The last fighter to give Pacquiao any trouble, Lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, is still thinking Pacquiao, Pacquiao, Pacquiao. Even at 37, and possibly having to make a disasterous jump to Welterweight to even imagine that fight, Marquez is hoping that he can land a third fight with his Filipino rival next year. Part of me still wants to believe that he wants to settle the score once and for all, but another part of me is thinking that Marquez is going for the cash out fight.
While I won't knock him for trying, how much of a chance does he think he has against a fighter who is bigger, stronger and much faster than he was the last time they fought? I've maintained the opinion that if Pacquiao and Marquez were ever to meet again past Lightweight, despite the fact that stylistically Pacquiao is still the same, he'll just be too strong for Marquez and stop him in the middle rounds. In the meantime, Marquez has other things to worry about, doesn't he?
An Uncertain Future Lies Ahead For Williams and Martinez
On the heels of his Knockout of the Year and Fighter of the Year closing effort against Paul Williams last weekend, Sergio Martinez is on top of the world and is eagerly awaiting his next challenge. However, with a putrid Middleweight division surrounding him and a Junior Middleweight class that likely has no intention of facing off against him, Martinez's hope for a big payday is going to be a hell of a whole lot harder to achieve. His next opponent is going to be a hard find, though potential fights with Dmitry Pirog or Alfredo Angulo, once he clears his immigration issues, could be interesting.
As for Williams, he's presumably headed back to Welterweight to attempt to snag a payday once more, but when you consider that the Welterweight division is looking more and more like the Heavyweight division nowadays, it makes you wonder what is going through Team Williams's collective minds.
Schafer Calls Arum A Cherry Picker...Yawn.
It seems that Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer came way late to the party when he decided to call Bob Arum a cherry picker in regards to Manny Pacquiao. Schaefer said that Arum is picking out easy fights for Pacquiao, while Pacquiao sits down and does nothing. Well, that's nice and all, but it would've been more credible if he said Arum was calling the shots for all of Top Rank's fighters, not just Pac-Man, because that's something we already know.
Considering that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is tied up until mid-January with his legal matters and Golden Boy has nobody they can match Pacquiao up with except maybe Victor Ortiz, what leverage do they have to make the public believe them? While it's obvious that Arum is matching up Pacquiao in-house, and has done that forever, Pacquiao isn't going to turn down easy paydays just because Richard Schaefer said so. Ladies and gentlemen, the ship is sinking fast at Golden Boy Promotions!
Potshot Picks:
Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Michael Katsidis
As noted above, Marquez is 37 years old and is facing a young and hungry opponent who's gunning for his belt. Katsidis has improved since his losses to Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz a few years back, and despite Marquez's reputation as a technical fighter, this is going to turn into a brawl and Katsidis will have extra fuel in his tank fighting for his recently passed brother. Still though, Marquez by decision in a fiercely pitched fight.
Andre Ward vs. Sakio Bika
Expect Bika to give Ward some trouble in the early rounds, but not too much after that. Ward is too slick and much too talented to struggle against B-class fighters like Bika. Ward by decision.
Arthur Abraham vs. Carl Froch
This is going to be beautiful while it lasts as these two punchers have it out. Froch is perfect for Abraham, who will find that he can't miss every time he throws a straight punch. Abraham by knockout.