Promoter Bob Arum is not taking sides on the upcoming fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley but critics say he would be pleased if Marquez would emerge as the winner in the Oct.12 fight at Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Joel Diaz, Bradley’s head trainer, recently voiced his concerns about Arum’s perceived preferences on the outcome of the Marquez-Bradley fight. Seemingly, Diaz understands why Arum would go for Marquez for obvious reasons. ?Marquez is a big name, he?s a big draw,? Diaz told Chris Robinson of hustleboss.com. ?Bradley, as you can see, he doesn’t draw much. He doesn’t have a big draw in boxing. But he keeps winning, he keeps fighting. He?s a four-time world champion. As a business person, I’m sure that Bob Arum would rather have Marquez win than Bradley win. Because there [are] bigger fights out there and bigger opponents. We have that in mind and we work against all those adversities.? Diaz added. Arum promotes both Marquez and Bradley but critics say the hall of fame promoter would likely go for Marquez because there are bigger fights ahead and Marquez is much easier to promote than Bradley. If Bradley wins against Marquez in their upcoming fight, Arum would likely junk the Palm Springs star in favor of Marquez because of Bradley’s dismal pay-per-view (PPV) record. Obviously, Arum will put premium on fighters with impressive PPV-drawing records as it will determine the financial viability of the fight. Arum is expected to work on a fifth fight between Marquez and Manny Pacquiao provided the Filipino star wins in his upcoming fight against Brandon Rios on Nov. 24 in Macau, China. The possibility of a fifth fight between Marquez and Pacquiao became even more clearer when World Boxing Organization (WBO) President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel said that WBO could order the rematch provided they both win in their upcoming fights. Arum has yet to react to to the WBO announcement but he would certainly welcome the news as it will be a financially-viable match and easier fight to promote. Other than the highly-hyped fight between Floyd Mayweather and Pacquiao, a fifth fight between Marquez and Pacquiao appears to be next year’s biggest boxing event. Still, Pacquiao and Marquez should be able to emerge victorious in their upcoming fights in order to seal the the much-awaited rematch.
