By Lem Satterfield
Before Juan Manuel Marquez (51-5-1, 37 KOs) explores the possibility of moving up in weight to challenge WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KOs) on December 11, the WBA/WBO lightweight king will take a look at his mandatory Michael Katsidis (27-2, 22 KOs), and a possible catch-weight trilogy bout with WBO welterweight champ Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs).
"Obviously, look, my priority right now is and always has been Manny Pacquiao. There's no ifs ands or buts -- I want to fight Manny Pacquiao. But I might have to defend my titles, and we have to respect that Michael Katsidis is the No. 1 mandatory challenger to fight for my titles," Marquez said.
"So, obviously, if the Manny Pacquiao fight doesn't happen, then I have to defend my titles with honor and that's what I'll do. I just want to be involved in the best fights possible. That's the way that it's going to happen."
Besides the heat with their mutual promoters, the gap in weight is a considerable problem for a third fight between Marquez and Pacquiao. Marquez will not move up Pacquiao's weight of 147, which he admits was a big mistake when moved up to welterweight for last September's decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. If a Pacquiao trilogy presents itself, Marquez wants the fight to take place at a max of 143-pounds.
"I'll fight Manny Pacquiao between 140 pounds and 142 pounds, 143, that's where I'll fight Pacquiao. No problem. I went all the way up to 147 and fought Floyd Mayweather. I'll tell you one thing, I went all the way up to 147 to fight the best fighter on the planet. I hung in there for 12 rounds and fought with heart like I always do. If I want to fight Manny Pacquiao, fight me at a catch weight of between 140 or 143 with no problem," Marquez said.
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.
