It didn't take long for Juan Manuel Marquez to move on from his dominant win over Juan Diaz in the rematch of their 2009 Fight of the Year. In fact, he was past it by the halfway point of his post-fight interview with HBO's Jim Lampley. His statement wasn't exactly a surprise.
He wants Manny Pacquiao....again.
Of course he does. Why wouldn't he? Many believe that Marquez won at least one of the first two meetings between the two, and Marquez looked better against the Filipino superstar than anyone has since Erik Morales beat Pacquiao on March 19, 2005. I personally scored both fights as narrow victories for Pacquiao (114-111 and 114-113 respectively, both fights even in rounds, but lost by Marquez on the knockdowns) but both decisions easily could have been awarded to Marquez.
There's just one problem. Their first fight took place at 126. The rematch was contested at 130. Where exactly would this third fight be fought?
Pacquiao is arguably at his best at 140, where he destroyed Ricky Hatton in two rounds. He's shown plenty of strength and speed at 147 (okay, it was 145 for Cotto), and is expected to be fighting Antonio Margarito at an agreed weight of 150-151 on November 13. Although I didn't plan on discussing the obvious Pacquiao weight questions, you can't help but to ask yourself:
- Why was 147 too much for a Cotto fight last year, but 150 is just fine for a bigger, stronger fighter like Margarito only a year later?
- If the Cotto rematch had happened, would they still "need" to fight Cotto at 145 or would the new magic number have become 150 with a super welterweight title on the line?
- Isn't it now completely obvious that the whole "catchweight" thing is just a ploy from Freddie Roach and Team Pacquiao to weaken the opposition just a little more than expected, and not the result of concern for their fighter?
- Shouldn't a welterweight title fight be held at 147, or a junior middleweight title fight be held at 154, no questions asked?
But that's besides the point. The simple fact is that a third fight with Pacquiao is nothing but a figment of Juan Manuel's imagination. The best days for Marquez were at 126. He's done well at 135, but even that seems to be pushing it at times. Pacquiao has no intentions, nor should he, of ever dipping below 140 again, and perhaps never lower than 147 again. We've seen what happens to Marquez when he tries to go over 135. He's gets fat, slow, and weak. Floyd Mayweather didn't just beat Marquez, he embarrassed him.
I'll go out on a limb and say it. Even though Pacquiao-Marquez III seems like a good idea in principle, Pacquiao would win the fight easily, and the higher the weight, the easier and more brutal the Pacquiao knockout would be. Marquez, as great as he has been and still is, wants no part of Pacquiao at 140 or 147.
For now, I'd rather see Marquez defend his lightweight championship against Robert Guerrero. For Pacquiao? Well, I think you all know. Both guys need to just sack up and sign the contact. Enough said.