Earlier today Top Rank President Todd DuBoef could be found inside of the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles with reigning lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez. To say that the two men were conducting business is a huge understatement as the reason for their appointment was for Marquez to sign on for a trilogy with his fierce rival Manny Pacquiao.
While the fight is yet official, as Pacquiao still has to sign his end of the deal and is expected to do so later this week once his advisor Michael Koncz arrives to the Philippines with his contract, it has been a forgone conclusion to many that these two would meet again. The fight, set to take place on November 12th at the MGM Grand, is reportedly going to be at a catch weight of 144 pounds and Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight title will be on the line.
During Pacquiao’s unanimous decision victory over Shane Mosley earlier this month Marquez could be found sitting ringside and reaffirmed to me how badly he wanted the fight while also pointing out that it has been his technique and intelligence that had served him so well against Manny in their previous two fights. Marquez fought Pacquiao to a split-draw in May of 2004 and dropped a disputed split-decision to him in March of 2008.
Not having fought since his November TKO over Michael Katsidis, Marquez will be looking to stage a tune up bout first, likely to take place on July 2nd in either Las Vegas or Mexico City. Former champion David Diaz is the front runner to land the dance against the 37-year old Marquez.
Pacquiao-Marquez III is a fight that again has people split as to their emotions on the bout. Some say that Marquez it the only man to really test Pacquiao in recent years and that he is the most ideal candidate out there while others say that he has shown signs of aging in recent duels and is likely to get blown out after moving up two full weight classes for the fight.
Time will tell. November 12th is almost six months away but expect a hot and heavy build up to this grudge match along the way.
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at [email protected]
