Marquez Not So Interested in Fifth Pacquiao Fight?
Apparently Juan Manuel Marquez, the reigning King of Mexican Boxing, doesn’t care what Top Rank and Zanfer Promotions think. Dinamita insists that he is not interested in fighting arch-rival Manny Pacquiao for a fifth time.
“I don’t think about that anymore,” Marquez was quoted as saying. “Anything that was pending was settled, in every way. If he would have knocked me out the way I did to him, how am I going to ask for another fight?”
As for the money that would be on the table, Marquez said:
“We know that the offer will be tempting, but it isn’t worth more than the feeling, what was lived, what was acquired after that knockout. That’s worth more than several million dollars. I would rather retire with this feeling than take a risk in whatever happens with Pacquiao.”
Pacfans: Angry and Relieved
Although Manny Pacquiao’s fanbase seems to have shrunk and become less vociferous in the wake of his knockout defeat at the hands of Marquez, no doubt those who remain passionate about the Pacman will seize upon Marquez’s unwillingness to fight Pacquiao again as proof that Marquez got lucky and is taking the cowards way out. They shouldn’t shoot their mouths off so quickly, lest they find those orifices crammed with boot leather.
Boxing is still first and foremost a business, and fighters say a lot of things until the green is put on the table. The theory is the winner of Marquez vs. Timothy Bradley will meet the winner of Pacquiao vs. Brandon Rios (Pacfans must be salivating at the prospect of the Filipino Dynamo getting revenge over somebody, whether it be Marquez or Bradley).
For Marquez’s part, I’m certain his reluctance is at least half-feigned, and if he were given a 50-50 split of the purse or larger, he would happily put his name on the dotted line. So Marquez might wind up duking it out with Pacquiao again, and the very thought of a fifth encounter ought to make the Pacfans queasy.
Marquez vs. Pacquiao V
Being a rabid Pacquiao fan is like being a member of the Tea Party, in that it requires ignoring certain unpleasant facts and focusing in on others to create a bubble of alternate reality. In Pacfanland, Manny Pacquaio was robbed in Marquez I, won decisive victories in Marquez II and III, and faced a steroid-enhanced Marquez in number four. In this fantasy land, Pacquiao will come back to kayo Marquez, because that is the only outcome should the two meet on a level playing field.
A cold hard look at the truth reveals a fifth fight is far less favorable for Pacquiao. The first encounter between these two titans yielded a very justifiable Draw, as Marquez’s winning most of the rounds balanced Pacquiao’s thunderous, three-knockdown opener. The 2008 rematch and 2011 rubber match were very close fights, and in both cases Pacquiao got the favorable nod from Vegas judges due in large part to the fact that he was the coming and then the established money man in the sport.
Now Pacquiao is 34 years old. His third fight with Marquez sparked outrage in many boxing circles, and his fourth produced a crushing knockout defeat. The mega-fight with Floyd Mayweather looks less likely than ever, and Pacquiao himself looks increasingly likely to give up boxing in favor of Filipino politics. Pacman is still a big draw in the fight game, but he is no longer the cash machine of the future.
Neither is Juan Manuel Marquez, but that isn’t the point. The point is that Pacquiao won two close decisions because of his status, and that status is dwindling rapidly. If anything, the Vegas judging might actually favor Marquez because of the perception that Pacquiao can’t lose on points in their town. Add to that the psychological edge of having brutally kayoed your opponent in the previous encounter, and the field isn’t level at all. It’s legitimately titled towards Marquez, and for the first time ever.
The bottom line is that Manny Pacquiao probably needs a knockout of his own to come out of the victor in a fifth encounter with Juan Manuel Marquez. Given the odds against such a thing happening, Manny had better hope the King of Mexican Boxing means it when he says he doesn’t need a fifth fight.
