Manny Pacquiao Vs. Juan Manuel Marquez 5 Won’t Happen As Mexican Doesn't Care About The Money And Would Rather Preserve KO Win Over Filipino

“Quit while ahead”, that is Juan Manuel Marquez’s line of thinking when asked if a fifth fight against Manny Pacquiao is possible in the near future. For the Mexican, he’d rather retire or fight other top contenders to preserve the beauty and memory of his cold and callous sixth round knockout of the Filipino in December 2012.

There’s the allure of another huge payday in finalising a boxing date with Pacquiao, who leads their head-to-head series, 2-1-1, but for Marquez the last bout which he won by a convincing KO was enough to put an end to the rivalry between the Mexican and Filipino boxer.

“I’ve been offered a lot of money for a fight with Pacquiao— but for me honour, prestige, and respect for a country comes first. And, why do a fifth fight? Considering we won,” Marquez stated via boxingscene.com preferring that their rivalry end with the memory of Pacquiao kissing the canvas.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez Head-to-Head History (Pacquiao leads Marquez 2-1-1)

March 8, 2004 - Pacquiao vs. Marquez (Draw, 115-110, 110-115 and 113-113)

March 15, 2008 - Pacquiao def. Marquez (Split Decision, 115-112, 112-115 and 114-113)

Nov. 11, 2011 - Pacquiao def. Marquez (Majority Decision, 115-113, 114-114 and 116-112)

Dec. 8, 2012 - Marquez def. Pacquiao (6th Round KO)

Marquez also touched on the topic of retirement admitting that quitting the sport has crossed his mind although the Mexican is still undecided about his future.

“Making a decision for an athlete [to retire] is very difficult, because we miss the exercise, the applause, the screams of the fans. I do not want to tarnish the career that I’ve made as many fights [have done by fighting for too long]. I want to feel sure of what i can do and then make a decision,” Marquez added in the same article.

Since the KO win over Pacquiao in 2012, Marquez has split his last two bouts. He lost via split decision (113-115, 115-113 and 112-116) to Timothy Bradley on Oct. 12, 2013 before winning via unanimous decision (119-108, 117-109 and 117-109) over Mike Alvarado on May 17, 2014 in his last fight.

Before any Pacquiao vs. Marquez talks however, the Filipino has to convince Marquez that he is still a worthy foe by beating his next opponent, undefeated American Chris Algieri (20-0-0, 8 KOs) on Nov. 23 in Macau. There are also persistent rumours of the probable Pacquiao vs. Mayweather super fight in 2015— a richer proposition for the Filipino and if it happens he might not need another big fight versus Marquez anymore.

The trio of Marquez, Mayweather Jr. and Pacquiao are nearing the twilight of their careers and can even be argued that all three are already closer to past their primes as well especially Marquez who turned 41 years old last August. Pacquiao is 35 years old and Mayweather is 37 years old. If a fifth fight between Marquez and Pacquiao is going to happen, it should come in 2015 as any bout between the two beyond that year will not have the same appeal to boxing fans and critics as their first four fights.

Pacquiao is the bigger draw than Marquez early and even this late in their respective careers. The proposition for the Mexican is simple; if he wants a final huge pay day he’ll take on the fifth fight against the Filipino. But if he wants Pacquiao sleeping in the canvas courtesy of his powerful right counter to remain as the last memory in the minds of the boxing fans, no one can really blame Marquez’s decision to pass on a fifth encounter against the dangerous Filipino, who will be wanting to avenge the embarrassing loss.

Watch Marquez’s killer KO of Pacquiao in their match back in 2012:

(YouTube/th3boxing)