Sulaiman, Beristain say no to 5th fight
By Roy LuarcaPhilippine Daily Inquirer
IF JUAN Manuel Marquez sticks to his decision not to fight Manny Pacquiao again, he will get the full backing of two Mexican boxing Hall of Famers.
World Boxing Council president Jose Sulaiman and trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain both believe that their compatriot should not trade punches with the Filipino icon again.
This despite Marquez’s stunning sixth-round knockout of Pacquiao in their fourth showdown last Dec. 8 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The 81-year-old Sulaiman, the WBC head for a record 38 years, told BoxingScene.com that Marquez should forget Pacquiao and retire from boxing while he is ahead.
He said the money that Pacquiao-Marquez V would rake in is just for the “short term” and “one bad punch can remove the happiness from his life in the future.”
Beristain, who has honed Marquez’s skills since the fighter’s teens, thinks along the same line.
After seeing Marquez get the shorter end of the exchanges with Pacquiao until the last second of the sixth round, when he sneaked in that dynamite right, Beristain no longer wants a fifth installment of the duel.
“Personally, I am not convinced by the idea that Juan should fight Pacquiao again,” Beristain told Opposing Views Sunday. “We are interested in facing a puncher, a fighter like Brandon Rios.”
The unbeaten Rios is a young, wild bull whose skill level isn’t in Pacquiao’s plateau yet.
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