Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. AP File Photo
MANILA, Philippines — Buoyed by a huge knockout win over his toughest tormentor Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez believes there is no reason to meet in the ring again for the fifth time.
With their first three meetings always ending in a controversy, the Mexican boxer is confident that his one-punch knockout victory over Pacquiao last December was enough to prove his claim.
“There is no point to have a fifth fight with Pacquiao. It was already made clear [who is better]. We already accomplished that objective,” said Marquez in an article at Boxingscene.com
Marquez has other ideas in mind on who he should fight next, just as Top Rank head honcho Bob Arum also has plans lined up in case there would be no fifth installment of the Pacquiao-Marquez fight.
And it largely hinges on the fight between Timothy Bradley and Ruslan Provodnkov, and Brandon Rios’ rematch with Mike Alvarado this year.
“If Marquez and Manny decide to fight this year, then I’ll try to make Rios and Bradley. If Manny and Marquez won’t fight this year, one of them can fight Bradley and the other can fight Rios,” said Arum in an interview with Boxing Scene.
But the 39-year-old veteran fighter insists that Pacquiao-Marquez V is at the bottom of his camp’s priority list.
“Nothing has been finalized and everything is still pending. [A fifth Pacquiao] would be the last option [among our considerations],” Marquez said.