THE SECOND encounter between Ring Magazine featherweight king Manny Pacquiao and WBA/IBF champ Juan Manuel Marquez is not yet etched in stone.
Ignacio Beristain, the manager of Marquez, declared the other day that although the fight between his ward and Pacquiao has already been announced to take place on Feb. 26 in Las Vegas, the proposed fight is still “shaky at best” as “it has not yet been negotiated.”
Sources in Mexico said the Marquez and Pacquiao camps have not agreed fight terms and purses.
“In Las Vegas, they have already set the date for him (Marquez) to fight Pacquiao, but the reality is that there is nothing,” Beristain said in an interview with a leading Mexican boxing website.
“For this fight to push through, we must first sit down to negotiate the contract.”
Beristain said he plans to talk to officials of Top Rank, promoter of Marquez, about the details of the much-awaited fight.
“But let me tell you this, Marquez is already training in the mountains for this fight and we are ready for Pacquiao,” the manager said.
The Feb. 26 showdown between two of the world’s finest featherweights will be a grudge rematch. Their previous encounter ended in a split draw despite three knockdowns suffered by the Mexican in the first round.
Pacquiao, fresh off a fourth-round stoppage of Thai Fahsan 3K Battery last Dec. 11 in Taguig, is said to be undergoing light training in General Santos City.
He is scheduled to leave for the United States to hook up with American trainer Freddie Roach in early January.
Pacquiao reportedly refused to sign a two-fight contract presented to him by his US promoter, Murad Muhammad, during his birthday recently.
The contract sets his Feb. 26 showdown with Marquez as well as a proposed rumble in July with Mexican ring legend Erik Morales.
