Juan Manuel Marquez No Desire to Fight Manny Pacquiao: It's Timothy Bradley Rematch or Retirement
After Manny Pacquiao's victory over Brandon Rios, Juan Manuel Marquez has been continuously being linked to the Filipino boxer, who is eyeing for a fifth bout against the Mexican fighter. Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum said in an interview with Los Angeles Times that the three possible opponents for Pacquiao's next fight are Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley and Ruslan Provodnikov.
However, Marquez seems disinterested in having another fight with his longtime rival. Marquez's trainer and manager Ignacio Beristain confirmed that the Pacquiao chapter in the Mexican's career is all over. The former four-division world champion is only interested in having a rematch with Timothy Bradley.
For some, Marquez has nothing more to prove against Pacquiao after his thrilling knockout victory over the Filipino boxer in 2012. Arum perfectly understands why the Mexican fighter no longer wishes to have a fifth bout with Pacquiao. "He (Marquez) figures that there is no way he can do better against Manny than he did last year," Arum said. The Hall of Fame promoter couldn't agree more. "How much better could you be," he added.
"Juan has only one goal," Beristain told Boxing Scene. "To confront Timothy Bradley in a rematch," added Beristain. He also stated that Marquez is likely to retire if a Bradley rematch does not take place. Furthermore, according to Beristaine, the Mexican fighter is hungry to win another world championship in a fifth division. "Bradley has the welterweight title," said Beristain.
The other fighter that Marquez is rumoured to have a bout with is Ruslan Provodnikov, who is also considered for Pacquiao's next fight. The World Boxing Organisation (WBO) president, Francisco Valcarcel, will reportedly visit Mexico to give donations to several benevolent organisations. While in Mexico, Valcarcel plans to meet with Marquez and his camp to try to talk him into fighting Provodnikov at 140 pounds.
Beristain is open for the idea but unsure how the meeting will turn out.
Provodnikov has reportedly amenable to the proposal of a bout against Marquez. "I don't know why Marquez would rather retire than fight me in a big pay-per-view fight," Provodnikov told Boxing Scene. "I think him and I are a 50-50 fight," Provodnikov added. The Russian boxer, who is the current WBO light welterweight champion, lost to Bradley in March 2013. His fight against Bradley is a favourite for the 2013's Fight of the Year.
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