Juan Manuel Marquez is the Top Rank CEO Bob Arum's primary choice for Manny Pacquiao's next fight, but the Mexican legend has reiterated his stance on facing the Pacman for a fifth time-it's not happening.
"The fifth fight is not going to happen," Marquez told BoxingScene.com. "It's not even worth it because people are very happy with that knockout." Marquez is still trying to wrangle a rematch out of Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley, although that seems the likeliest opponent for Pacquiao now that Marquez is ruling himself out.
Marquez's promoter Fernando Beltran has said there are talks underway about scheduling a second Bradley fight, preceded by a bout in Mexico. "We are in contact. He is looking for a rematch with Bradley, and we are intending to do a fight in Mexico. The Mexican fans deserve an opportunity to see him," Beltran said. "The fight in Mexico would happen before the rematch with Bradley. We do not have anyone specific in mind, but we are sure it will be a highly rated opponent."
Marquez is doing his best to steer Manny toward Floyd Mayweather Jr. "I hope they make the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. to erase any doubts on who would win," Marquez said. "I think it's going to be a great fight and the people will be very pleased because they won't be in suspense on what would have happened if these two fighters had faced each other."
Mayweather's thrown cold water on that idea multiple times, flatly stating he will never work with Arum. If Marquez is planning on a tune-up fight, it is conceivable that Bradley could still face Pacquiao, and rematch Marquez provided JMM looks impressive in his Mexico matchup.
If a fight with Bradley can't be made, Ruslan Provodnikov is on record wanting to face "Dinamita."
"If a compromise is reached and Pacquiao fights Mayweather or Bradley, Marquez will have to fight Ruslan Provodnikov because that would be the only remaining fight for Marquez that people would actually want to see on HBO pay-per-view," said Vadim Kornilov, Provodnikov's adviser.
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