By Ryan Burton
BoxingScene.com caught up with HBO commentator Jim Lampley shortly after Juan Manuel Marquez's scintillating victory over Mike Alvarado this past Saturday in Los Angeles. Both fighters hit the canvas but Marquez built an early lead that Alvarado couldn't overcome. Lampley was very impressed by the show put on by both men.
"It was a hell of a fight. It was great. It was exciting. It was thrilling. It was courage, blood, violence. It was everything boxing at The Forum should be," said Lampley.
Prior to the fight, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said that he would like to match the winner against Manny Pacquiao, who won an unanimous decision over Tim Bradley in April.
When asked to access their rivalry, Lampley said that the two fighters are very evenly matched and feels that Pacquiao has won more of the fights because of his higher punch output.
"Who knows? What have we not seen from them? We have seen it all from them. They both looked brilliant in their recent showings but at the end of the day it had always been the same thing with them. Manny throws more punches and is a little bit busier. It tends to give him an advantage to win more rounds. Manny has slightly more power and has knocked Marquez down more than Marquez has knocked him down. That is why it is two wins for Pacquiao, one draw and one win for Marquez. A fifth fight doesn't sound all that bad to me," Lampley explained.
While many fans and insiders like the idea of a fifth fight between the two future Hall of Famers, there is another segment who feel that five fights are too many and that it would be overkill. Lampley said that both fighters' most recent fights have created demand for another edition of what has been one of the biggest rivalries in boxing in recent years.
"It is bigger than what it would have been without the drama of this (Marquez defeating Alvarado in spectacular fashion) and Pacquiao's performance against Bradley. Now there is interest," Lampley told BoxingScene.com.
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