According to Bob Arum, the only thing preventing the third installment of Pacquaio vs. Marquez, is the payday that Juan is requesting from Top Rank. Apparently, Marquez is insisting on a figure that?s close to double of what he got for his performance against Floyd Mayweather Jr. This was predictable, as now after beating a young top rated fighter in Katsidis, Juan Manuel is back on top, having proved that he can still do his job in the ring.
Can you really blame Marquez for going overboard with his demand? After all, there are only a few fights for Pacquiao out there that the boxing community is really interested in. Mayweather Jr. and Juan Marquez. Putting more ?Margarito-type? fighters in front of Pacquiao is not only a waste of time, but is detrimental to Manny?s career.
So, why is it acceptable for Marquez to ask for such colossal amount? The answer is simple: because this fight would more than likely produce at least double in revenue then what Marquez vs. Mayweather Jr. did. Another reason is because a fight against Floyd is not yet on the horizon and, thus, Marquez instantly becomes the biggest fight out there for team Pacquiao.
At this point, it seems that Top Rank has reserved May 7th for yet another one of Floyd?s former victims for Pacquiao, Shane Mosley. Despite the fact that Mosley can never be counted out, what is the advantage in taking this fight for Pacquiao? He will be fighting an obviously over the hill Shane, who has recently suffered a one-sided loss to Floyd and battled to a hard fought draw against Sergio Mora. This fight is a lose/lose for Manny, unless Shane can hurt him in the fight, making it seems as if the fight is evenly matched. If Pacquiao ends up dominating Shane, it should not be a surprise to anyone, but just another fighter carefully handpicked for Manny ?Pacman? Pacquiao.
Fighting Marquez at a lower weight will undoubtedly be a challenge for congressman Pacquiao. While most Pacquiao fans guarantee a brutal early knockout for Manny, I along with many others disagree. Marquez can do something most fighters can?t and won?t attempt, which is counter punch all night long. Too many people see Manny as a relentless and unstoppable force, who will walk through your punches as if they are butter. Marquez on the other hand, figured out that if you punch Pacquiao, he stops and resets. With this in mind, they had two tremendous, entertaining and, most of all, competitive fights.
Hopefully, Bob Arum along with Pacquiao and Marquez can make this fight work for the fans and, more importantly, for the history of both fighters.
