By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez arrived to a warm reception which included a mariachi band, kids carrying pro Marquez placards and scores of fans who posed for pictures and had him willingly autograph boxing gloves, magazines, T shirts and anything they could put in front of him at the Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday afternoon.

Marquez  who recognized us the moment he stepped out of the arrival area gave us a warm hug and said “I am so happy to see you.”

Then he let loose his inner feelings saying “I want to beat Mayweather because I want a third fight with Manny Pacquiao. Believe me I am going to win and force Pacquiao to fight  me” claiming as always that he believes  he beat the Filipino hero  in the two fights they had.

Their first clash ended in a draw after Pacquiao dropped Marquez three times in the first round but in which the Mexican counter-punched his way to salvage a draw. In the rematch Pacquiao dropped Marquez in the fourth round which apparently tilted the fight in Pacquiao’s favor with the Filipino southpaw eventually winning a split decision.

Marquez who even chased Pacquiao to the Philippines in an effort to force him to give him one last shot has moved up in weight to fight Mayweather Jr at the catch-weight  of 144 pounds in an effort to keep  abreast of Pacquiao who fights WBO champion Miguel Cotto at the catch-weight of 145 pounds on November 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Golden Boy Promotions public relations director Ramiro Gonzalez who spent two months at Marquez’ training camp in Mexico told BoxingScene.com, insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports that Marquez “definitely wants Pacquiao” even as Golden Boy Promotions vice president  and international matchmaker Eric Gomez said Marquez dreams of a third fight with Pacquiao and "that's all he thinks about."

Gonzalez who was mugged in Mexico on the eve of his departure and lost everything while an HBO crew had some $40,000 worth of equipment stolen from their hotel room said Marquez is “in the best shape of his life. Believe me the guy is so hungry and he wants to show exactly what he can do. This exican rooster is going to do the best as always.”