LAS VEGAS — Juan Manuel Marquez doesn?t care if Manny Pacquiao goes to hell and back. The former super featherweight champion of the world will follow the Filipino boxing sensation anywhere — and through any weight level — to get the one thing he has always been chasing after: A third fight against Pacquiao. ?I?m still looking for that fight,? Marquez said Wednesday at the Hollywood Theater of the MGM Grand, where he was among the world champions who pledged their support for Oscar de La Hoya in the coming ?Dream Match? on December 6. Marquez and Pacquiao have fought twice, both times resulting in close decisions that left people wondering who really won. The first bout ended in a controversial draw, during which Pacquiao knocked Marquez down three times in the first round only to watch the bout slip away in the next 11. Pacquiao floored Marquez yet another time in their second fight en route to a points victory that netted for the 29-year-old General Santos City native the super featherweight title. Marquez, though, believes there was nothing close about both fights, and there should be no need to wonder who really won. But he wouldn?t mind a little closure to their rivalry. ?It wasn?t close; I won both fights,? said Marquez, who is coming off a decisive victory over Joel Casamayor in his debut at lightweight. ?If he wants to fight me at 147, I will fight him at 147. Whatever, 140, 147, 150, 160.? Marquez later joked with journalists, saying he?d fight Pacquiao at heavyweight if need be. He added he wouldn?t mind fighting in the Philippines, in front of an expectedly loud hometown crowd cheering for a guy considered a national hero. The veteran boxer said Pacquiao will find the sailing rough against De La Hoya, largely because of the size disparity. ?The weight [advantage] is a problem for Pacquiao,? he said. ?I think Oscar will win this one.? He added that De La Hoya will put an end to Pacquiao?s streak over Mexican boxers. The Filipino has been lording it over fighters with Latino lineage with victories over the likes of Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barera, Jorge Solis, Oscar Larios, David Diaz and, well, Marquez, to earn the tag ?Mexicutioner.? ?Pacquiao is a Mexican executioner? I don?t know,? said Marquez. ?I think Oscar will win for the Latinos, Mexicans. I think Oscar is too strong and he can take Pacquiao?s punches.?
