Juan Manuel Marquez ecstatic over fan response for third Manny Pacquiao installment
Boxing fans can be a powerful bunch.
Following an overwhelming response to teases of a trilogy bout between boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao and the formidable Juan Manuel Marquez, Marquez has expressed his gratitude and found new motivation for the fight.
"I can't believe it,” Marquez said in a boxingscene.com article reported by Jhonny Gonzalez. “He [Pacquiao] said people don't want to watch a third fight, but he's wrong. The fans want the third fight. People always ask me about a third fight with Pacquiao.
Like I've said, he doesn't want to fight me.
“He is the one who is running from the fight. I don't know if it's really him talking. Maybe the promoter [Top Rank] is telling him this, but something is not right," Marquez said anxiously.
Upon returning home to the Philippines and resuming political duties, Pacquiao indicated a third fight with Marquez, while tempting, wouldn’t draw the viewership of other potential offers.
Since dismantling the bigger, beefier Antonio Margarito, Pacquiao has been the belle of the boxing ball, with no less than four top fighters offering the boxing equivalent of dowries to meet him in the ring.
Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez's name has been tossed around as a potential Pacquiao opponent following his sensational knockout of the 6'2" Paul Williams last Saturday. But most insiders have scratched him off the list due to his status as a much bigger middleweight.
Left are “Sugar” Shane Mosley, WBC welterweight king Andre Berto, and Marquez, the first two having never tasted Pacquiao’s leather fists in the ring.
Mosley was announced a candidate by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum since he is a known boxing draw, has a big name, and can generate massive pay-per-view revenue.
While Berto doesn’t have the household name status of Mosley, nor the draw capacity, he is an undefeated young fighter who has won over the suits and wallets of HBO. That means the broadcasting company would offer something terrible to see Pacquiao and
Berto square off in a welterweight contest.
Marquez’s comments come just as his promoter, Richard Schaefer, expressed doubts about the possibility of Pacquiao-Marquez III.
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