt acclaim that he figures he?ll get from Diaz. There is a negative side effect, perhaps. He can split the fanfare and be mistakenly seen more of a dodger for the bypassing of Marquez in an immediate rematch of the rematch, which everybody knows had Pacquiao lost, he would have looked for a rubber match.
The ideal career moves for Manny is getting beyond Diaz (which would be a perfect fight to present on HBO), and then go after Ricky Hatton. He?ll probably retire after that fight, and it wouldn?t be too drastic for me to say, ?Good riddance.? Like in the Monk theme verse, ?It?s a Jungle out There,? but for Pacquiao, we?ve already seen the forest from the trees.
When Manny fought last, the founder of LATINBOXING Magazine, Roger Grajeda (who is also launching an MMA magazine soon), told me that this was going to be the second biggest coming since he got inspired launching LB?s first issue in 2005 for Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo l, and now that he?s seen Pacquiao-Marquez ll, without the adversarial approach that you would expect to be in such an endearing fight, you get the sense that the air has been let out of the balloon.
Capitalizing on a third match up threw a monkey wrench for boxing like it?s never had before.
The good news is that Juan Marquez can now be free from any doubt about the kind of fighter that he is. He?s gained more fans for his bravado and goods than mostly any other fighter (besides his younger brother), and has a brighter future again. There are natural junior lightweight fighters who he can fight without resorting to place rocks in his pockets to tilt the scales beneath 140. Chris John would make an ideal rematch fight here in the States, and there?s always the very cunning and daring Edwin Valero lurking in the wings. Marquez may want Manny again, but he doesn?t need him.
Pacquiao Gets Belted?Technically
The prestigious Ring Magazine Belt was up in arms after the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino skirmish cleared some smoke, but the filtering haze that accumulated in giving him the belt after getting the split decision verdict over the formerly recognized Super Featherweight Champion Juan Marquez has placed a grudge that shouldn?t be tolerated in boxing.
We deserve better. There is a critical piece in it that should go understood. Blaming judges for close scores in the fight has been around centuries. Assuming you judged a fight where the rounds are close, chances are some disparity will arise somewhere.
With ?The Ring? making an argument over judges? scoring their fights, it can be seen as rude and argumentative and create sympathy for Juan Marquez. That may be the case as to why Ring had handed over the championship belt over to Manny Pacquiao, and don?t expect sales of the magazine to increase in the Philippines due to the controversy.
The main problem that could lower the worth of some money is for Pacquiao to grab instantly the 6-Million mark figure GBP brain trust Schaefer threw, and the warm baked oven that Arum wants to slowly cook when Pacquiao is good and ready. Who knows if those same tactics were applied on Marquez when Arum offered him $750,000 American pesos to sough through an immediate rematch that took four years in the making?
Since Bob is not fond of making them, we can project willful thinking on his part that he?ll more than likely wait for Juan Manuel passed his next birthday by then. Much to the chagrin of his allies, Arum is right about the waiting game. He knows he could draw twice as much with these tactics. The thing is whether Marquez does or doesn?t isn?t going to be based on whether he did or did not win the rematch, but more about what the books say.
If the WBC forces an immediate third match, I would be surprised if Arum and Pacquiao didn?t vacate the other fight on David Diaz, and then go with TEIKEN?s WBA Super Featherweight Champion Edwin ?El Inca? Valero instead.
The reality is that if you asked most people in the know of what fight would intrigue more between Manny Pacquiao fighting either David Diaz or Edwin Valero, Valero?s name would come up more often than not. Now that little fight is worth about 7-million, give or takes a million and a half less on the Pacquiao exchange, but the fight itself does everything for boxing that we haven?t got!
