Sources close to the information have informed us that it looks like the long-awaited third bout between pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao and lightweight king Juan Manuel Marquez will likely be distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View. Promoter Bob Arum, who has been vacationing in Paris, was said to be mulling over offers from both HBO and Showtime to televise the November 12th showdown, but according to our source, plans are already in motion to air the replay the following weekend on an HBO World Championship Boxing bout headlined by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. "He'll be on the rebroadcast of the Pacquiao/Marquez fight, which will be shown to millions. He's going to be headlining the HBO World Championship Boxing [card] that same weekend of the Manny Pacquiao/Marquez replay," our source revealed.
"He put up real numbers. It's all because of the viewing and the people that supported and watched him fight Zbik. He came out and put on that kind of a show and that's why Bob put him on and HBO gave him that kind of a date," the source explained, referring to the fact that Chavez Jr.'s title-winning effort against Sebastian Zbik drew 1.5 million viewers, the highest HBO Boxing After Dark numbers since a 2007 bout between Paulie Malignaggi and Lovemore N'Dou. Considering that Showtime has yet to secure any meaningful fight for the Saturday following Pacquiao-Marquez III, the decision to go with HBO would make the most sense for Top Rank, who will no doubt be looking to use the replay to help maximize the exposure of Chavez Jr.
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