By Chris LaBate
Leonard Ellerbe, adviser to WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., doesn't see a reason for Manny Pacquiao to stage an immediate fourth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez. Last Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Pacquaio won a controversial twelve round majority decision over Marquez. Mayweather plans to fight on May 5 at the MGM Grand, and negotiations for a Pacquiao fight were set to begin, but now the Filipino superstar and his promotional team, Top Rank, are going to pursue a fourth clash with Marquez instead.
Ellerbe expects Pacquaio to force a clash with Mayweather, and then pursue a fourth clash with Marquez in the future.
“I think Manny Pacquiao is going to step up and say, 'I want to fight Floyd Mayweather,' ” Ellerbe said to the Grand Rapids Press. “He is an honorable guy, his country admires him, and I think he'll step up. Otherwise, he'll disappoint his own fans, and I don't think he'll do that. They could make [the Marquez] fight anytime. When Floyd knocks out Manny Pacquiao, that fight will still be there. They can still make that fight after the chapter on Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao is closed.”