By Chris Robinson
As Manny Pacquiao successfully defended his WBO welterweight title and produced another dominant victory over Shane Mosley last night at the MGM Grand, there were definitely plenty of vested spectators taking in the action, or lack thereof. A handful of pugilists in the building where there to check out Pacquiao, all of whom would admittedly love a chance to step into the ring with the Filipino star.
WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, IBF junior welterweight champion Zab Judah, middleweight kingpin Sergio Martinez, WBC and WBO titleist Timothy Bradley, and multi-division champion Juan Manuel Marquez all made their presence felt in one way or another, with two of the above mentioned five having stepped into the ring with Pacquiao and the other three surely sizing him up from ringside.
After Pacquiao's victory, his fourteenth straight and second in which he defended his WBO strap, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum mentioned that Marquez, Bradley and Judah, in that order, are the candidates he would be eyeing for his star fighter's November return in Las Vegas. Of the three it is Marquez who knows Pacquiao best, having battled him to a split-draw in May of 2004 while dropping a hotly-contested split-decision to him almost four years later in March of 2008.
Both Pacquiao-Marquez duels were high-octane affairs that could have went either way and to this day the Mexico City native stands firm in his belief that he was the better man after twelve rounds each time out. Having spotted Marquez inside of the arena, I started off our conversation by asking the 37-year old just how much he wants a trilogy with Manny.
"Everybody knows I want this fight with Manny but I need to wait and decide," Marquez stated, keeping things brief.
Pacquiao's two fights with Marquez were at 126 and 130 pounds, respectively, and it has been shocking to see him fight four to five weight divisions higher against bigger men and have shattering success in recent years. With visions of Pacquiao's knockouts over Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, and Oscar De La Hoya fresh in my mind, I asked Marquez what it was about him that allowed him to give his rival such fits.
"I think with technique, with intelligence," Marquez continued. "I have done it twice and I think I could do it a third time. I think I could beat him."
But Marquez still has a big decision to make. For his previous fights he has been working under Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions and recently saw his contract with the company expire. Golden Boy is dangling an enticing multi-fight package in front of him that could include shots at Robert Guerreo and Judah yet Marquez knows that re-signing with them may prevent a third fight with Pacquiao given the frosty relationship between Golden Boy and Top Rank.
"I need to see what happens with my contract," Marquez elaborated. "I need to watch happens with Golden Boy. I've been with Golden Boy but maybe I would never fight with Manny. Because everybody knows the relation with the promoters, Bob Arum and Golden Boy, isn't good."
Marquez finished our rap session by confirming the reports that he would need a tune up before venturing towards another date with Pacquiao. The next likely stop appears to be a July return to Vegas against Chicago's David Diaz, once proud owner of the WBC lightweight crown, and my colleague Michael Marley, of BoxingScene.com, later found out from Marquez that if that card was staged it would be by his own promotional company.
